Obama wins historic US presidency

WASHINGTON - Americans emphatically elected Democrat Barack Obama as their first black president on Tuesday, in a transformational election which will reshape US politics and the US role on the world stage.

“Tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” Obama told a euphoric crowd of 240,000 tearful supporters after defeating Republican John McCain.

Obama, 47, will be inaugurated the 44th US president on January 20, 2009, and inherit an economy mired in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a nuclear showdown with Iran.

Obama’s win was greeted with euphoria by a vast crowd gathered in his home city of Chicago, as his supporters screamed and waved American flags as they waited for him to arrive to deliver his victory speech.

New York’s Times Square exploded in joy at a moment of healing for America’s racial scars, a huge crowd gathered outside the White House and the result immediately reverberated around the world.

“The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep, we may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there,” Obama said in Chicago.

“I promise you — we as a people will get there.”

Democrats also made huge strides in Congress, and will hold an unshakeable monopoly in power in Washington after a rare generational and political realignment.

After a bilious campaign, McCain was gracious in defeat, and noted that Obama’s election was a moment to cherish for African Americans.

“The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honour of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love,” he said.

“Though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours,” he told a crowd of supporters in Phoenix in his home state of Arizona.
President George W. Bush who has steered his country through eight turbulent years also congratulated Obama.

“Mr President-elect, congratulations to you,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino quoted the president as saying in a phone call to Obama.

“What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. Laura and I called to congratulate you and your good bride.”

Obama’s historic inauguration will complete a stunning ascent to the pinnacle of US and global politics from national obscurity just four years ago and close an eight-year era of turbulence under President George W. Bush.

Chanting and shouting their delight at Obama’s historic win, hundreds of young demonstrators flooded the avenue in front of the White House late Tuesday.
Many in the crowd — chiefly students from Washington-area universities — waved red, white, and blue balloons, others pushed their Obama campaign signs to the sky, most chanted Obama’s name, his “yes, we can” slogan, or “USA! USA!”

Early on Tuesday, he captured the state of Pennsylvania, the key battleground which McCain needed to win to keep his long-shot hopes of victory alive.

And in a sweet moment for Democrats, he also seized the midwestern battleground states of Ohio, Iowa and Indiana as well as the southwestern state of New Mexico, all states won by Bush in 2004 to close McCain’s possible route to the presidency.

He later added Virginia, which had not voted Democrat since 1964. He also won Florida, ground zero of the 2000 recount debacle.
So far Obama had won 28 states including the district of Columbia for 349 electoral votes. McCain had won 20 states but had not broken out of the Republican heartland and the south for 159 electoral votes.
In the Senate, Democrats wrested control of five Republican seats including in the traditionally Republican state of Virginia, followed by New Hampshire, North Carolina and New Mexico.

Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell clung on, meaning that Democrats were highly unlikely to win the 60 seats they need in the 100-seat chamber needed to frustrate Republican obstruction tactics.

Among the Republican casualties was Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, wife of former Senate majority leader and defeated 1996 presidential nominee Bob Dole.

In Mogadishu, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed voiced hope that US president-elect Barack Obama would help end conflict in the world, including in his lawless Horn of Africa nation. “I am congratulating Barack Obama for his election as the president of United States of America,” Yusuf said in a statement released by his spokesman.

Prominent Iranian MP Hamid Reza Haji Babai on Wednesday welcomed the US presidential victory of Democrat Barack Obama as an “opportunity and test,” with Iran now “waiting for that change.” “The election of Obama over (Republican candidate John) McCain is positive,” Haji Babai told AFP.
The world’s media on Wednesday hailed Barack Obama’s election as the first black president as a major milestone in US history, saying it offered a chance to restore America’s standing.

While the result came too late for morning newspapers in Asia, China’s evening dailies splashed with photos of a beaming Obama, with the Legal Evening News proclaiming him as “the first black American president”.

Major US newspapers said Obama must seize the opportunity to reverse some of the damage wrought by Bush to America’s reputation.

Iraq on Wednesday ruled out a “quick disengagement” policy by Washington in the country following Barack Obama’s victory, dispelling hopes of many Iraqis of a rapid withdrawal of US troops.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari welcomed the election of Democrat Obama and said he did not expect an “overnight” change in US policy in war-torn Iraq.

World leaders hailed Obama’s triumph as the start of a new era but there were also calls for the global superpower to change the way it does business.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday praised Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election and urged him to fight poverty and disease throughout the world.

“Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place,” the anti-apartheid icon wrote to Obama in a letter released by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

“We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world.”

What Obama win means

Obama's victory puts a Democrat in charge of the White House for the first time since Bill Clinton left office in January 2001. Below are some of the possible consequences of the move:

Obama has promised an orderly withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and more focus on the war in Afghanistan. Democrats will call on him to carry out his pledge, but the gains made in Iraq in recent months may make it tempting for Obama to stop short of his pledge to pull out one combat brigade per month.

In order to stimulate the weak US economy, Obama is likely to reach an agreement on a second stimulus package to try to get

consumers spending again, unless the package is approved before he takes office in Jan.

Obama is likely to take further steps to regulate the financial industry in the wake of a credit crisis that cost Americans billions of dollars in retirement savings.

He ran on a pledge to give Americans who make less than $200,000 a year
a tax cut, thus reaching 95% of taxpayers, and raise taxes on those making above $250,000 a year. This pledge may be scaled back to give fewer people a tax cut and to include more people among those who would face higher taxes.

Obama has said he would be willing to meet, without preconditions, with leaders of hostile countries such as Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. Look for increased US diplomatic activity with those countries with the aim of determining whether an Obama meeting with the leaders would be worthwhile.