[LINK] "Barack Obama makes history"

This article is from the Toronto Star.

Barack Obama completed a journey last night that had once been unthinkable, becoming the first African-American president in U.S. history and raising hopes this nation had entered a new, post-racial era.

The rookie U.S. senator from Illinois reshaped the American electoral map in his victory over Republican John McCain and stands poised also to redefine the way the world looks at this nation.

A presidential bid first forged on the themes of hope and change – then carried home by a candidate who personified calm and cool – came 45 years after Martin Luther King told the world he had a dream.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible," Obama told tens of thousands gathered on the Chicago lakefront, "who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

[. . .]

With the world watching intently, Obama sealed his victory with easy wins in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the latter the one Democratic state in which McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, had chosen to make their last stand in a 21-month campaign that sparked unprecedented passions in this nation.

Late victories in so-called battleground states of Virginia, coupled with the expected Obama routs in the west coast states of Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington state put Obama over the top.

[. . .]

There were any number of milestones passed in this country on a night that will be studied by generations to come. A country thought to be centre-right had elected a man perceived to be a liberal, and a northern liberal at that, the first Democrat from north of the Mason-Dixon Line to be elected since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

He would also become the first president born outside the continental U.S., the first Hawaiian-born president and a first-term senator who as recently as four years ago was toiling in Springfield, Ill., as a state senator.

Congratulations, my fellow North Americans.

[LINK] "Kenya erupts in joy as favourite son Obama takes White House"

This article is from Agence France-Presse.

Hundreds of villagers in Kogelo, Barack Obama's Kenyan family homestead, erupted into song and dance at the news that the nation's favourite son had won the US presidential election.

Swinging twigs and chairs in the air, men cheered and clapped while women ululated and shouted "Obama! Obama!" in the village where his grandmother lives and where his late Kenyan father was born.

"Senator Obama is our new president. God has answered our prayer," said pastor Washington Obonyo, who had prayed for an Obama victory on Tuesday and through much of the night.

"I am very happy, I have not slept the whole night, even my wife slept alone as I waited for the results," said Joseph Otieno, a jubilant Kogelo resident.

"Because Obama has won, we will have a change in the whole world. And for that I will slaughter a cockrel to celebrate with my family."

Wild celebrations woke the sleepy village, people hugged each other as others ran aimlessly in the muddy streets after spending a chilly night glued to a giant screen watching results unfold on the US networks.

"God bless all Americans and Kenyans," said Kevin Amollo. "I am very happy.

"We feel really good about the victory," added Roselyne Ayaro, another reveller, waving a placard bearing Obama's picture.

The residents had braved a heavy downpour and deafening thunderbolts overnight, dancing and singing to choruses belted out by a live band at a local dispensary.

Children and youths gyrated to the songs, the lights of an army of international TV crews casting shadows on the tarpaulin tents.

School children danced around the tents before heading to school as police officers kept watch.

[. . .]

President Mwai Kibaki was among the first foreign heads of state to congratulate Obama and gave Kenyans one more reason to rejoice when he declared Thursday a public holiday in a statement issued minutes after Republican John McCain conceded.

"This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success," he said.

Small groups gathered in a handful of Nairobi bars exceptionally open all night, as well as at the US embassy and the capital's main conference centre, erupted into cheers.

Strong opinion poll forecasts throughout the past week and early projections from some key states had however prompted many to head back to sleep before Obama's win was confirmed, confident the homeboy would become "the first Kenyan in the White House".

This sort of thing just underscores how much the American presidential contest has been a global event--Obama's probably the closest thing we have to a planetary president, at least until the office of the President of the European Commission gets a higher profile and becomes a directly elected position.