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Barack Obama was elected the first black president of the United States Tuesday night in a historic triumph that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself, The Associated Press reported.

The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his victory by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states - Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Iowa.

A huge crowd in Grant Park in Chicago erupted in jubilation at the news of Obama's victory, according to AP. McCain called his former rival to concede defeat - and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. "The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly,"

McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.

Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009. As the 44th president, Obama will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.

South Korean government officials and diplomatic watchers in Seoul said the impending change of administration in Washington will have little impact on the solid alliance between South Korea and the U.S., though Obama is expected to take a different stand toward bilateral trade issues and North Korea from that of his predecessor, according to Yonhap News.The office of President Lee Myung-bak is also firmly convinced of the continuation of the strong bilateral alliance under the Obama presidency, as the new U.S. leader has repeatedly pledged to further solidify the U.S.-Korea relationship throughout his campaign.
Korea times

image by AP Associated Press

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