Barack Obama Elected America's 44th President

Barack Obama broke more than 200 years of American history last Tuesday by becoming the first African American president of the United States.

Obama won the election with 349 electoral votes of John McCain's 163. 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidential election. Obama also received the majority of the popular vote with 52%. McCain received 46% of the popular vote.

While Obama received 56% of the votes of all women in the U.S., he received on 49% of the males's votes. Citizens form the ages of 18 to 29 favored Obama, giving him 66% of their votes, but citizens above the age of 45 favored McCain, giving him 51% of their votes.

Eight states voted for the Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 election but switched to the Democratic side for this election. Those states were Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia. Of those states, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio were considered battleground states because of their 11, 27, and 20 respective electoral votes that went to the Republicans in the 2004 election.

Georgia, a dependably Republican state, gave its 15 electoral votes to John McCain in this election.

John McCain gave a very respectful and graceful concession speech after the results were totaled. He said, "In contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, (Obama's) success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving."

When he reached the end of his speech, McCain reminded us that "Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history."

During Barack Obama's acceptance speech, he thanked Chairman Dean, Dick Durbin, his fellow U.S. citizens, Hilary CLinton, President CLinton, Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden, his wife Michelle, and his two daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Obama accepted the presidency with "profound gratitude and great humility." He said, "Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story--of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. It is that promise that has always set this country apart--that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well." Throughout his speech, he kept alive the idea that surrounded his campaign--"Yes, we can."

--Cami Fanning, Editor-in-Chief