Barack Obama, swearing an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution, became the nation's 44th president at noon today in a solemn ceremony almost as old as the nation itself.

At that moment a roar rose up from more than 1 million spectators who had jammed on the mall for two miles west of the capitol. The U.S. Marine Band struck up Hail to the Chief and cannons boomed a 21-gun salute to the first African American president.

Obama, laying his hand on the Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used in his 1861 inauguration, was administered the oath by Chief Justice John Roberts.

In his 18-minute inaugural address, Obama called for a new era of responsibility and community, saying the nation must choose "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed," Obama said. "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of remaking America."

Repeating his call for change, Obama said, "We seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."

He also warned, "To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

Obama, 47, takes office amid national anxiety over the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, at a time when the nation is fighting two wars, and after a divisive 16-year period in politics. After his campaign, Obama promised to bring the country together.

The swearing in culminated a remarkable two year journey in which Obama defied expectations, first defeating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries and then winning a wide electoral vote victory over Republican John McCain. He put a coalition of black, educated middle-class, Latino and young voters.

In his his first words a president, Obama sought to reassure Americans.

Tested before taking power, President-elect Barack Obama privately delivered a pre-inauguration veto threat to fellow Democrats on Tuesday, saying they would not deny him use of the remaining $350 billion in federal bailout funds.

Obama coupled his threat with a promise to revise elements of the original bailout program that have drawn widespread criticism, pledging that billions will go toward helping homeowners facing foreclosure. Several Democrats said his commitments, to be made in writing, would be enough to prevent an embarrassing pre-inauguration drubbing for the president-elect when the Senate votes this week.

"This will be the first vote that President-elect Obama is asking us for. I'll be shocked and I'll be really disappointed if he doesn't get it," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent Democrat from Connecticut.

"This is a new beginning."

Behind closed doors, Obama also urged lawmakers to act quickly on the massive economic stimulus measure that his aides have been negotiating with congressional officials. The legislation will blend federal spending with tax cuts, and could reach $1 trillion in size, a measure of the nation's economic woes.

Several Democratic officials described a bill very much in flux. They said lawmakers were discussing allocating as much as $80 billion over two years to help shield schools from the impact of state budget cuts and roughly $40 billion for traditional anti-recession transportation programs such as highway and bridge construction.

Additionally, they added that there was money tentatively set aside to fund a $25-a-week increase in unemployment benefits as well as a 15 percent boost in food stamp benefits. There was support in the Senate for funds to upgrade military barracks, as well. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to disclose details.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate hope to have the legislation ready for Obama's signature by mid-February, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a late-afternoon meeting on it.

"We've made great progress, and we fully intend to meet our deadline," Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. She disclosed no details.

For Obama, attendance at the Democrats' weekly closed-door lunch was a homecoming of sorts, a return to the Capitol where he arrived as a newly elected senator only four years ago.

Reid called it a "lovefest," and said the president-elect was greeted with a five-minute ovation by Democrats happy to have the White House back after eight years of Republican rule.

Sen. Carl Levin said the session had a sentimental tone at times, despite the magnitude of the nation's economic woes and the challenge Obama and fellow Democrats confront.

"It's kind of hard not to call him, 'Barack.' So he said, `Call me Barack for the next couple of days,'" Levin said with a smile.

Separately, Obama's nominee as budget director, Peter Orszag, said at his confirmation hearing that even after the economy recovers, annual deficits could reach $750 billion or so and steadily exceed $1 trillion by the end of the next decade. The president-elect has pledged to make deficit-reduction a priority, but says economic recovery must come first.

Despite its size, the economic stimulus bill is not expected to face heavy opposition among Democrats, and Obama has won praise from Republicans for showing a willingness to show deference to their concerns. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., floated a new proposal, raising the possibility of a two-year elimination of Social Security payroll taxes.

Obama got a boost during the day from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said in a speech in London that the emerging legislation could provide a "significant boost" to the sinking economy.

Bernanke also warned in remarks prepared for the London School of Economics that a recovery wouldn't last unless other steps were taken to stabilize the shaky financial system.

There was plenty of controversy surrounding Obama's decision to tap the $350 billion remaining from the financial bailout program that Congress created last fall, when the nation's credit markets ceased working and plunged an already weak economy into a tailspin.

President George W. Bush, acting at Obama's request, formally notified Congress on Monday that Treasury wanted to use the funds, but Congress can vote to block the move.

"It is clear that the financial system, although improved from where it was in September, is still fragile," the president-elect said Monday, making the case for use of the funds.

There was an element of political theater to the day's events. It is a foregone conclusion that Obama will be able to make use of the money as he tries to improve the economy. He could veto anti-bailout legislation if it came to that, and there are more than enough votes to uphold him.

"He said if for some reason it passed, he would veto it," Lieberman said.

