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No. 4633 PP 2644/12/2008 (020369)

Thursday
November 6, 2008
TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com

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EPAPIX

» OBAMA FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT

» SONG AND DANCE AROUND THE WORLD
» DEMOCRATS EXTEND CONTROL OF CONGRESS

Historic It’s been a long time

victory
coming, but tonight,
because of what we
did on this day, at this
defining moment, change
has come to America.”

W
ASHINGTON: Barack Obama rode a
wave of voter discontent to a historic
White House victory, promising
change as the first black US president but
constrained by a deep economic crisis and
two lingering wars.
The junior senator from Illinois led
Democrats to a sweeping victory that
expanded their majorities in both houses
of Congress as voters emphatically rejected
President George W. Bush’s eight years of
leadership.
The son of a black father from Kenya and
white mother from Kansas, Obama was born
at a time when black Americans were still
battling segregationist policies in the South.
His election triumph over Republican rival
John McCain, 72, on Tuesday is a milestone
that could help the United States bury its long
and often brutal history of racism.
“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight,
because of what we did on this day, at this
defining moment, change has come to
America,” Obama, 47, told more than 200,000
ecstatic supporters gathered in Chicago’s
Grant Park to celebrate.
Raucous street celebrations erupted across
the country, but Obama will have little or no
time off to enjoy the victory. He was expected
to start work immediately on planning a
course for his formal takeover on Jan 20 and
putting together a team to tackle the huge
challenges at home and abroad.
Of the results declared at press time,
Obama won 349 Electoral College votes, far
more than the 270 needed. With results in
from more than three-quarters of precincts, he
led McCain by 52% to 47% in the popular vote.
Turnout was 65%, the highest since 1908.
A first-term senator who will now be the
44th US president, Obama said he would work
to ease the country’s sharp political divisions
and listen to those who voted against him.
“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,” he said.
McCain’s hopes for a surprise win
evaporated with losses in a string of key
battleground states led by the big prizes
of Ohio and Florida, the states that sent
Democrats to defeat in the last two elections. » On Pages 2, 10, 12,
McCain, an Arizona senator and former
Vietnam War prisoner, called Obama to
13, 20 & 21
congratulate him and praised his inspirational
and precedent-shattering campaign. “I urge
» RAIS: U.S. MUST
all Americans who supported me to join me RESPECT SMALLER
in not just congratulating him but offering our
next president our goodwill,” he said.
COUNTRIES
Blacks and whites celebrated together in
front of the White House to mark Obama’s
» THE GLOBE JOINS
win and Bush’s imminent departure. Cars IN CELEBRATIONS
jammed downtown Washington streets, with
drivers honking their horns and leaning out » VOTERS SEND MCCAIN
their windows to cheer. Thousands more
joined street celebrations in New York’s LOUD MESSAGE
Times Square and in cities and towns across
the United States and the world. » THE UPSTART WITH
“This is the most significant political event
of my generation,” said Brett Schneider, 23,
A DREAM
who was in the crowd for Obama’s victory
speech in Chicago.
» WHAT PRESIDENT
OBAMA MUST DO
» Turn to Page 10