Election Night

     It's  almost 5:00 in the afternoon on Election Day here in Alabama as I write this.
     Many voters across the country, maybe most, have had their say, and the fates of candidates and issues and, some will argue, the future of the country, has been determined.
     I sat with Governor Bentley and Commerce Department Director Greg Canfield for about an hour this morning as he talked and answered questions with a small group of reporters.

• He'll vote FOR nine of the amendments on the ballot. He'll leave unchecked the two that are strictly local in nature.
• He defends the most controversial amendment---#2---that AEA and other groups oppose. (See my previous post about it.) It is supposed to "remove racist language from the 1901 Alabama Constitution", though critics say it also removes any requirement for the state to fund public education. Bentley says there is no way the state would refuse to fund a statewide school school system, regardless what the constitutions says.
• He hopes folks vote for Amendment 2, which allows the state to refinance some bonds, raising extra money for incentives to lure businesses to Alabama. He sees the incentives as an unhappy necessity. He says any money the state pledges to companies includes "clawbacks", requirements that the money be repaid if the firm fails to meet certain hiring quotas on a set schedule. There are companies the state has gone after for that reason, but not many.

     Virtually the entire CBS 8 staff will be working on election returns tonight, and with the considerable resources of CBS News correspondents across the country, we'll provide a night of expert coverage for Montgomery viewers.
      As for me, since I'll be getting up in the middle of the night, I'll try to sleep tonight, but I suspect I'll be looking at TV off and all night long. Please join us for CBS 8 This Morning starting at 5:00am!