Dawn of a new America

President-elect Barack Obama at his victory party in Chicago's Grant Park, attended by an estimated 250,000 supporters

Emotional Obama seals historic election victory

AMERICAN president-elect Barack Obama today promised change and a new dawn of leadership.

The 47-year-old, who will be the first black leader of the United States, spoke after sweeping to a landslide victory in a series of key battleground states.

He pledged to be a president of all Americans and vowed to overcome challenges which were “the greatest of our lifetime”, including two wars, a global economic crisis and a planet in peril.

“I promise you, we as a people will get there,” he said.

Cheered on by tens of thousands of supporters in Chicago’s Grant Park, Mr Obama took to a stage lined with US flags with his wife Michelle and young daughters Malia (10) and seven-year-old Sasha, at his side. Delivering his message of hope and unity, Mr Obama told those whose support he had not won: “I hear your voices, I need your help and I will be your president too.”

He said he would listen to his opponents, adopt a multilateral approach to world affairs and told those watching outside the US that “our stories are singular but our destiny is shared.

“The new dawn of America leadership is at hand,” he said. “To those who would tear the world down, we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security, we support you.

“And to all those who have wondered if American’s beacon still burns as bright, tonight we’ve proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

“That’s the true genius of America.”

He went on: “The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even in one term, but America I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

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

Many in the crowd were crying and even political pundits on major US TV networks wiped tears from their eyes as the man who could transform race relations in America ascended to the highest office in the land.

America is a place where all things are possible and the “dream of our founders” is alive, he said.

“We are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

He said it was time to put “hands on the arc of history and bend it once more to the hope of a better day.

“It’s been a long time coming but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” he said.

He added the “great victory” was won “with a measure of humility and a determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress”.

He said he had received an “extraordinarily gracious” call from his Republican rival John McCain, who had “fought long and hard” for this campaign and for his country.

Mr Obama said he looked forward to working with the 72–year–old Arizona senator in the future. Referring to his ambitious and historic candidacy, Mr Obama said he was never the “likeliest” president.But, he said, he had built his campaign in “the backyards of Des Moines” in Iowa supported by working men and women “who dug into what little savings they had” to give small donations.

A victory in Virginia, declared by US TV networks at 3.58am British time followed by his expected win in California two minutes later, propelled him across the finish line in the 21-month £1.5bn election. The Democrat first appeared unstoppable as he swept a series of key battleground states early in the night with wins in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.

In Ohio, Mr Obama had the help of Governor Ted Strickland, previously a supporter of his former rival Hillary Clinton, as he won over rural areas which went strongly in her favour in the Democratic primary election.

Pennsylvania, another state where Mr Obama lost to Mrs Clinton in the Democratic primary election, was also at the centre of his only gaffe of the campaign, when he told a San Francisco fundraiser that economic frustrations had made small–town Pennsylvania voters “bitter” and driven them to “cling to guns or religion”.

But despite this he won the support of the state’s voters and its 21 electoral votes, giving him a significant boost in the race for the White House.

It was seen as a must–win state by the McCain campaign which had worked relentlessly there.

Mr Obama also won New Hampshire, the scene of two great comebacks for Mr McCain and Mrs Clinton during the primary season — memories which he will now be able to put behind him.

He also took Iowa, where his landmark run for the presidency began in January with a surprisingly strong victory in the state’s first–in–the–nation caucuses.

And, before his inauguration on January 20, he will waste no time in getting to work, with key announcements expected in the next 48 hours.




Challenges ahead for man of hope and vision

CHANGE has been the watchword of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

But turning the huge hopes and expectations that he has generated into practical policies will be a daunting task for an American president taking over in the teeth of the worst economic downturn since the great depression of the 1930s.

There are still another 76 days of George Bush’s presidency to run before Mr Obama’s inauguration on the steps of the Capitol in Washington on January 20.

He intends to hit the ground running and avoid a power vacuum at a critical time by showing that he has a strong team ready and waiting to take over at the end of the two–month transition period.

As he assumed the mantle of president–elect in the closing stages of the campaign, Mr Obama began working on a list of key names who will feature in his Cabinet and White House team.

He has been in regular contact with Treasury officials in Washington about the government rescue plan for the banks.

His aides are already looking up what happened in the first 100 days of the presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt, whose New Deal helped steer the American economy out of the great depression.

As president, Mr Obama will be able to draw from a pool of Democratic governors, former Clinton White House officials and even former presidential candidates.

John Kerry, who lost out to Mr Bush four years ago, has been mooted as a possible secretary of state.

He was an early supporter of Mr Obama in the primaries.

Hillary Clinton may be left out in the cold. After she lost out in the bitter race for the Democratic nomination, Mr Obama decided against naming her as his running mate.

In the closing stages of the campaign, the Republicans resurrected and broadcast unflattering remarks she had made about Mr Obama’s “inexperience”.

Given his desire to show that the winds of change are blowing through Washington, he may want to make a clean break — not just with the Bush but the Clinton years as well.

The steeliness and determination Mr Obama showed during the campaign is likely to be demonstrated in the horsetrading on posts in his administration in the coming weeks.




McCain gracious in defeat

John McCain conceded defeat today in a gracious speech urging his supporters to throw their weight behind the new president.

With running-mate Sarah Palin at his side, the 72-year-old Republican leader said Barack Obama had prevailed in what had been a “long and difficult” contest.

Addressing a subdued crowd in his home state of Arizona, Mr McCain said it was natural to feel disappointed, but called on all Americans to come together to bridge their differences.

He said: “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises — we are fellow Americans.”




What the world said

“The relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is vital to our prosperity and security. Barack Obama ran an inspirational campaign. I know Barack Obama and we share many values.”

— Prime Minister Gordon Brown




“This is an important moment not just for America but for the world. Barack Obama’s victory will give people a new opportunity to look at the United States and see her for what I believe she is — a beacon of opportunity, freedom and democracy.”



— Conservative leader David Cameron




“The world will not succeed in this era of globalisation without the leadership of the new American president. The weight of people’s hopes and expectations on Barack Obama is immense.”



— Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg




“What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself.”



— President George Bush




“We need a new deal for a new world. I sincerely hope that with the leadership of President Obama, the USA will join forces with Europe to drive this new deal, for the benefit of our societies, for the benefit of the world.”



— Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission




::Obama is already odds-on favourite to win the 2012 US election, according to a leading bookmaker. A spokesman for Paddy Power said Obama is 4/5 favourite to win the next presidential election.






::Australia’s prime minister Kevin Rudd said Obama’s victory fulfils the dream of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He said: ““Today, what America has done is turn that dream into a reality.”



::STUDENTS at Obama’s old primary school in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta couldn’t be prouder. Hundreds poured into the playground and danced in the rain on learning that a former classmate would be the next President of the United States. Obama lived in Indonesia from 1967 until 1971.



::Investors piled into the stock market believing that Wall Street is on the verge of a year–end rally. The Dow Jones index shot up 300 points to its highest close in four weeks. It was the biggest election day rally for the Dow, topping the 1.2 per cent gain seen in 1984 when Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale.