At 11th Hour, Obama Keeps His Poker Face

Though well aware of the enormous weight that might be about to descend on him, Barack Obama is keeping it cool, Jeff Zeleny writes in the New York Times. As the campaign enters its final frantic hours, the Democrat is talking basketball and reading about Afghanistan, hitting the gym at 6 am and sending emails at 1 am.

In between, he’s campaigning, even tamping down riled-up crowds. “You don’t need to boo, you just need to vote,” he told an audience jeering a mention of John McCain. And if he cares about appearances—going without a coat one night because Bill Clinton did—they’re not everything. The next night he said, “I did decide to wear a coat because you want a president who has sense.” (More Election 2008 stories.)