"If we can find out who did it, we will do what we can to prosecute the individual. This is very serious." That's what a spokesman for George Mason University told the Washington Post about an email sent from the provost's personal account to 35,000 students, staff and faculty this morning. The email simply stated that today's election had been moved to tomorrow. I would say "nice try," except this doesn't even qualify as a nice try.

♦ Unlike the Marc Jacobs store window in LA, which is mocking Sarah Palin, Henri Bendel's display is bipartisan, with mannequins flanked by red and blue polling booths. In more other Marc news, you can add his "Rock and Roll Circus" holiday party to the list of festivites that have been cancelled due to the economic downturn. [WWD, WWD]
♦ Madison Avenue is "pockmarked" with vacant storefronts, reflecting "sky-high rents and how cautious and dollar-conscious European and American brands have become in their expansion plans." [WWD]
♦ Donna Karan is opting not to spend money shooting an ad campaign for spring '09; instead, the company will just use images from the runway show. If this is going to be a trend, models and photographers might want to consider a side job. [The Cut]

Americans don't have any original ideas, they just reproduce what they've seen in the movies and go from there. With that in mind, we've surveyed the four main cinematic archetypes of the Black President and placed the favorite for a win today into a convenient box. If Obama ends up the last candidate left standing, which president in the following clip is he?Hollywood has offered takes of varying quality on the concept of an African-American commander-in-chief for years. In the above clip from Nick McGlynn, the White House occupant takes on various archetypes: Chris Rock in Head of State: Rock's said a lot of smart things about race over the years, even joking about what he'd do if a black man ever became vice president. In Head of State, he and co-director Bernie Mac present a black candidate set up to lose who captivates a national audience by speaking his own thoughts. Instead of selling out his black supporters, Rock casts all discretion aside and gets the big win. Morgan Freeman in Deep Impact: Freeman's race is of no particular importance in this comet action charmer from 1998. He's the president just because his dulcet tones are calm and reassuring to a frightened white populace as he announces the certain devastation of the Wolf-Biederman comet. When Freeman's in control, you just know things won't get that bad. James Earl Jones in The Man: In this 1972 adaptation of an Irving Wallace novel, the president and all those in line before the President pro tempore of the United States Senate perish. James Earl Jones gets the job. Once in office, various powers try to turn him into a puppet, but he capably navigates challenges from the right and left, despite his ascendance to the presidency being essentially an accident. Tiny Lister in The Fifth Element: The futuristic milieu of Luc Besson's 1997 Bruce Willis actioner posits an assertive black president who dresses in bright colors on a shiny spaceship. Lister's president is just another representation of a wild future that's meant to appear as outlandish as possible. Lister's Black President is basically a flying car: a bright symbol of false power against an unstoppable force. Despite the McCain's campaign's attempt to tarnish Obama as a Paris Hilton-style celebrity, he's avoided the novelty tag throughout the entire campaign. He's more comfortable positioning himself as the ultimate empathetic politician, as in his campaign infomercial, and in these dire economic times, Morgan Freeman's calm demeanor in the face of a comet is probably what we need most.

Back in September of 2007, a series of amusing "Rudy Giliani ads" were released to YouTube by a mysterious user named "abrad2345." One of them is attached. A year later, we were pointed to a blog and video series called "The Last Republican" by a "McCain advisor" named Martin Eisenstadt. Martin Eisenstadt is a gifted, funny satirist. Sorry for messing up your game, Martin, 'cause we like you, but the election's done, you've had your fun. And hey everyone else on the internet—the story of Joe the Plumber attending the SNL afterparty and hooking up with Kristen Wiig? It is bullshit. Or "a joke." You're welcome. Now go watch his videos, they're pretty funny.

We were a little surprised to find out a while ago that actor Dennis Hopper is a longtime Republican — sure, he appeared in the right-wing satire An American Carol, but so, too, did he make Meet the Deedles. Today, though, during a hushed, absorbing two-and-a-half minute monologue on The View, Hopper detailed the Jefferson-led conversion that led him to become a Reagan Republican, as well as a deeply personal story that eventually led to his unlikely presidential vote for Barack Obama. If this clip somehow ends up getting taped over the "Crash series" part of Hopper's reel, we can't say we'll be surprised.

