Wow. That’s the word that comes to mind when I think about John McCain’s concession speech Tuesday night. For the first time since 2000, he looked like he was speaking from his heart. He was relaxed, sincere and connected with the audience. It is no surprise that so many people in the audience and at home shed a tear. It was an incredible moment for McCain.

That being said, what would have happened if he reached out to voters that effectively earlier in the game? It’s difficult to say, but the outcome may have been very different.

But election night happened. If you were like most people you had the TV tuned to CNN, Fox, MSNBC or ABC. You probably also noticed that each network, especially CNN was very careful not to call the winner before they were absolutely sure who it was. Nobody wanted an embarrassing broadcast like four years ago.

Interestingly enough, Fox seemed to be the most on top of things. Many times, they called states for either Obama or McCain far before CNN. Take Georgia for example. Fox called the southern state more than half an hour before CNN.

The networks were so careful that one moment the viewer was waiting for a state winner, and all of the sudden it was announced that Obama had won the presidency. The news stations clearly had information that they were slow to air.

Those of you who watched CNN saw the throwback to Star Trek they put on. It was, in one word, ridiculous. Suddenly, Will.i.am was beamed into the studio near a completely shell-shocked looking Anderson Cooper. Why they chose the rapper is beyond me. Why they chose to break out a hologram in the middle of election coverage is even more baffling. It was completely distracting to the viewer and did not add to the broadcast. If anything, it was a ploy to set the network apart from the others, but in reality it was just plain unnecessary.

Overall, the media coverage on election night was poor. CNN’s decision to use a hologram was laughable. It distracted the audience and even Cooper! Nothing in his facial expression said that he enjoyed “beaming” people into the studio. Though it was said to be more intimate, the hologram took away from the events happening in Chicago. It instead focused on the new technology the station was using. CNN should have saved it for the Superbowl or World Series.