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Two-Way readers were pretty smart about when we would hear who won the White House.

It was 11:29 p.m. ET last night when we posted the news that "Obama wins."

And:

"Between 10 p.m. ET and midnight Tuesday" was the most popular choice by the 13,801 readers who answered our "when will we know who won?" question. It was picked by 32.2 percent.

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Now, we want to turn to the international arena. The race for the White House last night had people around the world glued to their TVs and radios and reaction is pouring in from political figures around the globe.

Here is a small sample of what we've been hearing, starting with a spokesperson for the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

JENAN MOUSSA: We look forward to advancing our existing strong, broad, multifaceted partnership with the United States.

CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL: (Foreign language spoken)

Host Michel Martin has been checking in with two former speechwriters throughout the election season to sort through the rhetoric, and find out what messages struck a chord with voters. She reviews campaign messaging, and Tuesday night's victory and concession speeches with former presidential speechwriters Mary Kate Cary and Paul Orzulak.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. We're sure you know this by now, but just in case, President Obama won reelection and will serve a second term in office.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I believe we can seize this future together, because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We are not cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America.

New York and New Jersey, already battered by Superstorm Sandy, are bracing for winds of up to 60 mph, snow and rain.

A nor'easter is forecast to race up the east coast of the United States today and tomorrow. NPR's Richard Harris reports the National Weather Service says the storm will affect the mid-Atlantic as weel.

Richard filed this report for our Newscast unit:

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Let's hear two strong points of view on last night's election.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Jonathan Chait is a liberal columnist for New York magazine. Welcome back to the program.

JONATHAN CHAIT: Thank you.

MONTAGNE: And Jonah Goldberg is a conservative columnist and editor-at-large for National Review Online. Welcome to the show.

JONAH GOLDBERG: Hey, thanks for having me.

Republicans and independent analysts didn't think there was any way President Obama could reassemble the coalition that enthusiastically backed him in 2008. But Michael Dimock of the Pew Research Center found a few surprises in exit polls. Dimock talks with Steve Inskeep about the exit polling data.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin sent word congratulating President Obama on his victory. Still, as NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Moscow, during the campaign, the Russian government and state-run media sough to discredit the American electoral process.

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In China, President Obama's re-election has been greeted with muted relief, as NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Beijing.

LOUISA LIM, BYLINE: As the vote closed in the U.S., ballots were still being cast in Beijing at a mock voting booth at the U.S. embassy's election party. For Chinese students like Lily Zhang and Zhang Weiwen, the novelty of voting was a heady experience.

LILY ZHANG: It was great. The first time I vote for the American president. That's very amazing and I'm very honored.

LIM: So who did you vote for?

The Maryland Dream Act, which allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, will stand.

With a 58 to 42 split, voters rejected a measure that sought to overturn legislation passed by lawmakers last year.

Inside Higher Ed reports:

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And it was no ordinary Election Day either in Belmar, New Jersey, one of the beach towns that was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Some of the regular polling places were flooded out and town officials had to come up with new ways to get voters to the polls. NPR's Jim Zarolli reports.

JIM ZAROLLI, BYLINE: These days the Belmar Town Hall has been turned into a kind of rescue center for displaced residents, a place where they can get food and clothing. And yesterday they could vote, too.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. Let's talk about the gender gap in the election results. We're joined now by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. She's on the line. Welcome to the program.

CELINDA LAKE: Thank you for having me.