But neither the president-elect nor fellow Democrats are eager to see that unfold, fearing it could damage Obama politically even before he takes the oath of office as the 44th president next Tuesday. "I don't think that's the way you start out a presidency," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

Several Democrats said they found Obama persuasive, but added that they would wait to see his formal commitments.

"I feel much better," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., noting the president-elect's commitment to rectify several elements of the existing program.

Levin said Obama promised his administration would do a better job of accounting for how the money was disbursed, would make sure none of it went to pay for stockholder dividends, would enforce restrictions on the pay of corporate executives and more. He also said the president-elect had pledged to honor the commitments the Bush administration had made to prop up the beleaguered domestic auto industry.

It is not clear how much of the money will go toward helping hard-pressed homeowners, but in the House, Democrats were drafting legislation that would dedicate a minimum of $40 billion to that effort.

"If we do not get the second $350 billion, I do not see any way that we can get substantial foreclosure relief," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The housing measure is tentatively scheduled to come to a vote in the House on Thursday.

Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the committee's ranking Republican, questioned whether the money was necessary. The fund is becoming "a grab-bag where people can just reach in and get taxpayer money," he said.

His storied election behind him and weighty problems in his face, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to the task of building an administration in times of crisis as Americans and the world absorbed his history-shattering achievement as the first black leader ascending to the presidency.

Obama enjoyed an everyman day-after in his hometown of Chicago on Wednesday after an electric night of celebration, anchored by his victory rally of 125,000 in Chicago and joyful outpourings of his supporters across the country. The president-elect saw his two young daughters off to school, a simple pleasure he's missed during nearly two years of virtually nonstop travel, then had a gym workout.

Pressing business came at him fast, with just 76 days until his inauguration as the 44th president.

The nation's top intelligence officials planned to give him top-secret daily briefings starting Thursday, sharing with him the most critical overnight intelligence as well as other information he has not been allowed to see as a senator or candidate. And Obama planned to give the first of his daily briefings to the media on Thursday as he moves quickly to begin assembling a White House staff and selecting Cabinet nominees.

Obama was asking Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, former political and policy adviser to President Clinton, to be his White House chief of staff, Democratic officials said. John Podesta, who served as Clinton's chief of staff, was expected to join Obama Senate aide Pete Rouse and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett in leading the transition team.

President Bush pledged "complete cooperation" in the transition and called Obama's victory a "triumph of the American story."

Naming the staggering list of problems he inherits in his decisive defeat of Republican John McCain — two wars and "the worst financial crisis in a century," among them — Obama sought to restrain the soaring expectations of his supporters late Tuesday night even as he stoked them with impassioned calls for national unity and partisan healing.

"We may not get there in one year or even in one term," he said. "But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there."

Helping him to get there will be a strengthened Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. When Obama becomes the president on Jan. 20, with Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his vice president, Democrats will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 1994.

A tide of international goodwill came Obama's way on Wednesday morning, even as developments made clear how heavy a weight will soon be on his shoulders.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a congratulatory telegram saying there is "solid positive potential" for the election to improve strained relations between Washington and Moscow, if Obama engages in constructive dialogue.

Yet he appeared to be deliberately provocative hours after the election with sharp criticism of the U.S. and his announcement that Russia will deploy missiles near NATO member Poland in response to U.S. missile defense plans.

In Afghanistan, where villagers said the U.S. bombed a wedding party and killed 37 people, President Hamid Karzai said: "This is my first demand of the new president of the United States — to put an end to civilian casualties."

Young and charismatic but with little experience on the national level or as an executive, Obama easily defeated McCain, smashing records and remaking history along the way.

Ending an improbable journey that started for Obama a long 21 months ago, he drew a record-breaking $700 million to his campaign account alone. The first African-American destined to sit in the Oval Office, he also was the first Democrat to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976. He is the first senator elected to the White House since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

And Obama scored an Electoral College landslide that redrew America's political dynamics. He won states that reliably voted Republican in presidential elections, such as Indiana and Virginia, which hadn't supported a Democratic candidate in 44 years. Ohio and Florida, key to President Bush's twin victories, also went for Obama, as did Pennsylvania, which McCain had deemed crucial for his election hopes.

With most U.S. precincts tallied, the popular vote was 52.3 percent for Obama and 46.4 percent for McCain. But the count in the Electoral College was much more lopsided — 349 to 147 in Obama's favor as of early Wednesday, with three states still to be decided. Those were North Carolina, Georgia and Missouri.

The nation awakened to the new reality at daybreak, a short night after millions witnessed Obama's election — an event so rare it could not be called a once-in-a-century happening. Prominent black leaders wept unabashedly in public, rejoicing in the elevation of one of their own, at long last.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who had made two White House bids himself, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that the tears streaming down his face upon Obama's victory were about his father and grandmother and "those who paved the fights. And then that Barack's so majestic."

Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and leading player in the civil rights movement with Jackson, said on NBC's "Today" show: "He's going to call on us, I believe, to sacrifice. We all must give up something."

