The beer taps were flowing at The Irish Rogue, a Hell’s Kitchen pub, on election night. Act Now volunteers and avid Barack Obama supporters crammed into the upstairs lounge of the pub and tuned into CNN to watch the election results.
With a cardboard cutout of Obama standing in the corner and all the couches turned to face the TV screens, the Irish Rogue was prepared for the election night crowd.
Less than an hour after the polls closed in Pennsylvania a surge of volunteers, who spent the day leafleting and talking to voters in that state, packed into the lounge.
Fully clad in their Obama pins and t-shirts, they were greeted with cheers from the rest of the supporters who had just watched CNN project Obama as the winner in Pennsylvania.
“Drinks on me if Obama takes Ohio,” shouted a man from across the room, which resulted in cheers from the rest of the room.
The middle aged crowd huddled around the TV screens every time a CNN projection was made and loud cheers or booing followed depending on which candidate came out on top.
“This is one of the most exciting nights of the year for us,” said Maria Scholler, a volunteer who had spent 12 hours in Pennsylvania that day. “We’ve been working so hard all year and to see Obama win will be amazing. Everyone is so enthused; it’s like watching the Super Bowl. Of course this is a lot more important, this is history.”