Let’s not get carried away, but today could be quite something. The interest is obvious for political obsessives — the biggest contest on earth. And for the rest of us? A sense of accumulated significance, of confluence, of arriving at a turning point, what Kevin Rudd might call a fork in the road. These are testing times, markets in chaos, ecology in decay, a world rife with armed conflict and strife. A moment of uncertainty. Let’s hope — that word — that cometh the hour …

Crikey will be watching events in the US with an eagle eye through today. The place to head is our US08 homepage. Here you’ll find a collection of the best coverage from around the web, plus track the voting state by state on First Dog On The Moon’s patented US Results map and electoral college calculator. Crikey bloggers will be on the case, with Guy Rundle, William ‘Pollbludger’ Bowe, Possum Comitatus, Trevor Cook and Mr On The Moon keeping up a running commentary. Join in the chorus at Crikey Blogs. And for up-to-the-minute details, check out our commentators liveblogging their thoughts the moment they happen.

We’ll publish a subscriber email edition as usual at lunchtime and a US election special later this afternoon around 4.30pm AEST as the picture becomes clearer.

Whatever happens, whoever the victor, this is a moment that will shape us. Stay tuned.