Where We Found Ethan Hawke, Harvey Weinstein, and Jessica Alba Last Night

Though there were a few McCain sympathizers at the fete—Reagan strategist Ed Rollins, ex-governor George Pataki—the majority of the guest list seemed pro-Barack. Actor Josh Lucas told The Daily Beast: "I wore a fucking different Obama T-shirt every day for the last 45 days. I had to take it off today because I had to go vote and you're not allowed in the polling places with Obama regalia. I hope after tomorrow the rest of the world sees we're not all idiot morons."

Another actress there rooting for Barack was Jessica Alba, dressed way down in a black sweater and jeans so as to look almost unrecognizable. She stayed close to the side of Harvey’s wife, Georgina Chapman, who runs the fashion label Marchesa and was wearing a striking gold brocade minidress. When not being squired around the room, Jessica found a few moments to talk shop: "I think we all have to start to see the change we are waiting for," she says. "We need more people that think like him…that are, I don't know, thoughtful?" When asked about Obama's first task in office, Alba suggested, "Helping Americans understand that you are part of the world and can't isolate yourself so much."

Other celebs-turned-political strategists for the night included Gina Gershon (she got around), James Franco, and Gossip Girl's young Taylor Momsen, who at 15 was exempt from the voting process but still out after midnight, celebrating the win in a Marchesa gown. "I can't wait to vote, but I'm not old enough," she told The Beast. "For now I am focusing on other projects; my character is a fashion designer in the show and I will be making my own designs soon and working on a record. It's a lot." She then spent several moments discussing her new shaggy hairstyle, an homage to Joan Jett.

Michael Imperioli said he's "very hopeful for a president that's not so tied into the oil companies and the military industrial complex," while Salman Rushdie looked towards better times: "I came to live in America in 1999, and in a way I feel I got cheated," he said. "Immediately afterwards I got 9/11 and eight years of Bush. I thought, can I please have America back, and we are about to get it back now. It feels great to have a sensible, intelligent, stylish man in the office."

Two hosts of the party, GQ's Jim Nelson and Glamour's Cindi Leive, both admitted to feeling relieved that the party was one of celebration and not an upset. "It's a crap shoot throwing a party on election night," said Nelson. "But this is the final vindication. When I was a kid I remember waking up in Washington, D.C. and hating Ronald Reagan. My mom got the Washington Star. I remember the headline, in giant 72 pt font: REAGAN ERA BEGINS. It was just a dark day, and of course they were right. I feel like I've been living in the Reagan era for 28 years."

Once the clustermash of the Weinstein party dwindled, it was off to the grand ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel for the official New York Democratic Party event. The lights were on full blast in the room, making it possible to see the weepy faces of crowd members as Governor David Paterson took the stage to address Obama's win.

The speech was poignant and heartfelt, especially about the race factor: "The United States of America with its astounding constitution offers Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3, the Article of the Constitution which allowed slavery, which counted Africans as 3.5 of a man. And now, 221 years later, America fulfills its true destiny as an African-American is sworn in. But it’s not just a great day for African-Americans; it's a great day whether you are Asian, Black, Hispanic or white; whether you are disabled, whether you are elderly, whether you are gay or lesbian. Because today we learn if you work hard enough and you try hard enough you can win in America."