US News has been scaled back again. The Mort Zuckerman-owned magazine first cut back in June when it announced it would become a bi-weekly. Now comes word the fading news magazine is going monthly. Coming soon: US Quarterly! [Fishbowl DC]

Not hitting up Lead21's party for the Valley's Republican scene? Think London and Sterling Communications are sponsoring an election-night bash at 111 Minna. All of you Web 2.0 summit attendees without a couch to sit on can livestream the election results to the back beat of brit-pop. If you're planning on microblogging the historic night, raise a glass to democracy with Current, Digg, and Twitter. The new-media trio will be at 330 Ritch with real-time coverage and commentary from 5-10 p.m. Outside the City, drink liberally with Democrats at the Fireside Grill in Sunnyvale or cheers to conservatism with Republicans at the Maltby's Restaurant & Tavern in Los Altos. Whatever you do, just don't forget your "I Voted" sticker. (Photo by cursedthing)

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If you had "feminist Web series" for the win in your What's Next For Amy Poehler? brackets, congratulations. After ditching Saturday Night Live for maternity leave and months of lingering attachments to a rumored Office spinoff, Poehler will officially be back onscreen in less than two weeks with her online effort Smart Girls at the Party.Kind of like The View, but skewing much younger, funnier and less dramatically hormonal, Smart Girls was announced in September as Poehler's paean to "girls who have unique talents and interests." ON Networks originally planned an October launch, later a casualty of Poehler's maternity leave that has since been pushed back to Nov. 17. Expect the last of special guest Tina Fey's Sarah Palin sketches to appear here as well, casting the Alaska governor as a heartening symbol of what American girls can accomplish with even the most modest flute and firearms skills. Until then, the trailer is below. Click to view

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 280 points on this crazy election day. Draw your own conclusions. [A pretty stock chart]

It's over! It's all over! Tomorrow the campaign will be done! No more caring about what crazy things John McCain and his bitchy friend said on the news, no more feeling bad for him despite yourself, no more checking 538 (sorry Nate Silver, you're obsolete now!), no more forwarded YouTube clips from your mom, or your coworker, or some lunatic internet person. Boy, if we were assholes, we'd write something about how this was "the YouTube election." But instead we will just post the YouTubes themselves, from 2004 through the never-ending primaries, through the finally ending general election. All your favorites are here! Come pal around with crying Hillary the Senator, stare deep into Mike Gravel's eyes, and don't look your opponent in the eyes, after the jump. Back in 2004, this guy named Barack Obama gave a really really good speech at the Democratic National Convention. Watch it again, if you haven't lately, because it's really good. Can you believe we're gonna elect this guy?

Oprah has been busy planning what to wear to Barack Obama's inauguration. In fact, she says she's been making her plans since she met up with Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy, and Maria Shriver back in February: "I created a vision board. I had never had a vision board before. I came home, I got me a board and put Barack Obama's picture on it and I put a picture of my dress I want to wear to the inauguration." [Stylewatch]

The FCC is having its own vote today, on whether or not to allow future wireless gadgets to operate in parts of the radio spectrum already in use by wireless microphones. Google is all for the new spectrum-sharing policy. Professional musicians and their audio engineers are dead set against it.In theory, smartphones will detect when a wireless mic is in use in the area, and not interfere with it. In practice, who are they kidding? New York City's Broadway League is campaigning to keep that part of the radio spectrum free for roughly 450 wireless microphones used in Manhattan's theater district. Out here, I'll be furious if Journey's next show at Shoreline is ruined when 853 Google employees check their mail during "Wheel in the Sky." (Photo by Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)

Ogilvy, one of the world's most famous ad agencies, encourages all of its staffers to vote! "We'd like to remind you that the future of your country depends on making your voice count," they write in an internal email. So how are they helping their employees exercise their rights? By telling them that if the long lines at polling places make them miss the "minimum required hours of work time," then they have to use a vacation day today. Well, they sure are bastards. The full email below:

Looks like it's the end of the line for financier Henry Silverman and his wife Nancy. David Patrick Columbia hears the former Blackstone honcho and Realogy CEO is splitting up with his wife to "taste the wines of youth," if you catch his drift. "This would be, I would imagine, a very expensive divorce." [NYSD]

