The scene at the White House was a raucous one. The atmosphere was one you would expect following a huge victory by a college team: the crowd was mostly students from George Washington, Georgetown, and American University, and they were getting rowdy. No one was drunk, but a few of the undergrads, for better or worse, were trying to get there. It was surreal to see a 19- or 20-year old girl, perched on a friend’s shoulders, shotgunning a Natty Ice to a small crowd chanting “U-S-A!” just a few yards from the White House fence.

U-S-A chants were ubiquitous, as were the national anthem and “four more years,” directed at Obama. The crowd filled all of Pennsylvania Ave between Lafayette Park and the White House, with people spilling onto neighboring streets filled with honking cars carrying passengers waving American flags and shouting. An amazing scene.