Beginning in the afternoon exit poll results will start rolling in, and if the pattern follows 2004, it will probably project heavy wins for Obama.  Slate initially reported Kerry winning 7 states (names in bold indicate states Kerry actually lost):  Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico, and Bush winning 3:  Nevada, North Carolina and Colorado.  Zogby reported Kerry winning by a whopping 311 electoral votes to Bush’s 213, with 14 too close to call.  Late in the day Florida was then switched over to Bush’s column by a narrow margin (Bush decisively won the state by 5 points.)  In 2000, exit polls had also favored Al Gore in several key states that he eventually lost.

Morale of the story?  Ignore the exit polls.

I WANT TO BELIEVE

6PM-7PM EST

Polls in Indiana and Kentucky will begin to close at 6PM, while polls in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia close at 7PM.  Kentucky should easily go to McCain, but the results from Indiana should prove interesting.  McCain has either tied or maintained a very slim lead in this state coming into the election, so if the media projects McCain winning by a comfortable margin, it will be a very good sign.  If that’s the case, the media should project a winner for Indiana sometime before 8PM.

Virginia however will also be a HUGE bellwether.  Obama had been leading in this state at times by as much as 9 points going into the last week before the election.  If McCain wins this state as well,  Obama and his supporters can at least kiss their stupid dreams of a landslide victory goodbye.  BUT, if McCain loses not only Virginia, but Indiana as well, we’re finished.  Might as well turn the TV off and start drinking heavily, because the Obamunists are about to take over.  Assuming a similar pattern from 2004, a winner may be projected for Virginia by 9PM.  If McCain gets both these states into his column, this is going to be one crazy night.

7:30PM

Polls in Ohio and West Virginia close.  West Virginia should easily be called for McCain at this point, and presuming a tight race again, a winner for Ohio may not be declared until at least 1AM-2AM.

8PM

Polls should start closing en masse in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.  Sans the swing states, the rest should be easily projected.

It’s possible a winner for Indiana may be declared by this time as well.

8:30PM

Polls in Arkansas and North Carolina close.  North Carolina is another one to watch, where Obama has held a slim lead before.  Should they easily call this one for McCain as well, (in addition to Indiana and Virginia,) it could be a GREAT night for us.  A projection for North Carolina might be made around 9PM depending on the tightness of the race.

9PM

Polls close in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

At this time we should have projections for Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina, and thus a very good indication as to how well McCain will do for the rest of the night.

Assuming things go McCain’s way here, the talking heads will begin chattering endlessly about the inaccuracy of the polls and how the Bradley Effect screwed everything up.  Meanwhile Obama agents will start screaming at the top of their lungs about what a bigoted country we are and that racism is the ONLY reason why McCain is doing as well as he is.  Bet on it.  These liberal weenies are nothing if not predictable.

10PM

Polls begin closing in Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah.  Results from Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota should start rolling in, but nothing concrete yet.

11PM

Polls close in California, Hawaii and Washington.  Reports from Florida and Pennsylvania should start solidifying at this point, and a winner may be projected by midnight.

1AM to ?

Polls close in Alaska.

At this point Ohio may be called just as it was by Fox in 2004, sometime after midnight, and starting from 2AM and onward, reports from key western (and some midwestern) states should finally start solidifying enough that projections can be made for those states as well, including Iowa, New Mexico and Nevada.  Projections for states such as Colorado and Arizona should have been made sooner, unless the race had been exceptionally tight.

Bottom Line:

By 9PM we should know for sure how accurate the polls really were.  A McCain win in Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina will set the tone for the rest of the night, at which point it will truly become a fight to the finish.  Should that happen, start praying, and start praying HARD.  God in His mercy may yet provide us a stay of execution that I so earnestly hoped and prayed would happen.

And if not, pray anyway.  Whether we face judgment or a reprieve, this country is headed for troubling times, and I can only hope that in such times of distress, we will remember the LORD and seek Him once again in a spirit of true humility and repentance.