Barack Obama elected president!

November 4, 2008 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

updated: the California high-speed rail bond actually appears headed to victory

It’s barely 8pm, and all of the networks and CNN have called the election for Sen. Barack Obama. It’s very early for them to do so, but it happened all at once, just as the polls closed on the west coast. Enough electoral votes have stacked up in Obama’s favor for it to be clearly over.

John McCain delivered his concession speech before a despondent crowd in Phoenix. He said he called Obama to congratulate him. Obama told McCain that he needed his help because McCain was a leader on so many issues. McCain urged his supporters to get behind Obama for the sake of the country. As TV cameras panned, they caught a sad Carly Fiorina (the former HP chief executive who had campaigned for McCain) on camera. In Illinois, amid the victory celebration, the Rev. Jesse Jackson had tears of joy in his eyes. The 44th president of the United States will be the first African American elected to the office. President Bush also called to congratulate Obama.

Obama gave a rousing acceptance speech that asked Americans to join in service and sacrifice, and to overcome the nations problems — two wars and the worst economic crisis in a century — with a “yes, we can” attitude.

In other closely watched races in Silicon Valley, it appears that Proposition 8, against the legalization of gay marriage, is going to win. Meanwhile, the proposition to build a high-speed bullet train between Los Angeles and the Bay Area is going down in defeat is apparently headed to victory, leading with 52.4 percent of the vote, after 91 percent of precincts counted.

How do you think the next four years will turn out? Leave your comments here.

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About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • John
    Wow.. Thats all I can say.
  • Alex
    The US has finally done something right and it took a Democrat to do it. The world congratulates President Elect Barack Obama.
  • Joe B.
    Holy crap. This reminds me of the recent book "The Stupidest Generation", making the point that most people under 30 in the US don't know crap about economics, world history, geography, etc. They spend more time IMing, texting, LOLing, etc. and can't point to Mexico on a map. They have a growing sense of entitlement, and combined with a more free time and a focus on personal entertainment/enjoyment, leads to a whining, ignorant and lazy workforce. I'm afraid a lot of these people voted, too. So while they don't know what Article I of the Constitution outlines, what the Bill of Rights is, or why Constitutional Amendments 13 and 15 are so important, they do know they want 'change'. Well, now they get what they've wanted. Let's see what happens. While they may be stupid, I'm still hoping for the best for our country. I have no problem w/Obama personally, but just the fact that many people picked him with an American Idol-esque superficiality.
  • Steve
    In response to Joe B the Plumber,

    It's not a FACT that people picked him (Obama) with an American Idol-esque superficiality. That is your own personal opinion. I think your generalization of our youth is not only ignorant, but also based on your own biases. I know you're bitter about McCain's loss, but don't generalize a whole group of people based on a few bad apples.

    I voted for Obama based on issues, not the color of his skin. I hope he follows through with what he proposed to do, and helps this country move in the right direction.

    Regards,
    Steve
  • Jim
    As Molly Ivins famously said of Dubya - All hat, no cattle.
  • Obama Congrats and Thanks for sharing the inforamtion
  • Next 4 years will be the greatest for the whole world... Obama is a global hope !
  • golforderonline
    Obama Congrats, big changes
  • TC
    I agree with Sumeet - The world is now a utopia and full of love, not the hate that my liberal friends have put on display the last eight years. Now we'll be able to dance in the grass together, sing songs about Obama, and live on the profits of Exxon, BP, Apple and Google.

    I just hope that my liberal friends don't call our new President the vicious and hateful names they've said about our current President. It would not be fair to Obama to be called an a puppet, a silver spoon, PRESENT, Karl Marx, Stalin, and who knows what other hateful things my liberal friends would say about him. Please, let's not hate anyone - LOVE!

    Mr. President-Elect, Congratulations from a Capitalist!
  • Obama...Good For you,hope you change America.Change the word to a Perfect One.
  • Hi,

    For this very moment, where nothing is actually done, it is wonderful and hopeful for the better angels of our souls. the world wishes so much, for a great president, america and the world.

    However, no one in america seems to be aware of the election of Tony Blair in 1997 where almost the exact playbook was used to gain a landslide, and reality and disappointment ended in cynicism and apathy.

    Does America ultimately believe in telling other people's how to behave and govern?

    Is America a Bigoted and xenophobic country that cares more for not having foreign trade [oil], while using 25% of the worlds resources even when it represents only 2% of its population?
    Only caring about source rather than direct individual consumption?

    When infant mortality matches the rest of the G8, and there are less black prisoners, when it is common for more black harvard alumni from disadvantaged backgrounds to exist, then real progress might have been made.

    Barack Hussein Obama, it mean a lot to many, and will make a lot of people proud; however, cold analysis suggests that the only reason for winning was getting the vote out; using all that money and the social-organisation (inc. via the internet) when a sack of potatoes would have beaten Bush-43 even before Lehman Bank's collapse, suggests an actual failure to meaningfully win the argument.


    Given all the circumstances, he should have won by a popular mile.

    I hope it isn't as tokenistic as Halle Berry winning an Oscar - at least for the effect it will have on african americans.


    Yours kindly,


    Shakir Razak
  • SlipstreamBRO
    I'm happy for the African-American Community. I think they have long deserved this, but I am afraid of the expense this man will cost our country. It wouldn't have been as scary as it is if the Senate had maintained it's balance as well as the House.

    Now that they're all overpowered by Democrat representation I shiver when I think about how the next 4-8 yrs will go.

    I want to give the benefit of the doubt and say that the Faith the majority of Americans have placed in Obama is justified, but I am having a hard time accepting it. After McCain's speech last night I am completely comfortable that I made the right decision voting for him even though he lost. I'm glad he took it on the chin and acted like a true American. Because just like he said, we are all Americans and the office of the President deserves respect, no matter if you agree with the person who resides there.

    I didn't agree with Clinton's policies, but I respected his position. I will gladly do the same with President-elect Obama. He has a long road ahead of him and it will take all of us uniting together in order to achieve victory. He can't do it alone. Look at what happened with Bush.

    So, all in all if Obama can keep America united and start to mend the world's impression of us here in the States then we will strive and again be the great nation we once were. If not then it will show pretty quickly.

    Congrats to President-Elect Obama, his family, and especially to a group of people who have long deserved this kind of representation at the helm of this great nation.
  • Congratulation for Obama, new hope for US
  • All the best Obama. and congrats
  • ERIKA
    CONGRATS TO OBAMA iS OUR FIRST AFRiCAN AMERiCAN PRESiDENT!!
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