With Obama’s victory almost all but certain now, thousands in Chicago are growing antsy and anxious to see the next president speak.

A loud cheer went up when the TV airing CNN quoted McCain advisors who admitted his chances of winning the race were all but gone.

People in the crowd are waving flags and hitting beachballs in the air. The atmosphere very much feels like people awaiting a rock concert. Kristi just left the media section to join the thousands shoulder-to-shoulder in the crowd.

I’ve been relatively suprised how calm things have been here. But I’m sure that when the man of the night takes the stage this crowd will erupt for their next president.

A sea of people has formed at Grant Park, as Obama supporters await election results- most of which seem to be in Obama’s favor.

About a dozen American flags have been placed throughout the crowd, which is packed and is impossible to predict how many are here. There are two main areas where supporters are watching the results on big TVs airing CNN. The first is the main ticketed area where Obama will speak and where most of the press is. The other area is nearly a mile away on the other side of the park, where an even larger mob has formed, even though they are far from where Obama will speak. 

No word yet on how many people are here, but it’s definitely tens of thousands of people. CNN just projected Obama won in Ohio. No Republican since Lincoln has won without winning in Ohio. CNN also just gave Iowa to Obama.

One thing is clear: Obama supporters are getting excited- McCain’s chances are looking nearly impossible at this point.

After talking with several Obama supporters as they entered the ticketed area with room for 70,000 people, it became evident: no one cares how far away they are from the stage, they just want to be here.

The park is just between Michigan Ave. and Lake Michigan. There is a ticketed area that has already been sold out, and then spillover area that can hold anyone who decides to show up. They were originally not going to let people in until 8 p.m., but they must have changed their mind when they saw the long lines. Everyone with and without tickets has been ushered into the standing-room only gated area where they will wait for Obama to speak. The earliest he would speak will probably be after 9 p.m. Chicago time.

Judith Elam, a woman wearing at least 10 Obama buttons over her Obama t-shirt, decided just two days ago to come to Chicago from Houston, Texas. Even though she and her friends don’t have tickets, she said she doesn’t even mind. She will likely be in a spillover area with other supporters without tickets, with the only view of Obama on a large TV in the distance.

“It’s going to be history in the making and I wanna be here in the city that he lives in and celebrate with him tonight,” she said. When asked if she thought he would win, she said, “I just know. I feel it in my spirit. It’s just time.”

Here are some other things people have been saying as they waited in line:

“It’s just… What a night. Absolutely historic, and I just wanted to breathe it in. It’s worth it just to watch the crowd. Can’t you feel it? The electricity in the air- people are excited.” -Therese Flanagan, Chicago

“We’re just glad to be here in the moment. (Campaigning for him) was worth it because I believe in my candidate.” -Keesha Mahone, Kansas City

“This is history in the making you know? It might be kind of close but I think he’ll push through and win. …It’s about time.” -Karin Magary, senior at Northwestern University

“I know I’ll look back at this and say I was there.” -Laura Checkley, San Diego

Ben and I made it to Chicago, finally, where people are already lining up for the rally tonight. Though the lines are only a few blocks long, it’s only 3 p.m. in Chicago and “doors” won’t even open until 8:30 p.m. Most of the people in line were young and we’re about to go interview some of them now.

The security here is at least 10 times more intense than the rallies we’ve covered so far. The setup has one press area for people willing to fork over more than $900 for a nice riser spot. As for the rest of us, we’re crammed into a side grassy area (some press will not even be able to see Obama as they are behind a large tent).

The stage isn’t very high, but the podium where Obama will speak is on a walkway into the crowd. American flags are most of the background, and large, clear pieces of glass serve as a barrier between Obama and the crowd on the front. It looks like he will be right in the middle of his most dedicated followers.

The weather couldn’t be better for an outside rally like this- about 70 and sunny, and clear skies. We’ll return later with updates from the people who have been willing to sit outside since this morning.

Wow. I haven’t quite fathomed that today is actually the day.

I will be one of your bloggers in Chicago, and I decided to get the day started early since I couldn’t sleep anyway.

We’ll be leaving for the Windy City around 9 a.m. and hope to make it by 1 or 2 this afternoon. No idea how traffic will be in Chicago or how many people will show up for Obama’s rally tonight. I expect people with tickets to start lining up … well a few hours ago probably, especially his die-hard supporters who want to watch/hope they’ll watch history tonight.

Chicago’s mayor predicted that maybe a million people will show up tonight. Appartently the gated area is set to hold about 70,000 people or so.

Expect a quick update after we arrive in Grant Park and can figure out what’s going on.

Just one hour ago “Barack Obama” sent me an e-mail announcing he will have a rally in Indianapolis this Wednesday, Oct. 8.

The rally will be at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 E. 38th St. in Indianapolis. Gates open at 10 a.m. and the event is scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m.

The event is free, but tickets are required. To RSVP for the event, click here and fill out the information.

Interestingly, Obama will speak just hours after the second presidential debate at 9 p.m. Tuesday night in Nashville. He and McCain will hold a joint town-hall type of meeting.

His appearance will be two weeks after Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke in Jeffersonville, which is just outside of Louisville. Obama also visited Terre Haute earlier this summer.

But don’t fret John McCain backers, rumors have it that the Arizona senator will be spending more time and money in Indiana to thwart Democratic attempts to take the state in November. He started airing advertisements in Indiana last week and I wouldn’t be surprised if McCain makes a stop in the Hoosier state sometime in the next two weeks.

I’m at the 4-H Arena at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute where Democratic nominee Barack Obama is schedule to begin speaking in about an hour.

Obama is making an appeal to the voters he consistently has missed out on- white, middle class voters. The speech, set to beging at 12:30, is going to talk about his plan  to fix the economy.

Hello, all. This is Ben Phelps, one of your Elections reporters this semester. Hope you guys have all been enjoying Peter’s work from the DNC, where Obama will be giving his much-anticipated acceptance speech tonight.

But for any of you who don’t want to watch the speech alone and can’t manage a last-minute trip to Denver, there are several convention watch parties on Obama’s Web site, including one at the Cinemat downtown on Walnut Street. IU College Democrats are also having a convention-watching party tonight and rumor has it MTV may be making an appearance.

Let’s see if Obama can live up to the hype the media has given to him over the past few days.

Former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards broke his long silence in the Democratic presidential race tonight. Since he dropped out in January, Edwards has held his tongue as to which candidate he supports.

Tonight, he showed up on stage in Grand Rapids, Mich., with Obama.

Read more about it here.

Of special note is that Edwards will be adding 19 delegates he earned in the first weeks of the race to Obama’s total.

Local Obama campaign volunteers and supporters left the restaurant watch party fairly optimistic, while Indiana will wait overnight to see the final results. Currently 95% of precincts are reporting, and Clinton leads 51% to Obama’s 49%.

Local volunteers cleared out of Opie Taylor’s as they watched on TV as Hillary began her acceptance speech in Indianapolis around 10:30 p.m. However, most TV networks have still deemed it “too close to call” in Indiana and results will likely continue to come in throughout the night. No matter who wins Indiana, supporters have remained optimistic as Obama still has a sizeable delegate lead and the North Carolina win certainly carries more weight. Some think he still has a chance to seize victory in Indiana as votes continue to be counted in Lake and Union counties.

Check for more updates tomorrow as we hear the final Indiana results.