Obama makes history as the first black President of the United States

2008 Election Coverage
by Beth Herrera

Obama makes history as the first black President of the United States

Barack Obama beats John McCain and his name etched in history as America's first black president. Young and charismatic but with little experience on the national level, Obama scored an Electoral College landslide easily defeated Republican John McCain and becomes America's 44th president. He was the first Democrat to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

The son of a Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas, the 47-year-old Obama has had a startlingly rapid rise, from lawyer and community organizer to state legislator and U.S. senator, now just four years into his first term. He is the first senator elected to the White House since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

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, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. He also won at least 3 of Nebraska's five electoral votes, with the other two in doubt.

Obama and running mate Joe Biden will take their oath of office on Jan. 20, Democrats will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 1994. The American people have called for change in America. They were dismayed by eight years of George W. Bush's presidency and deeply anxious about rising unemployment and home foreclosures and a battered stock market that has erased trillions of dollars of savings for Americans.

The sagging economy are the most important issue facing the nation in the voting poll. Obama's challenge will starts by leading a nation worried about economic crisis, two unfinished wars and global uncertainty. Obama has promised to cut taxes for most Americans, get the United States out of Iraq and expand health care, including mandatory coverage for children. Although Obama acknowledged that repairing the economy and dealing with problems at home and overseas will not happen quickly. He said it may take a year or even in one term to accomplish it.

McCain conceded defeat shortly after 11 p.m. EST. He said that Obama faces a staggering list of problems and pledge to help him as much as he could. President Bush also called Obama with congratulations at 11:12 p.m. EST. He promise to make the transition a smooth one. He invited Obama and his family to visit the White House soon.

Related Videos:

Barack Obama wins the election.

A Record Turnout- Obama as President

Obama victory speech