Here's a few more reports by DCist contributors from all over the city last night. Spontaneous celebrations erupted across Washington when Barack Obama was declared the winner of the 2008 presidential election. The scene in Chinatown wasn't nearly as crazy as U St. (judging from the pictures, at least), but those who were out were as ecstatic and elated as I could imagine. Cars honked repeatedly as they drove down the street; people poured champagne......

Video from 11th and U Streets from voteprime Video from near the White House from JCardinal18 Video of dancing in front of Dukem at 12th and U Streets NW by Sommer Mathis......

I'm still processing what happened last night. One minute, I was gathered in a living room with friends, watching election returns come in. The next minute, Barack Obama had been declared the winner, his moving acceptance speech was over, and I was in the middle of the intersection at 14th and U Streets NW with thousands of other D.C. residents, yelling, singing, high-fiving and hugging total strangers. Car horns honked throughout the city. People climbed......

UPDATE: Point now moot! The rally has been moved amid all the outcry, although no word yet on the new location. Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have planned a campaign rally at Fairfax High School tomorrow morning, prompting the Post to write about how some people are concerned that the event makes it looks like Fairfax County Schools are endorsing McCain. The county does have a rule against such political events being......

Since we run an internet web site thingy that people in Washington read, DCist HQ often receives unsolicited mailers from companies looking to push politically-themed products onto teh blogs. Usually we just get books. Sometimes it's something a little more creative, like a T-shirt or a coffee mug with a cute phrase on it. And then there are the items you just can't ignore, no matter how obvious it is that we were only......

Last night a handful of D.C. Democratic delegates came together with organizers and volunteers from DC Vote for a pre-Democratic National Convention party at the Bohemian Caverns Mahogany Room. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton rallied the troops with a few remarks, urging delegates and voting rights volunteers not to forget that the District's delegation is "very different from other delegations." District residents can't attend the DNC for fun and games, she said, because they need to......

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that the Obama campaign has announced former Virginia Gov. and current candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Warner will deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention later this month. Campaign adviser Mike Henry broke the news in an email he sent to Obama supporters in Virginia. The choice of Warner really drives home the importance the Obama campaign is placing on Virginia as a potential swing state......

Nationals fans are living in a brave new world this morning after the team completed its first second sweep of the season on Sunday, a home stand against the Cincinnati Reds. Most of the credit is going to new youngsters Emilio Bonifacio and Alberto Gonzalez, who have injected some much-needed energy into the Nats roster. But over at RotoNation, one blogger noticed a fan sporting an Obama-themed Nats jersey on Friday night. Coincidence? If Barack......

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine refused to answer any direct questions this morning about whether the Obama campaign has told him they are considering choosing him as running mate. Kaine, who has been named as one of Obama's top three or four choices for VP over the last week, appeared on the "Hands Across the Potomac" show hosted by WTOP's Mark Segraves, alongside Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. It's "flattering to be......

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong Poor Virginia First Lady Anne Holton, wife of Gov. Tim Kaine. She was given the opportunity to introduce presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama at a town hall-style meeting in Fairfax, Va. yesterday, and all she got was this lousy perspective from AP photographer Jae C. Hong. Sure, Hong was just trying to make an event that's visually boring look a little more interesting, and highlight the message on......

The Hill has the idiot local news scoop of the day with this gem from the Columbia Heights location of the Washington Sports Club. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama stopped by earlier on Friday to check out the new facility (he usually goes to the one in Gallery Place), and the woman who works behind the counter didn't recognize him and made him show her his ID. Now, the tone of the article......

Well color us a little embarrassed. But only a little. After Matt Yglesias linked to our post complaining about how D.C., along with a handful of other states, had been left out of the state-specific shirts available at store.barackobama.com, a commenter at his site pointed out that he had found the correct url to order a "District of Columbia for Obama" T-shirt through a little legwork -- just finessing the url until he stumbled upon......

Now that the Democratic party has a presumptive nominee, some District residents, who overwhelmingly support Sen. Barack Obama anyway, might be in the market for an Obama T-shirt -- and they're in luck. The Obama campaign wisely has a number of such T-shirts available for sale at its online store, including state-specific shirts. The only problem? A friend recently pointed out that there is no "D.C. for Obama" T-shirt available for sale, even though Guam......

There was something of a three-ring freak show over at the National Press Club yesterday, where convicted felon Larry Sinclair appeared at a press conference attended by a group of gawking international reporters. For those of you who don't follow crackpot theories about major national political figures, here's the basic story: Larry Sinclair, a professional weirdo who has been in the past successfully prosecuted for crimes involving lying, like forgery and bad checks, has......

Dating in D.C. is notoriously hard for women. A D.C. resident named Rachel has made a parody of the infamous "Obama Girl" video, in which she chronicles her break-up with a guy who loves Barack Obama more than her. It's pretty well done. (via the DCist tipline)......

So you didn't make your way to Nissan Pavilion yesterday evening to hear Sen. Barack Obama launch his national campaign as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president (and give VP nominee watchers a lot to chew on by gushing all over Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, as captured in the YouTube video above). And you didn't get invited to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's house to eavesdrop on Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton's secret meeting last night.......

The Post makes the right call on today's rally planned for Sen. Barack Obama at Nissan Pavilion is Bristow, Va. It's going to be a traffic nightmare of epic proportions. You thought the Radiohead debacle was bad? Imagine a free 6 p.m. event open to all comers that will kickoff a historic national campaign for president by a candidate with huge support from young, enthusiastic, politically-minded, college-educated Democrats in a metro area that has one......

Marc Fisher reports that Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama in next week's Democratic presidential primary. The controversial "mayor for life" had been a longtime supporter of President Bill Clinton, but told Fisher that he has concluded that Sen. Hillary Clinton represents older and less flexible forces in the Democratic party. The City Paper's Mike DeBonis (aka Loose Lips) provides a handy roundup of endorsements so far by city......

Wonkette says this campaign ad for GOP front-runner Sen. John McCain will start playing locally now that the "Potomac Primary" on Feb. 12, made up of Maryland, D.C. and Virginia, is one of the next big strategic primary dates on the calendar. Below is the one of the two ads Sen. Barack Obama is now running in Maryland. UPDATE: This video is running in Maryland, according to Obama's campaign web site linked previously. But......