chip reid

Midnight: Coming tomorrow morning: post-game summary and thoughts about how Katie did anchoring her first Presidential election night on CBS.

11:59: Obama starts his speech. Time to pay attention.

11:59: Waiting for Katie or somebody to mention Michelle Obama's flaming red and black dress.

11:58: OK, Obama taking the stage. They stop the music like at the start of movies when they stop the music and the coming attractions come on.

11:55: Katie asks Noonan to stick around until after the commercial, but they don't go to a commercial. Nice swell of music, though.

11:54: Peggy Noonan is back. Hey, isn't she usually on MSNBC or NBC?

11:45: Katie makes reference to The Patty Duke Show! Something to do with the Udalls and twins, I think.

11:39: Katie corrects Greenfield yet again: it's Nevadda, not Nevahda. Greenfield says the election is over, he doesn't care anymore.

More from Katie and Company:

10:07: Switching over to see what PBS and FOX News are up to. Know why? I'm a maverick.

9:49: Will I have another drink tonight? TOO CLOSE TO CALL.

9:42: I have a real crush on Peggy Noonan. Not sure why.

9:31: Is anyone even paying attention to the sides of the CBS HD screen? I'd rather see cartoons or Three Stooges shorts played, picture-in-picture style.

9:24: Schieffer and Greenfield both call the election after Ohio goes to Obama. That's it for the election! Good night everybody! You would think they'd let it go a little bit longer considering the 2000 fiasco.

9:04: McCain HQ is playing Eddie Money? No wonder he's behind.

8:50: Jeff Greenfield says "Sarah Palin was Norma Rae for two weeks, then she was somebody else." Maybe when they come back from commercial he'll say who. Any guesses?

8:49: Bob Schieffer says Katie partly responsible for Sarah Palin's fall. Katie says "keep it up Bob and you're next."

Some quick notes on the Katie Couric-anchored election coverage on The Tiffany Network:

7:26: They've gone to local coverage for a bit. Good time for my first gin and tonic of the evening. I'll be back later with more, and stay tuned for posts from CNN, MSNBC, and more.

7:18: Now Katie says "Can you hear me now? I sound like a Sprint commercial" to Obama spokesman. Can't she get any of her commercial icon references right tonight?!?

7:14: First glitch of the night: can't hear what Obama spokesman is saying. Katie goes to McCain spokesman instead. CBS IN THE TANK FOR MCCAIN!

7:07: CBS's "Magic Board" (or whatever they're calling it) isn't as good as CNN's. It's the Sony Walkman to CNN's iPod.

7:05: Jeff Greenfield is firing off sports/weather cliches to describe the election. I already miss Dan Rather and his Ratherisms: "This race is tighter than a cranberry muffin at an auto show."

Longtime NBC Washington correspondent Chip Reid is leaving the network, and the rumor is he's going over to CBS News. Reid has been covering politics for the network for several years.

And that's not the only news for NBC. MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann is getting some airtime on NBC. The show will air before this Sunday's pre-season game between the Eagles vs. the Steelers. This probably won't be a regular thing, but Olbermann is going to be part of the network's Football Night In America show on Sunday nights, and NBC Senior Vice President Phil Griffin says that Olbermann might do more on the network.

The ratings for Olbermann's show have soared, and maybe NBC is using this as an extra kick in the pants to see if viewers will follow the show over to MSNBC the following night.

[via TV Newser]