While her rendition of "Bound For Fun" at the 1985 Little Miss Shayna Maidel pageant was an undisputed triumph, Sarah Silverman's more recent performance in London was slightly more controversial. The press was ruthless, calling her "overhyped," "as funny as Tay-Sachs disease," and "the worst thing to happen to England since Princess Margaret discovered Pilates." Shortly after, we located some audience video and posted it; while the audio was muffled, it seemed to us that there was genuine affection for Silverman in the room.Asked about the incident by the NY Post, the comedian insisted the show was a rousing success, a reciprocal love fest between performer and audience that was unfairly spun by the media into a public relations disaster. As evidence, Silverman cited Defamer's own post. (She knows we work in our boxers out of that giant laundromat/Starbucks thing in Echo Park, right? OK—just checking.) She explains:

We don't know if our tipster was drunk or if the event got relocated after we wrote about it, but Lead21's election-night viewing party, which we had heard was due to be held at the house of Facebook board member Peter Thiel, is now taking place at Jones, a sports bar and steakhouse in San Francisco near Thiel's Marina-district mansion. (The rationale for the locale: Jones has more televisions for watching the results.) Thiel is a major player in Lead21, and has hosted previous election-night parties for San Francisco's Republican minority, we're told, but he may skip this one because of his travel plans. Still, if you want to get a gander of guests of honor Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, the tech CEOs turned McCain advisors, show up at Jones starting at 5 p.m. The bar remains open to the public during the event, so you're not technically crashing. (Photo by AP/Dharapak)

Has Rupert Murdoch made a terrible miscalculation? Michael Wolff thinks so! Wolff, Murdoch's newest biographer, says that the New York Post's uncharacteristically fawning Obama-centric cover today is Murdoch's way of apologizing to the future president (Obama) for the Post's endorsement of McCain. In fact, it's been widely rumored for months that Murdoch wanted the Post to endorse Obama. So what's going on here? Rupert Murdoch has always been canny about getting in good with those in power, even if they're from the party he opposes. He made nice with Tony Blair in the UK. And the Post did in fact endorse Obama over Hillary Clinton, once it was clear Obama would win. Besides that, Murdoch's pet paper the Sun in the UK pretty much deified Obama. And even Fox News managed to work out an Obama interview with Bill O'Reilly, when they weren't calling him "Osama" and such. So why didn't Rupert just get the Post to go ahead and endorse Obama in the general election? Two reason. One of those reasons is named "Sarah Palin." Murdoch flirted with her coyly, and ended up tentatively supporting her convoluted policy proposals in public. It may be that he fell in love with her personality (the same mistake McCain made), or just came to the conclusion that, dumb as she is, at least she wasn't likely to push for any more regulation of his business if she came into office when McCain keeled over. The second reason is more basic: a Post endorsement of Obama just wasn't practical. It would defeat the paper's very reason for existence, which is to be a rabid conservative voice in the midst of the liberal NYC media. So Rupert Murdoch just allowed them to endorse McCain, then set about sending every possible signal that he's willing to be friendly with Obama after he wins. Not that dumb after all.

I imagine most of you won't blink an eye if I tell you that Serena Software just laid off 10 percent of its 900-employee workforce. Layoffs have become a predictable, opportunistic excuse for poorly managed companies to conduct house-cleaning, a reflexive overreaction to turbulent markets which may well end up lengthening the recession. Serena Software is a software company whose software other software companies use to make software — right, exactly, the kind of boring company people do their best to ignore. Last year, CEO Jeremy Burton forced employees to spend an hour every Friday using Facebook. As late as June, the policy managed to garner press for the company from credulous hacks. But we think some of those employees now wish they'd ignored the Facebook diktat and spent Fridays working.

In a YouTube video, Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales opines about foreign policy. We love how the video producer added in visuals for every "err." We wonder: Is Wales stumbling over his words because he doesn't really believe what he's saying?Wales has long been an Objectivist, a follower of the writings and political philosophy of Ayn Rand, who thoroughly rejected altruism. Wales's statements in the video thoroughly contradict Objectivist thinking on foreign policy, which boils down to "an eye for an eye" and "screw the United Nations." He also contradicts his own privately expressed political views. But that just makes him a clever capitalist: He knows he can get more speaking gigs overseas by feigning Euroliberalism.