>>>Prepare for chaos: U.S. electoral system warned it 'can't cope' as historic number of voters cast their ballot
>>>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1082591/Prepare-chaos-U-S-electoral-warned-cope-historic-number-voters-cast-ballot.html
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>>I have no doubt it's giong to be chaotic in many places. As you know, I voted early but I get to go tomorrow anyway. It will be Allie's first time voting and she said she wants to vote on election day, which I agree with. I have no doubt it will be nuts.
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>>I also remain concerned about Obama's safety at the rally downtown tomorrow night. I have been concerned all along, and this is probably the best opportunity there will ever be again. I am really irritated at Da Mare. The Obama people wanted to limit the crowd to 75,000 people associated with the campaign (never saw a definition of that), then Mayor Daley had to stick his nose in and issue an invitation for anyone who wants to to come down. He has been throwing around an estimate of 1 million people. Talk about chaos! It was announced today that public transportation will keep running until everyone gets home, even if it takes all night. Which it might. It won't start before 10:00 at the earliest, when polls close on the west coast, and probably not before the race has been called. BTW, it is not being described as a victory rally. If McCain wins it will be a concession speech. I guess you know where I stand there ;-) IAC, I am not going. I had thought about it but it's going to be too late, too far away, and too crowded for me. I will be watching on TV. It will be kind of cool to have the eyes of the world on Chicago.
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>I think it is a wise decision not to go. While I fully expect him to win in a landslide (really I do), if by some strange twist of fate he doesn't, it may be a disaster. I really think there is probably a slim if any chance of that, but that will be a huge crowd and there is always problems in that large of a crowd.

I should add that I have seen Obama speak once, although it was pretty brief. When I lived closer to the city I was very active in a volunteer group called Chicago Cares. Every year on the Saturday of Martin Luther King Day weekend they do a huge project -- painting school classrooms and things like that. Obama had just been sworn into the Senate and he spoke briefly to all the volunteers before we went out. Mayor Daley was there (visibly pouting over being upstaged, LOL), Senator Durbin, and lots of other local pols. Obama was dressed casually in slacks and a black turtleneck and didn't speak very long. He just said he wanted to thank everyone for coming out early on a cold January morning and for helping improve their city. Everyone was commenting afterward on how charismatic he was. Even back then I felt like I was in an auditorium with a historic figure, which of course he has now become. So anyway, I don't need to put up with the crowd and everything else tomorrow just to say I saw him.