Posted by The PM News on
African-American, Senator Barack Obama, 47, swept to victory, last night, as America's first black president-elect, in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.
African-American, Senator Barack Obama, 47, swept to victory, last night, as America's first black president-elect, in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.
At the last tally, by 10.a.m, Nigerian time, he had won a total of 349 electoral college votes, 79 votes more than the 270 needed to win the presidency. His Republican rival, Senator John McCain, won 147 electoral college votes. Obama also led McCain in popular votes, clinching 61.6 million votes to McCain's 54.8 million.
'Change has come to America,' he told a jubilant hometown Chicago crowd, midnight, Chicago time. 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.
His victory confirmed the adage that '80 per cent of life is showing up'.The Obama campaign machine made Indiana and Florida a major focus.
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Obama personally campaigned in Florida 11 times, one of them with former president Clinton. In Indiana, Obama also visited frequently, such that after casting his ballot Tuesday, Obama dashed to the state to persuade voters to back him. In addition, the Obama camp set up an elaborate grassroot mobilisation structure, never witnessed in the state in previous elections.
Obama volunteers flooded the state, knocking on doors, making contacts, such that by election day, at least 37 per cent of voters said they had been contacted by the Obama team. In contrast, 23 per cent said they had contact with the McCain team. No wonder, 62 per cent of the voters contacted said they voted Obama, compared to 32 per cent that voted McCain.
Obama's camp's hardwork did not pay off in all states, however. In Western Virginia, Republican candidate, McCain, won all the electoral college votes. But the same state elected Democrats as the governor and senator.In contrast, Obama won Virginia.
Contrary to claims by pundits that Obama's roller coaster to victory would be helped by a massive turn out of African-American voters, actual figures indicated that the turn out was not extraordinary, the MSN reported. Although African-Americans were extremely loyal to Obama in some states, recording 93 per cent of votes for Obama, the turn-out was about the same level or only slightly higher than what was recorded in 2004. This was the experience in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida, which Obama won, and Mississippi which he lost to McCain.
To show that his victory was not only via the back of African-Americans, Obama also won in states with relatively small African-American population. The economy, more than any other factor, was the major propeller of his victory. A preponderance of voters in Ohio, hard hit by US parlous economy, and Pennsylvania also pointed at the economy as their major worry.
Obama also enjoyed support from women, young and new voters across the racial divide. Obama's election capped a meteoric rise - from mere state Senator to president-elect in four years, re-enacting a feat by the slain president John F. Kennedy.
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 and Times Square in New York. 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 sprit 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 20 January, 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.
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 run-off. 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 a 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, who was 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 presidents 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 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.