4 Special Coverage

Election Day has come and gone, but NPR’s Ron Elving and Ken Rudin are still trying to make sense of it all. Was it close? Well, a 50-to-48 percent popular-vote edge for President Obama certainly indicates that. But the Electoral College split was another story.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

The reasons include a stronger economy and a better-run campaign, readers say. Many also say Republicans just didn’t have the right message. And, some argue, the news media favored the president.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

Election night results fell within the margin of error for many of the best-known national polls, including several that had faced regular criticism during the election season.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

“Just saw @karlrove in a bar. Aaawwkward,” tweets the fake homage to the blogger who nailed the Obama-Romney race tweets. Being hailed as Election Night’s second biggest winner continues to bring attention to the FiveThirtyEight.com guru.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

“What you guys have done means the work that I’m doing is important. I’m really proud of that. I’m really proud of all of you,” the president says just before a tear comes down his right cheek. It’s a rare public show of emotion from “no-drama Obama.”» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

Political historian Allan Lichtman says he sees elections the way geophysicists see earthquakes — as events fundamentally driven by structural factors deep beneath the surface, rather than by superficial events at the surface.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us