"Now he was a real man," Jim mumbles, "no Latte crap for him."
With 33 percent of the vote in, there is no change in the percentages, remaining 57 to 43. With 36 percent of the vote, Obama picks up 1 point; with 44 percent, the same, 56 to 44.
It is beginning to look good for Clinton, although Indianapolis, Monroe Country with Bloomington and the University of Indiana, and some urban areas in the north have not reported many votes.
With 49 percent in, it is 55 percent to 45, Obama picks up 1 point; with 52 percent in, it's 54 to 46, and Obama picks up another point; with 55 percent in, no change; with 63 percent, no change.
The bar is nearly empty, Jim is gone. A worker sweeps the floor, placing chairs on the tables. Billy is watching another basketball game.
With 67 percent of the vote in, it is 53 to 47, Obama picks up another point. It's been an hour and half since the polls closed, and still CNN has not called the election. I'm suspicious. Is the media dragging out the unknown to keep us tuned in? Was Jim right? CNN pleads, "We want to be cautious."
"It's tightening a little," Wolf Blitzer says. But with 70 percent of the vote in, there is no change; with 72 percent in, it's Clinton with 52 percent and Obama with 48, -- first time Obama's deficit has dropped below the crucial 5 point level margin for Clinton! With 75 percent in, no change. "Still a quarter of the vote is out," CNN reminds its viewers. Will 81 percent reported, it's still unchanged.
And into the night it went, not until past one in the morning, did CNN finally say, "The projected winner in Indiana...."
Yes, Hillary Clinton won, but not according to the media. She lost by winning 51 percent of the vote to Obama's 49 percent. Media math is different.
Indiana is now over, so what changed? Not much, actually nothing. Although for a few hours the numbness of the endless campaign was lifted. Was "polls tightening" accurate? Not in North Carolina where Obama stomped Clinton. In Indiana, yes. But this doesn't really matter, tomorrow morning I'm off to West Virginia, the next stop on the endless campaign trail. Will West Virginia also be a crucial primary? Are the polls tightening there? Will it be a game-changer? Will Hillary show up full force again like she did in Indiana? I have no idea, but I do know that I will remain on the Clinton Black List. That's what happens when you write anything bad about the Clintons. No problem. If Obama is in West Virginia on election night then I will be there too -- reporting on the candidate who doesn't run a Black List.
