By DAVID JONES and DAVID GARDNER Barack Obama made history early today by becoming America’s first black president. 'It's been a long time coming, but tonight... change has come to America,' the president-elect told jubilant supporters in Chicago. The triumphant 47-year-old son of a black Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas spoke after romping to a landslide victory over crushed Republican candidate John McCain. It was the crowning moment of a staggering rise from being a virtually unknown first-time US senator two years ago to become the most powerful man in the world. Stunning win: President-elect Barack Obama with his daughters Natasha, second left, and Malia, and his wife Michelle wave to the crowd after he delivered his address early this morning Moments after the polls closed in California, Mr Obama was hailed the winner of the state's 55 electoral votes - taking him over the 270 total needed to capture the presidency. He told a crowd of 50,000 supporters in Chicago it was time to put 'hands on the arc of history and bend it once more to the hope of a better day. He said he had received an 'extraordinarily gracious' call from his Republican rival John McCain, who he said had 'fought long and hard' for this campaign and for his country. 'We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader,' he said of the former Vietnam prisoner of war. Well done love: President elect Barack Obama kisses his wife Michelle 'I congratulate him, I congratulate governor (Sarah) Palin for all that they've achieved. 'And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the month's ahead.' He paid tribute to his running mate Joe Biden and said he would not be standing on stage tonight without 'my best friend of the past 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama'. 'Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House,' he said to cheers from the crowd. He also said he knew his 86-year-old grandmother Madelyn Dunham, who helped raise him but died of cancer late on Sunday night, would be watching. Obama embraces his daughter Malia. The Democrat defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain to become the 44th President of the United States and the first black president in US history He said his campaign 'began in the backyards of Des Moines (Iowa)' and was built by working men and women 'who dug into what little savings they had' to give small donations to the campaign. 'It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. 'It grew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers. 'And from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the earth.' 'This is your victory.' Zeboraqh Ball-Paul reacts after a broadcast predicting Senator Obama's victory Loser and winner: A Republican listens to John McCain conceded the election to Barack Oama while a California Democrat cries tears of joy 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 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.' By 4.30am, Obama had collected 333 electoral votes to Mr McCain's 155. Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey dances during a victory celebration for President-elect Obama in Chicago The result comes as a historic landmark in America’s struggle from the shackles of slavery to the segregation of the Deep South in the 1960s to finally achieving civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘dream’ with Americans of all colours and creeds voting a black man into the White House. He won a flurry of East Coast states before breaking through with key wins in battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Always facing an uphill struggle, Mr McCain knew his fading hopes of a dramatic comeback were lost after being defeated in Ohio because no Republican has ever won the presidency without capturing the state. Mr McCain won as expected in South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Wyoming, North Dakota, Kentucky, Utah, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Oklahoma, all states with heavy Republican support. But he could not bring off any surprises or encroach on Democrat territory. The crestfallen Arizona senator officially conceded defeat at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, as a huge crowd at Chicago's Grant Park celebrated and waited for Mr Obama's victory speech. 'My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly,' he said. Joy unconfined: People react to network news projections that Senator Obama will be elected as the next president of the United States in the Harlem, New York Star support: Oprah Winfrey cheers with supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Grant Park, Chicago Mr McCain said he called Mr Obama and congratulated him on becoming the 44th American president. He said his opponent inspired the "hopes of millions of Americans.' 'This is a historic election. I recognise the special significance it has for African Americans," he added. He said the memory of past racial injustices still has the 'power to wound,' But he added: 'Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on earth.' Senator Obama 'achieved a great thing for himself and his country.' Mr McCain pledged to do 'all in my power' to hep America through 'these challenging time' and urged his supporters to come together to help the new president lead the country. John McCain waves during his election night rally with his wife Cindy in Phoenix early this morning 'Whatever out differences we are fellow Americans,' he added. 'We fought as hard as we could and although we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours, he told the crowd before thanking running mate Sarah Palin as 'one of the greatest campaigners I have ever seen.' 