CBS CALLS OBAMA WIN

Below is an excerpt from President Elect
Barack Obama’s acceptance speech made in Chicago, just after midnight, or 9 pm (PST).

As expected, he was eloquent and reached out to Republicans, in effort to close a gap that has divided American society into “blue” and “red” states. Very memorable. (America's New First Family.)

""A new dawn of American leadership is at hand. 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 America’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. That America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for many generations, but one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voices heard in this election, except for one thing. Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery. A time when there were no cars on the road and no planes in the sky. When someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons: because she’s a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight I think of all that she has seen...the heartaches and the hope, the struggle and the progress. The times we were told that we can’t and the people that pressed on with that American creed, yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to seem them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dustbowl, depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our Harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, the bridge in Selma and a preacher from Atlanta who told the people that, ‘We shall overcome.’ Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon. A wall came down in Berlin. A world was connected by science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how American can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much but there’s so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves, if our children should live to see the next century, if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call.

This is our moment. This is our time...to put our people back to work, and open doors of opportunities for our kids, to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace, to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth: that out of many we are one. That while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes we can. Thank you. God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.”"

8:30 pm


CBS is projecting Dem. Sen. Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States.

They called it just after polls closed on the West Coast at 8 PM (PST) or 11 PM (EST). As they called it Obama had 283 Electoral College votes. 270 votes were needed to win the Presidency.

And at 8:18 McCain conceded, and was incredibly gracious in defeat. Sen. McCain gave his best and most eloquent speech as he called on his Republican supporters to extended themselves and their support to President-elect Obama.

"A little while ago I had the honour of calling Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next President of the country we both love," said McCain. "I commend him. This is a historic election...

"This is an historic election and I recognize the special significance it has for African Americans and the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I've always believe that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize them. Senator Obama believes that too.

"But we both recognize that though we've come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and tonight for some Americans, with the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still have the power to wound.

"A century ago President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation to Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel, prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the Presidency of the United States..."

"This campaign was and will remain the greatest honour of my life. I wish Godspeed to the man who was my opponent and is now my President."

A night to remember.