Dave is excited and thankful for Tom Brokaw being on the show tonight. Tom is running on very little sleep after covering the election, he’s about to retire from his 20-year gig at “NBC Nightly News”; and he’s coming here under the threat of death from G.E. When Dave first arrived at CBS, the fine people at G.E., the owners of NBC, warned Tom that an unforeseen accident may befall him if he visited the Late Show. Tom, the man that he is, came anyway.

Did you watch Dan Rather last night reporting on the Presidential election? He had a few new good ol’ boy Texan catch phrases.

- A bunch of biscuits with a dab of gravy on a map.
- Right now it’s hotter than a Times Square Rolex
- The bill collectors are at the door
- Like walking through a furnace in a gasoline suit
- Round it goes, where it stops nobody knows
- If you went to bed or went to pop the cap on an adult or otherwise beverage
- John Kerry’s lead is as thin as turnip soup.
- If a frog had side pockets, he’d carry a handgun.

Our friendly head carpenter Harold Larkin prepared something for us tonight. We see Harold by the cue card alley doors. Dave confesses he always wants to call Harold, “Our head larkin, Harold Carpenter.” Back to Harold who thinks none of this is funny. Dave attempts to have a light conversation with Mr. Larkin but the head carpenter is all business, wanting simply to get the job done. Dave takes the cue and introduces, “Harold Larkin’s Election Day Poll.” We see a video tape of Harold polling New York City pedestrians.
Who smells better, Bush or Kerry? - Bush
Who smells worse, Kerry or Nader? – Nader
Was if flip-flopping when Bush went from a roaring drunk to a guy who doesn’t drink?
Which country should we invade next? The guy says, “Uhh, Canada.”
Harold shows photos, asking the question, “Bush or Osmond?”
Craziest thing you ever did in a voting booth? “I voted for Mike Dukakis.”
Are you smarter than George W. Bush? All say yes, until the last teen.

Rushing through all that, Dave gets to what he wants to get to. “In just a few minutes, my son will have completed his first trip around the sun.” Dave says that last year he was about to be a basket case, even considering running away and leaving the country. And then at 11:58 PM on November 3, 2003, Harry came into his life. Dave proudly says, “I’ve been head over heals in love ever since. It’s been the best year of my life.”

Barbara Gaines and Justin Stangel put together a video tape of some of the moments Dave has mentioned his little Harry. It’s clips and snippets of photos and stories of Harry. At the end, Dave shares another photo of Harry from his first birthday. Yikes-a-hootie, that’s one cue boy!

TOP TEN: John Kerry Excuses
#9. Floridians confused by shockingly unconfusing ballots.
#5. Should’ve campaigned more in New Mexico, less in regular Mexico.
#2. Voters seem to really like a weak economy and a badly-run war.

TOM BROKAW: He’s here on 2 hours sleep. He was busy manning the NBC Democracy Plaza all day Tuesday and well into Wednesday.

Tom says it’s great to see an election up close and then afterwards, no troops or tanks in the street, just an orderly and safe governmental progression. No matter who won, the change would be conducted without incident.

Kerry made his concession speech earlier in the day and asks for all of us to allow the healing to begin. Dave says that sounds nice, but knows it never happens. Tom agrees. How can the two parties work together after battling each other for months? Tom says they should work on something they both agree on, starting with the election process. The voting should not come under so much question every 4 years.

Tom takes a moment to speak directly to little Harry. He wishes him a happy birthday, and reveals to the little one that most 1-year-old for their first birthday get a Maserati. Dave chimes in, “And maybe you’ll get it from your Uncle Tom.”

What did Tom think of last night’s election results? Tom congratulates the President and points out that at the age of 40, this guy had little direction in his life and had no idea where he was going. He was probably the last of the Bush boys expected ever to become President. And now he’s been reelected to a second term.

While Dave and Tom discuss the politics of the day, Tom here and there glances down at his watch or the clock on a nearby monitor. We tape from 5:30 to 6:30 and Tom has to be at the NBC studios for his 6:30 News. We’re located at 53rd and Broadway. NBC is located at 50th and 6th, two block east and 3 blocks south from us. It’s always a little nervous for us and for Tom to get him out on time.

Back from commercial, we see Tom getting in to a waiting car and being driven with a police escort to the NBC studios on 6th Avenue around 50th Street. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, it is one block west of the American Girl Doll store.

Career Highlights:
1960: Newscaster at KTIV, Sioux City, Iowa – his first television job after graduating from the University of South Dakota
1966: Anchor for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles
1973: Named NBC’s White House Correspondent --- during Watergate
1976: Host of the “Today” show – whom did he replace? And where did this person go?
1982: Named co-anchor of the “NBC Nightly News”, along with whom? The position opened up when who retired?
1983: Became the sole anchor of the “NBC Nightly News”

- FYI: Dan Rather has been doing "The CBS Evening News" since 1981
- Peter Jennings has been doing "ABC World News Tonight" since 1983.