'We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the republican Party and our country.' State-by-state: Click on the map to see the results of the election in real-time 'Tonight, more than any night, I hold nothing but love for this country and all of its citizens. I wish God's speed to the man who was my former opponent and will be the president of the United States.' The Republicans election day drubbing dashed any frail hopes Mr McCain had of staging a comeback after falling further and further behind in the polls on the final leg of the marathon campaign. The Rev. Jesse Jackson weeps as CNN's prediction of the election of Barack Obama is broadcast in Grant Park Well done: President Bush telephones his successor to congratulate him At age 72, it sounded the death knell for his long and distinguished political career, while aides said running mate Sarah Palin, 44, was considering a push to win the Republican Party candidacy for the next election in 2012. Conservative leader David Cameron today said Mr Obama was the first of a new generation of world leaders. 'In electing Barack Obama, America has made history and proved to the world that it is a nation eager for change,' he said. 'This has been an exciting and inspirational contest with two great candidates. '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.' In America President George Bush phoned Mr Obama to congratulate him on winning the presidency. He told him: 'What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters.' In churches and bars, on the street and in private homes, African Americans celebrated the historic victory of Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race with cheers and tears on Tuesday. 'This is definitely history in the making,' said elementary school teacher Sheneka Mayes, 32, in Atlanta. 'This night will be burned into my memory and into the memory of my children.' In Chicago's Grant Park, tens of thousands of Obama supporters erupted into cheers at the victory while they waited for him to appear. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who had twice sought the Democratic nomination, stood in the throng, tears streaming down his cheeks. Supporers watch election results on television monitors at the election night party for Democratic presidential at Grant Park Thousands watched a giant screen in New York's Times Square. Thousands more watched a big screen set up on 125th street in Harlem, New York, dubbed the unofficial capital of black America. In Atlanta, a crowd held a candlelight vigil at the tomb of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, setting the election firmly in the context of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s to end racial segregation and win the right to vote for black Americans in the South. At King's old church, Ebenezer Baptist, deafening cheers greeted the announcement of Obama's victory. Thousands had awaited the results listening to thumping gospel music from a choir dressed in black and watching two giant TV screens scrolling results on CNN. After several minutes of celebration, Pastor Raphael Warnock quieted the crowd and prayed: 'On the night before King was assassinated, he said: 'I have been to the mountain top, I have looked over and I have seen the promised land. I may not get there with you,'' said Warnock in a quote from one of King's most famous speeches. A supporter celebrates as US Senator Barack Obama is announced as President during an election party held at the U.S. Embassy in London Sarah Palin sheds a tear listening to John McCain concede the election 'Tonight we have seized the promise of America,' Warnock said. The result was all the sweeter because it answered fears that weeks of opinion polls giving Obama a lead against Republican John McCain might have overestimated his support among the country's white majority. 'This is a great night. This is an unbelievable night,' said U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who was brutally beaten by police in Selma, Alabama, during a voting rights march in 1968. 'Tonight we can celebrate and thank God almighty. Martin Luther King must be looking down from the heavens and saying 'hallelujah,'' Lewis said. But the celebrations were not entirely religious in nature. In San Francisco, Nic Horton sprang ran out of a bar with a cell phone glued to his ear moments after networks called Obama the winner. 'Who's your president now, Mom?' He shouted jubilantly into the phone. In Philadelphia, Michael Coard, a 43-year-old black lawyer, said he was so excited by the election that he took a picture of himself inside the voting booth, casting his vote for Obama. 'I feel rejuvenated,' he said. 'This is the best vote I've ever cast in my life.' 'It's a landslide! It's a landslide!' shouted 51-year-old Mark Bias, who was dressed in a tall satin Uncle Sam hat and red, white and blue cape. 'This means that America will be back on the right track again,' said Bias, who co-owns what he described as a 'gay pride' shop. 'What it really means for the country is that there's going to be a major change in the direction ... (for) the priorities of the regular person, and not just the wealthy,' said Carrie West, 54, as bar patrons chanted 'O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma.'
A new dawn for America: Barack Obama voted first black U.S. president in historic landslide victory
Last updated at 7:26 AM on 05th November 2008
Mr Obama was also the projected winner in Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, Iowa, California and his home state of Illinois.
Real-time election results:
'In these difficult times people everywhere are crying out for change. Barack Obama is the first of a new generation of leaders who will deliver it - he has my whole-hearted congratulations.
He added: 'You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself.'
In Tampa, Florida, cheers and applause broke out in a crowded bar as CNN called the race for Obama. The blare of cars honking outside wafted through the bar's open front door.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
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