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Obama Promises 'A New Dawn of American Leadership'

McCain Graciously Concedes to Obama
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Nov. 5, 2008
Barack Obama cruised to victory Tuesday night in an historic triumph that promised change, overcame centuries of prejudice and fulfilled Martin Luther King's dream that a man be judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.

Obama, a first term senator with little experience on the national level, made history by defeating Sen. John McCain, one of the country's most experienced politicians and a bona fide war hero.

McCain called Obama from Phoenix to concede the election at 10 p.m. Soon after, the Arizona senator sent before his supporters to thank them and graciously applaud the man who defeated his ambitions.

Acknowledging the momentous moment of a black man winning the White House, McCain said, "We've come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation."

"I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us," McCain said.

"I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president and I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair in our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit."

Obama's history making victory was fueled by his soaring rhetoric, his themes of change and hope in uncertain economic times, as well as deep dissatisfaction with the last eight years of the Bush administration.

Obama's campaign was historic for reasons beyond his skin color. He raised more money than any other candidate in U.S. history, and had to first defeat Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the party's favorite to win the Democratic nomination.

Voters from a broad swath of America's diverse ethnic enclaves and economic communities celebrated Obama's win Tuesday night, particularly those in the African-American community.

Thousand's flocked to Chicago's Grant Park to await the election results. In Harlem and Times Square in New York, Americans took to the streets to celebrate. There was particular jubilation among black Americans.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was seen crying in Grant Park when election results were announced.

Blacks poured into the streets of Washington, D.C., waving flags, honking car horns and setting off fireworks.

"I've been an Obama supporter from the beginning," said Sophie Logothetis, an elementary school history teacher who waited an hour to get into Grant Park, "and I just had to be here."

In Harlem, Jeff Mann, a 51-year-old construction worker said, "You can't be anything but joyful. Obama is going to change the world," said Jeff Mann, 51, a construction worker in Harlem.

Crucial to Obama's victory was winning all of the states that Democrat John Kerry won four years ago and flipping of Ohio, New Mexico Colorado, Virginia, Iowa, Florida and Nevada, states that all voted Republican in 2004.

Obama, 47, the son of a black man from Kenya and white woman from Kansas, served just two years in U.S. Senate before declaring his candidacy and ultimately taking on one of the most experienced politicians in America.

A moderate conservative who tried to stress his credentials as a maverick and distance himself from an unpopular president, McCain, 72, was unable to motivate his base and overcome his associations with Republican incumbent President Bush.