By 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, vote counts tallied Obama earning338 electoral votes to McCain's 141 votes. Obama was winning thepopular vote as well, with 53.5 million, to McCain's 49.2million.

In his acceptance speech to Chicago, with a teary Jesse Jacksonand Oprah Winfrey in the audience, Obama said the road ahead willbe tough, but that Americans can pull together to weather thecurrent crises. "Even as we celebrate tonight, we know thechallenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of ourlifetime--two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisisin a century," he said in his speech. "There are mothers andfathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep andwonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills,or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and newjobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet andalliances to repair."

He acknowledged there will be setbacks and false starts, andthat results may not even be reached by the end of his first term."There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy Imake as President, and we know that government can't solve everyproblem. But I will always be honest with you about the challengeswe face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. Andabove all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nationthe only way its been done in America for 221 years--block byblock, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand," hesaid.