IT'S OFFICIAL, BARACK OBAMA WILL BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT!

[soloist]

Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation's first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. "Change has come," he told a jubilant hometown Chicago crowd.

The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his historic triumph by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Iowa and more. He captured Virginia and Indiana, too, the first candidate of his party in 44 years to win either.

Obama's election capped a meteoric rise — from mere state senator to president-elect in four years.

Spontaneous celebrations erupted from Atlanta to New York and Philadelphia as word of Obama's victory spread. Supporters filled Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.

In his first speech as victor, to well over 100,000 people in Grant Park in Chicago, Obama catalogued the challenges ahead. "The greatest of a lifetime," he said, "two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."

He added, "There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face."

McCain called his former rival to concede defeat — and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. "The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly," McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.

President Bush added his congratulations from the White House, where his tenure runs out on Jan. 20. "May God bless whoever wins tonight," he had told dinner guests earlier.

Obama, in his speech, invoked the words of Lincoln, recalled Martin Luther King Jr., and seemed to echo John F. Kennedy.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder," he said.

He and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009. McCain remains in the Senate.

Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, returns to Alaska as governor after a tumultuous debut on the national stage.

He will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.

The popular vote was close — 51.7 percent to 47 percent with 84 percent of all U.S. precincts tallied — but not the count in the Electoral College, where it mattered most.

There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.

Shortly after 2 a.m. in the East, The Associated Press count showed Obama with 349 electoral votes, well over the 270 needed for victory. McCain had 144 after winning states that comprised the normal Republican base, including Texas and most of the South.
By comparison, Bush won the White House twice, and never tallied more than 286 electoral votes.

Four states remained unsettled — Georgia, Missouri, Montana and North Carolina. All voted for Bush in 2004.

Interviews with voters suggested that almost six in 10 women were backing Obama nationwide, while men leaned his way by a narrow margin. Just over half of whites supported McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.

The results of the AP survey were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters. Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.

In Washington, the Democratic leaders of Congress celebrated.

"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology but a mandate for change," said Senate Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Said Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California: "Tonight the American people have called for a new direction. They have called for change in America."

Democrats also acclaimed Senate successes by former Gov. Mark Warner in Virginia, Rep. Tom Udall in New Mexico and Rep. Mark Udall in Colorado. All won seats left open by Republican retirements.

In New Hampshire, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen defeated Republican Sen. John Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 race, and Sen. Elizabeth Dole fell to Democrat Kay Hagan in North Carolina.

Biden won a new term in Delaware, a seat he will resign before he is sworn in as vice president.

The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, survived a scare in Kentucky.

In Georgia, Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss hoped to avoid a December runoff. His was one of four races that were uncalled. The others were in Alaska, Minnesota and Oregon, and in each, Republican incumbents hoped to eke out victories.

The Democrats piled up gains in the House, as well.

They defeated eight Republican incumbents, including 22-year veteran Chris Shays in Connecticut, and picked up nine more seats where GOP lawmakers had retired.

At least four Democrats lost their seats, including Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney, turned out of office after admitting to two extramarital affairs while serving his first term in Florida. In Louisiana, Democratic Rep. Don Cazayoux lost the seat he had won in a special election six months ago.

The resurgent Democrats also elected a governor in one of the nation's traditional bellwether states when Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon won his race.

An estimated 187 million voters were registered, and in an indication of interest in the battle for the White House, 40 million or so had already voted as Election Day dawned.

Obama sought election as one of the youngest presidents, and one of the least experienced in national political affairs.

That wasn't what set the Illinois senator apart, though — neither from his rivals nor from the other men who had served as president since the nation's founding more than two centuries ago. A black man, he confronted a previously unbreakable barrier as he campaigned on twin themes of change and hope in uncertain times.

McCain, a prisoner of war during Vietnam, a generation older than his rival at 72, was making his second try for the White House, following his defeat in the battle for the GOP nomination in 2000.

A conservative, he stressed his maverick's streak. And although a Republican, he did what he could to separate himself from an unpopular president.

For the most part, the two presidential candidates and their running mates, Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, spent weeks campaigning in states that went for Bush four years ago.

McCain and Obama each won contested nominations — the Democrat outdistancing former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton — and promptly set out to claim the mantle of change.

Obama won California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

McCain had Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

He also won at least four of Nebraska's five electoral votes, with the other one in doubt.

-YHN-

[KenseidenXL]

It's not official until the Electoral College casts their ballots. Read your Constitution...

[soloist]

Official according
to the article.
Please r-
ead.

[soloist]

Actually, the site in which I retrieved
this information displayed the el-
ectorial college votes along
with John McCains con-
ceding, but being o-
ne not to argue
or debate, I
simply w-
ait it
ou-
t.

[Frong]

Well, here's hoping he and his buddies in Congress don't fook up the economy and run up the federal deficit too much higher with all their insane spending. That and neglect national security like Clinton did to the point where we get attacked again. Honestly, the latter one worries me more; at least the economy functions regardless of who's in office. At least now I won't have to listen to Europe whine about how much they hate the president.

