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" GREENCASTLE, IND. -- At 6:20, I rise. This is my way. I squint and stumble down the hallway. I go downstairs for a pee. I barely have my eyes open at times like this. Afterward, my dog stares at me, wanting a walk. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t look at me,&amp;quot; I say. &amp;quot;Just don&amp;#039;t.&amp;quot; I make her wait. It seems cruel, but I am naked.  Not twenty minutes later, I vote. The electronic screen reflects the fluorescent light above me. I stand there too long, tilting my head. An election official speaks to me over the top of it all. &amp;quot;Can you see?&amp;quot; he says. I look at him, then back at the screen, then back at him. I&amp;#039;m thinking, I have moved into the world wearing neither socks nor underwear. No one knows this.  At noon, I eat at a little coffee shop. A decent chili, a plate of cold corn salad, and a bottle of water. And I look up. The sky is stark and topless, a blazing blue. I hiss to myself. Never trust a sunny day. The sky was blue here on 9/11, the sky was blue here during Columbine, the sky was blue here on the day my dad died. My mother cries to me on the phone on days like this. Eat your chili, keep your head down, look for no promises from the world. No part of me is undressed just then.  At dinner, there is corn bread. I sit in my T-shirt, the way my dad used to. He liked V-necks; I favor a crew. My shoes are by the door. I&amp;#039;m staring into the deep maw of my huge television like an ancient parrot, afraid of voicing. I&amp;#039;m thinking, I can&amp;#039;t see anything yet. Before bed, there is a single beer. It is dark outside. Even in Indiana, distant cars are honking. I am in my boxers and my T-shirt -- two moves from being naked once more. And now there is nothing to stop me from stepping outside, to walk my dog around my yard to take a pee. This, too, is my way. There are stars. It is clear. When I go back in, I will call my mother, and she will cry with me again. THE OBAMA DIARIES: NOVEMBER 4, 2008  TOM JUNOD: How the Obama Blogosphere and Joe the Plumber Helped Me Cope with Death   CHARLES P. PIERCE: American Surprise: How Election Night Brought Us Home Again ROBERT KURSON: Obama&amp;#039;s Fellow Illinoisan and Classmate on Run-ins with Mr. Cool LISA TADDEO: Election Night 2008&amp;#039;s Historical Buzz in the Big Apple SCOTT RAAB: Happy Tears for Obama on the New Jersey Turnpike CHRIS JONES: How McCain Lost Himself Before He Lost the Election JOHN H. RICHARDSON: It Ain&amp;#039;t Over &amp;#039;Til It&amp;#039;s Over, But Sen. Joe Biden Is Feeling Good "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a5439/obama-elected-0109/>