Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States

The 2008 presidential Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is projected to win at least 338 electoral votes, enough to clinch the Presidency of the United States. Obama is the first African American to be elected President in U.S. history. His Republican opponent, Arizona senator John McCain is projected to win at least 155 electoral votes. McCain has phoned Obama to concede the election.

The Electoral College will officially elect Obama on December 15 and he will be inaugurated as the 44th President on January 20, 2009 at noon.

"We have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken and spoken clearly. This is an historic election and I realize the significance this has for African-Americans. Let there be no reason now, that any American should fail their citizenship," said McCain at a final event in Arizona.

Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr. from Kenya and Ann Dunham from Wichita, Kansas. He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. He graduated from high school in 1979 and attended Occidental College and Columbia University, receiving his B.A. in political science in 1983. Afterwards he moved to Chicago and worked as a community organizer.

He enrolled in Harvard Law School in 1988, became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude in 1991. He returned to Chicago, lecturing at the University of Chicago and practicing as a civil rights attorney.

He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1997, and became the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Illinois in March 2004. The following July, he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, catapulting him into the national spotlight.

He won election to the U.S. Senate with 70% of the vote. On February 20, 2007 he announced his candidacy for President and clinched the Democratic nomination on June 3, 2008, after a tense primary battle with Hillary Clinton. Obama is married to Michelle née Robinson, with whom he has two daughters.

At 05:00 UTC, Obama commemorated his victory with a speech to thousands in Chicago. He launched the speech by stating that his victory shows the power of democracy, the people and the United States. He then stated that people voted for him because "people belive this time must be different."

The new president-elect then praised the McCain campaign team for their work, before stating that the time for change has come.

Obama then thanked people for their work in ensuring the victory. He thanked his family, and said that his dead grandmother would be watching his victory from heaven. He also thanked his campaign organiser, chief strategist and staff members who ensured his victory in this election. Obama then thanked the people who have donated or volunteered for his campaign.

The new leader then said that an Obama government is a government of the people, for the people and by the people, before warning that there would be a long steep road ahead for his office, and stating that all his goals may not even by achieved in one term.

He then pledged to be honest as leader before stating that the victory is not change, but an opportunity for change, and that people must work to achieve this in this "new dawn of American leadership."

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