Answers to the Tom Brokaw trivia:
In 1976, Tom Brokaw became the host of the “Today” show, replacing . . . . . . Barbara Walters. She went to co-anchor "The ABC Evening News" with Harry Reasoner.
In 1982, Tom co-anchored the “NBC Nightly News” with . . . . . . Roger Mudd. The position opened up when . . . . . John Chancellor retired.

Our announcer Alan Kalter asked if he could say a few words about yesterday’s Presidential Election.

Alan: “Despite what the country may think of President Bush, most Americans are pleased to see Laura Bush remain in the White House. She is a fine First Lady.”
(Alan turns to a 2nd camera. Lights dim. Sexy sax music is heard).
Alan: “A very fine First Lady. Laura, there are some things about life a former librarian with an idiot husband still needs to learn. And so I invite you to climb abroad for a ride on Air Force Kalter. My invasion will begin in your mountainous regions and will end with a few well-timed bunker busters. As you learn, oh so sweetly, that Big Red is a uniter, not a divider. Then, Laura, we’ll begin our second term which will go on and on until you scream, ‘Mission accomplished, President Kalter!’”

ACT 5: This is a Late Show Reminder: There are only 1,461 days until the 2008 Presidential Election. Don’t forget to vote!
This has been a Late Show Reminder.

MISCHA BARTON – pronounced ‘Meesha.’ She’s on the wildly popular The O.C. For you kids in your 30s, this is the Beverly Hills 90210 of today. She’s part English, part Irish, and 100% pretty! And she’s 18! Let me think back to my days in high school . . . . . nope. No one looked like Mischa that I recall. Mischa is applying to become an American citizen --- how many original colonies? “13.” Ding!

The 2nd season of The O.C. premieres Thursday night on the FOX. Dave asks, “What can we expect this year on ‘The O.C.’?”
Mischa: “Oh, boy, after what happened last year . . . .” Dave sighs, “Oh, yeah.”

It’s obvious Dave has never seen The O.C.. He laughs at his attempt to be “up on it.” I liked that.

In the close, Dave says he believes Delaware was the first state. Paul tries to help by saying, “What did Delaware, boy, what did Delaware?” He answers his own question, “A New Jersey.”

And that was our show for Wednesday November 3, 2004. Wahoo EXTRA!

For those keeping score at home --
sitting in for Anton Fig on Monday: Shawn Pelton
sitting in for Anton Fig the rest of the week: Ralph Rolle

I’m listening to the pundits on the TV this morning. They’re saying how the election’s final results didn’t quite match the early exit polls from Tuesday morning and they are now giving their opinion on why this was so. If I hear one more of them say that “people” put too much credence in the exit polls since, after all, “it was just a poll”, I’ll karate chop the TV. Gee whiz. For 6 months EVERY news program had a report on what the day’s polls were indicating. Now that the exit polls were proven not to be valid in indicating the final election outcome, these same poll touters are tsk-tsking our putting too much belief in them. HEY! IT WASN’T OUR FAULT! You’re the ones who have been reporting the polls every night! Blame yourself! Sheesh.

I saw a guy wearing a button this morning: “Four More Years. Lots More Tears.”

My reaction to Bush winning the election can be explained this way? “How will it affect my commute?”

Well, I guess those who run the National Basketball League are as dim as those who run Major League Baseball. Year after year, baseball schedules off days for teams on high attended game days such as Memorial Day and Labor Day. They also open the season on a continent other than North America. And now the geniuses at the NBA decided to open their 2004 schedule on the same night as the Presidential Election. Geez. Talk about getting lost in the shuffle. Is anybody questioned on this? I would love to know the thinking behind this. I kill myself when I make a typo on one of Dave’s blue cards. I wonder if the guy who scheduled the NBA opening day to go up against the Presidential Election is as hard on himself?

Like most New Yorkers, I gasped when I walked in to the voting booth. “Schumer is up for re-election?” The race for the U.S. Senator from New York barely created a blip around here.

It’s the one year anniversary, plus one day, of the “CBS at 75” Special. Why do I mention this? Because it’s still on the CBS website! That’s right. You won’t want to miss this special CBS extravaganza! Set your TV and TIVO to one year ago on CBS, Sunday, November 2, 2003.

Actually, the CBS at 75 site on the CBS website is pretty good and worth keeping, though it should be tweaked and updated.

Dang it! I thought I had a good baseball scoop and today I read it in the newspapers. For a week now I’ve been saying it would be typical of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner to sign free agent Nomar Garciaparra to play 2nd base. This would put the game’s 3 top shortstops on the same infield. In today’s papers, there it is. Garciaparra is telling friends he would be willing to switch to 2nd base if signed by the Yankees. I will now update my prediction: In a year or two the Yankees will pick up Miguel Tejada from the Orioles to play first base.