1.  Nearly complete election returns for President.  Some absentee and provisional ballots are still being counted, but the results so far are:

Obama-Biden            66,882,230  52.8%             365  electoral votes
McCain-Palin             58,343,671  46.0%             173  electoral votes
Nader-Gonzalez             698,798    0.6%                 0  electoral votes
Barr-Root                      511,324    0.4%                 0  electoral votes
Baldwin-Castle               181,818    0.1%                 0  electoral votes
McKinney-Clemente        152,811    0.1%                 0  electoral votes
Others                          103,418    0.1%                 0  electoral votes

Total votes              126,686,145                         538  electoral votes

The Democratic ticket's popular margin over the Republican ticket was 8,538,559 votes.

2.  Richard Viguerie says Obama didn't do nearly as well as he should have.  The Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com pointed out that Obama should have received a Reaganesque 49-state landslide considering his advantages:  a severe economic crisis occurring on the GOP's watch; a very unpopular Bush Administration; the betrayal of conservative principles by the GOP Congress, leading to loss of grassroots support; the war in Iraq; the extreme bias of the media in his favor; and outspending the Republican ticket by a margin of over 3 to 1.

The fact that McCain and Palin did as well as they did is due in large part to the addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket (see below).  "This should give Republicans reason to hope--if they return to their conservative roots," Viguerie said.

3.  Dick Morris says Palin saved McCain from landslide defeat.  Citing exit polls, the former political advisor to Bill Clinton said, "Sarah Palin made a vast difference in John McCain's favor."

Compared to 2004, McCain lost 11 points among white men but only 4 points among white women. Barack Obama's underperformance among white women, evident throughout the fall, may be chalked up, in large part, to the influence of Palin. 

"She addressed the question of what it is like to be a working mother in today's economy and society, and resonated with tens of millions of white women who have not responded to the more traditional, and liberal, advocates for their gender," Morris said.

4.  Petition of appreciation to Sarah Palin.  Despite her heroic efforts in the campaign--or perhaps because of them--she has been under harsh attacks from anonymous staffers in the McCain campaign. ConservativeHQ.com is sponsoring a petition to let the Governor know that a lot of people appreciate all she did in service to the Republican Party and the nation.

You can add your name to the petition at http://conservativehq.com/active-petitions/appreciationtosarahpalin111208/