History Has Been Made!

3 states are still, at 3 am EST, in contention, but the race for the White House has been decided. With 349 electoral votes so far, Barack Obama wins. 270 electoral votes are needed to win the White House, and one minute after 11 pm EST, immediately following the closing of the polls on the west coast, Obama shot past 270 to 284.

Some may wonder if there is still a chance for McCain, the answer is no. McCain gave his concession speech in Arizona congratulating Obama on his victory. President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have also called Obama to offer their congratulations. And at this point, no matter what happens in these last three states, there are just not enough electoral votes left to boost McCain. For the first time in the history of the United States, we will have an African American president.

I am so proud of how far this country has come. From the dark days of slavery, to women's sufferage, to the Civil Rights movement, this country has proven it can and will change for the betterment of its people. Barack Obama, the Senator from Illinois, is now the President Elect of our country. On January 20, 2009 he will become the 44th President of our great nation. Congratulations, Mr. Obama.

This victory was truly an astonishing achievement. Obama managed to take key swing states like Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania. But on top of that, he won states that are usually considered Republican strongholds like Virginia and New Mexico. The entire Northeast, all three west coast states, and many northern mideast states went to Obama. Not surprisingly, many southern states went to McCain, but what is surprising is that many of them were very close, hard fought races. Obama came in very close in a lot of them and nearly took several.

For a time, it looked as though Obama would get Missouri, but then it tilted just slightly towards McCain. But they are seperated by only a little over a thousand votes. That shows just how tight this race has been. Montana, North Carolina and Missouri are still being counted and considered too close to call, but again, the race for the White House is over. Barack Obama is the President Elect and will become the 44th President on January 20th of 2009. Again, congratulations!