Best conflicting US election interpretations: Fox's frozen faces vs Russia's indifference

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly sees that the writing is on the wall

When Ohio turned a decisive blue, Diane Sawyer of ABC News was the first to call victory for Obama in relatively neutral terms, just as David Dimbleby did seconds later on the BBC. It was a done deal but, until then, the election swung according to what you were watching and where.

On Fox News, right-wing pundits began the electoral marathon with smiles, but quickly tired. Their own hope alloyed with optimistic polling will have left many viewers believing Romney had a chance, but it soon gave way to bitterness (Sandy did it, "the white establishment is now the minority," bemoaned Bill O'Reilly, triggering a storm of his own yesterday).

That was mild compared with Fars News, the semi-official Iranian news agency, which ran the headline "The Republican Elephant has been checkmated by the Democratic Donkey". The Independent's man in Moscow tweeted: "Top stories on LifeNews right now: 1. Shooting in N Moscow, 2. Russian Olympic medallist conscripted to army, 3. something about the US."