On the eve of the election, Barack Obama's grandmother has died. Updates to come.

With the eleventh hour of the election striking, I started thinking about what happens next? Specifically, what happens to all the extra money raised by the candidates during the campaign. Well, by Obama anyway. McCain's stint on SNL had him hawking wares on QVC, which might not be too far from the truth. So, what happens to all of Obama's extra money? He has, after, raised a combined $600 million dollars in the primaries and the general election.

I poked around quite a bit and found that Slate had the best breakdown of post-campaign finances. I've used the information there as a template for my breakdown below.

Here goes:

Because he did not accept public financing, Obama does not have to submit his books to the Federal Election Committee. The private money means that he does not have to refund any money back to the Treasury because he didn't take any.

He will, of course, have to pay off creditors, but he has more than enough money to do that. He is allowed to save the money for his reelection campaign. He is also allowed to give the money to the Democratic National Committee or a Democratic state party, which can then be disbursed by them.
Continued after the jump.
He can give the money to charity provided he will not receive compensation from that charity with the money provided. And, he can refund the money to each of the individual donors.

The campaign funds can't be used for personal reasons, but leftover campaign funds "may be used to defray any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the recipient's duties as a holder of Federal office, if applicable." If Obama loses he is also permitted to use the excess cash to defray "the costs of winding down" his presidential bid, although he's only permitted 6 months to use the money to close up shop.

Obama cannot simply transfer his remaining money to another candidate, bu he can make donations to other candidates according to the rules that govern individual contributions—a maximum of $2,000.

And, if Obama gets into any legal trouble, the FEC might allow him to use some of the left-over in his defense.

The first reviews for Milk couldn't have come at a better time. I chose the Milk preview for today's Media Bar because I really wanted to loop gay rights into the larger example of the successes of the civil rights movements of the past decades, Variety says:which is what so much of this election season has been about. And the reviews are glowing.

And on a project whose greatest danger lay in its potential to come across as agenda-driven agitprop, the filmmakers have crucially infused the story with qualities in very short supply today -- gentleness and a humane embrace of all its characters, even of the entirely vilifiable gunman, Dan White.

And from The Hollywood Reporter:

"Milk," written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant, is the first great film to look at civil rights from the perspective of the gay movement . . . Yes, it's a biopic, a love story, a civil rights movie and sharp political and social commentary. But it transcends any single genre as a very human document that touches first and foremost on the need to give people hope.

The film is superbly crafted, covering huge amounts of time, people and the zeitgeist without a moment of lapsed energy or inattention to detail. Even the opening moments -- black-and-white archival footage of cops rousting men covering their faces from gay bars of the '50s and '60s, the kind of harassment that led to the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York -- offer a poignant reminder of what was not that long ago.

You can watch the trailer for the movie in today's Media Bar. Is there a better reminder that when our leaders won't stand up for us, we can stand up for ourselves? Milk opens Wednesday, Nov. 26

New York Magazine has an amazing interview with my girlfriend, Rachel Maddow.

[Rachel and her girlfriend are] both nonchalant about the fact that Maddow is the first openly gay woman to host a prime-time news show.

“We kind of forget we’re gay,” says Mikula. “We live in western Mass and New York and it’s very accommodating. Every once and a while I’ll say, ‘Oh my God, we’re gay.’ ”

“I’ve been out most of my life,” says Maddow. “I don’t feel like I have a choice about it. I look gay.”

Mikula has shared in some of the decision-making about The Rachel Maddow Show, encouraging her partner to wear makeup—without it, “she looked like a dead person”—and providing wardrobe advice. Maddow has long prided herself on her androgynous appearance; early in her radio career, the hosts at her morning show once took her out on the street to have passersby try to guess her gender as a stunt.

I think so much of Maddow's appeal is the sense that she is absolutely comfortable in her own skin. She is brilliant, yes, and her ease frees up her brain to work even more effectively.

Wanda Sykes talks to Ellen about Prop 8.

"Five Years on Mars" -- Did anyone else this this one-hour special on The National Geographic Channel? I loved watching those cute little Mars Rovers. It was "Wall-E." Only good.

Adam Levine throws Halloween party

The New York Times has a great interview with Rutina Wesley, the actress on "True Blood" who plays Tara Thornton, the smart, mean and sexy best friend of Sookie.
“I get to create this girl and make her not the stereotypical — for lack of a better phrase — black woman with an attitude. We see a lot of that. But with Tara we’re also going to see a woman who has been through a lot of things.”

Gay double wedding, includes the father of the groom. I think I saw that on Ashton Cruz . . . .

Ryan Reynolds runs the New York City Marathon in 3:50:22.

John Cho, of Harold and Kumar fame (and the new Sulu in the new Star Trek) comes out against Prop 8

Heroes execs fired! Better late than never . . . .

Prisons go green (There was a dumb prison-sex joke that I resisted here. You're welcome.)

Below, a hot Anderson Cooper and his package work out with Kelly Ripa last week.
.

Via Charmants: Soccer player, actor, model, Frédérick Malahieude. I was kind of in the mood for a manly kind of guy this morning. I'm thinking tomorrow my mood might veer a little more to the dirty-boyish.

Click thumbnails below to enlarge. (They are borderline NSFW)
There are two bonus pics after the jump that are most definitely NSFW (R-rated).

Barack Obama was interviewed by MTV. He was asked questions submitted by viewers. When asked about gay marriage and Prop 8, this is what he said:

I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them.

I've been hoping he would make make one final statement that told the world that we are fully human, and this is what we get. This is beyond disappointing. When Obama says he understands civil rights, when he says he is the product of the civil rights movement, when he says he wants to be the President of all Americans, we have to know that he is not speaking to us. He can't be. How could he tell us he knows the importance of the civil rights fight and then not fight for civil rights? When African-American voters in CA might decide the outcome of Prop 8, Obama could and should make a statement reminding all of us of our shared struggles? It might not be politically expedient to stand up for gay marriage right now, to stand up for a basic human right, but isn't that when you need to stand up the most?

Yes, Obama is far and away the best choice for President, and I will be voting for him, but we need to know what it is we're getting. He is Hope. He is Change. But is he hope and change for us?