[Masamune]

I don't care what race or Religion the President or even who it is. It's not going to fix the problems we have now. I want to see intelligent results and kept promises. Then, I will celebrate.

[Diofan]

It's not official until the Electoral College casts their ballots. Read your Constitution...

Or if the opponent concedes...

[Frong]

I don't care what race or Religion the President or even who it is. It's not going to fix the problems we have now. I want to see intelligent results and kept promises. Then, I will celebrate.

Got that right. Let's wait and see first if Obama actually changes much of anything, as he promised repeatedly to do, and if he does, whether it's good change or not. Campaign promises large and small are very easily dispensed, but not so easily upheld.

[Nakor]

Yeah, an important thing to keep in mind. He's still a politician.

He does have good leadership skills. Hopefully he can surround himself with strong leaders and make a difference. It'd be nice if he could mend a bit of the split between Canada and the US as well.

[KenseidenXL]

Read the US Constitution, Article II, section 1.The election is NOT official until the Electoral College reports their votes to the Congress in January.

[Frong]

OK, so arguing semantics over the use of the word "official" here is now officially over. No one cares, since Obama won't be the president until January either way. Whether or not it's official right now is meaningless.

He does have good leadership skills. Hopefully he can surround himself with strong leaders and make a difference. It'd be nice if he could mend a bit of the split between Canada and the US as well.

I wouldn't count on it as far as trade with Canada goes. Obama has exhibited a tendency to lean towards protectionism, or at least he does if some of what he said while campaigning is to be believed. By that I mean that he might screw with NAFTA, and that's not likely going to make many Canadians happy (I think? do feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). McCain was staunchly in favor of NAFTA and free trade; you might actually see the opposite under Obama, depending upon which of his campaign statements he ends up adhering to.

[soloist]

What people tend to forget is that
cleaning the mess that the pr-
evious administration m-
ade will take a while,
so it's possible th-
at changes will
not take pla-
ce until n-
ext te-
rm.





T-
hou-
gh inst-
ant gratif-
ication is the
want so his eve-
ry action will be un-
der scrutiny. I overhe-
ard one woman already b-
laming him for the DOW dro-
p just moments ago..... so far.

[Nakor]

I wouldn't count on it as far as trade with Canada goes. Obama has exhibited a tendency to lean towards protectionism, or at least he does if some of what he said while campaigning is to be believed. By that I mean that he might screw with NAFTA, and that's not likely going to make many Canadians happy (I think? do feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). McCain was staunchly in favor of NAFTA and free trade; you might actually see the opposite under Obama, depending upon which of his campaign statements he ends up adhering to.

Yeah, that's why I didn't mention trade . . . but trade wasn't the only reason Canadians in general have had poor opinion of the US.

I understand Obama was in favour of removing NAFTA altogether, or was at some point, but I don't think he's fool enough to actually do it. I can't imagine what would happen should all the water and electricity that heads south of the border get heavy taxation. Keep in mind, it's not the seller but the buyer of goods that suffers the customs fees, and we have a trade surplus with the USA. It'd fill the federal government's pockets down there, but the price might be too high.

And consider when it was only softwood lumber being taxed. Companies on both sides of the border suffered and shutdown. American companies because they couldn't afford the border fees to import, or the higher priced softwood within the states, and Canadian companies because they lost buyers. Everyone lost there. It just doesn't make any sense.

Anyway, off track of my original point, which was that hopefully Obama can try to turn America into the sort of country that Canada will actually be able to get along with, both on the level of direct relations, but also based on how they act on the international playing field.

[Diofan]

270 Electoral votes are all that are needed to be named president. By Wednesday morning the count was well over 300 for Obama. Ken, I'm not at all happy about the outcome, but Obama did win the election. He got the toe 270 mark long before McCain.

Those of us who supported McCain, the tide has turned, Obama criticized Bush's every move. It's Our turn to do the same for Obama.

[wavemeister]

At least now I won't have to listen to Europe whine about how much they hate the president.

Hey, we have our own president to hate - and believe me, all Americans regardless of being Democrats or Republicans would fall into a collective whining if they had to endure our...our...damn, I can neither say "gouvernment" nor "administration", since both terms imply that there are people with the slightest inkling of what they are doing.

But at least Angela Merkel will be especially sad, as she will lose a safe and warm cave to rest her head in. On the other hand, we probably don't have to weld our duct covers anymore if the new POTUS visits Germany, and the people who accidentally happen to live near the places Obama is going to visit are probably not kept in their homes anymore like Honecker did with the people of Güstrow when chancellor Schmidt paid a visit to this place in 1981 (at this time, our beloved leaderess was a member of the SED-youth organisation FDJ, concerned with agitation and propaganda...but such small potatoes are no reason to ban someone from leading a democratic country, huh?).

But apart from things like these, I have learned to like Bush - he was a funny guy. Only his last job choice wasn't the best one, but this wasn't his fault entirely.