Speaking from Hong Kong, retired Gen. Colin Powell, the black Republican whose endorsement of Obama symbolized the candidate's bipartisan reach and bolstered him against charges of inexperience, called the senator's victory "a very very historic occasion." But he also predicted that Obama would be "a president for all America."

On Capitol Hill, Democrats ousted incumbent GOP Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire and captured seats held by retiring Republican senators in Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado. Still, the GOP blocked a complete rout, holding the Kentucky seat of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a Mississippi seat once held by Trent Lott.

The Associated Press prematurely declared incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman the winner in a race against Democratic former comedian Al Franken that by state law is subject to a recount based on the 571-vote margin. The party also held onto a Mississippi seat once held by Trent Lott.

In the House, with fewer than a dozen races still undecided, Democrats captured Republican-held seats in the Northeast, South and West and were on a path to pick up as many as 20 seats.

"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology but a mandate for change," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

After the longest and costliest campaign in U.S. history, Obama was propelled to victory by voters dismayed by eight years of Bush's presidency and deeply anxious about rising unemployment and home foreclosures and a battered stock market that has erased trillions of dollars of savings for Americans.

Six in 10 voters picked the economy as the most important issue facing the nation in an Associated Press exit poll. None of the other top issues — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was selected by more than one in 10. Obama has promised to cut taxes for most Americans, get the United States out of Iraq and expand health care, including mandatory coverage for children.

McCain conceded defeat shortly after 11 p.m. EST, telling supporters outside the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, "The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly."

"This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and the special pride that must be theirs tonight," McCain said. "These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face."

The son of a Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas, the 47-year-old Obama has had a startlingly rapid rise, from lawyer and community organizer to state legislator and U.S. senator, now not even four years into his first term.

Almost six in 10 women supported Obama nationwide, while men leaned his way by a narrow margin, according to interviews with voters. Just over half of whites supported McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.

The results of the AP survey were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters.

In terms of turnout, America voted in record numbers. It looks like 136.6 million Americans will have voted for president this election, based on 88 percent of the country's precincts tallied and projections for absentee ballots, said Michael McDonald of George Mason University. Using his methods, that would give 2008 a 64.1 percent turnout rate, the highest since 65.7 percent in 1908, he said.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening. (Cheers, applause.)

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama -- (boos) -- to congratulate him -- (boos) -- please -- to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to visit -- to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now -- (cheers, applause) -- let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth. (Cheers, applause.)

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans -- (applause) -- I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. (Cheers, applause.)

It is natural -- it's natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought -- we fought as hard as we could.

And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.

AUDIENCE: No!

MR. MCCAIN: I am so --

AUDIENCE: (Chanting.) John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! John McCain!

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude, and the promise of more peaceful years ahead. (Laughter.)

I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I have ever seen. (Cheers, applause.) One of the best campaigners I have ever seen --

AUDIENCE: (Chanting.) Sarah! Sarah!

MR. MCCAIN: -- and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength. (Cheers, applause.) Her husband Todd and their five beautiful children -- (cheers, applause) -- with their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough-and- tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country. (Cheers, applause.)

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly month after month in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life. And my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: No!

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You deserve more!

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: (Chanting off mike.)

MR. MCCAIN: Please. Please.

I would not -- I would not be an -- an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it. (Cheers, applause.)

AUDIENCE: (Chanting.) USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

SEN. MCCAIN: Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.

And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender. (Cheers, applause.) We never hide from history, we make history. (Cheers, applause.)

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; 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.

Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Its 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.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what youve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didnt start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didnt do this just to win an election and I know you didnt do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how theyll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldnt vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Barack Obama, capping an unprecedented rise, has been voted the 44^th President of the United States, according to projections by broadcast and cable news networks.

Obama, the Democratic Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican nominee Arizona Senator John McCain to become the first African-American to hold the highest office in the land.

Although the final electoral count was still being determined, broadcast and cable news networks at 11 p.m. declared Obama the winner. In Chicago's Grant Park, Obama supporters celebrated to the sounds of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours."

McCain began his concession speech in Phoenix around 11:20 p.m. (ET).

With Obama putting Virginia and its 13 electoral votes – the first time the Old Dominion went Democratic in a presidential contest since 1964 with Lyndon Johnson – in his column after 10 p.m., the Democrat had some 220 electoral votes and vaulted into position to claim the election, when the West Coast states of California (55 electoral votes), Washington (11) and Oregon (seven) closed their polling.

John McCain carried Kentucky, and Barack Obama countered with a victory in Vermont on Tuesday night as he bid to become the first black president. Democrats gained a Senate seat, the first of several they had in their sights in a country at war and anything but prosperous.

The economy was by far the top Election Day issue, according to an Associated Press survey of voters leaving their polling places. Six in 10 said so, and none of the other top issues — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10.

The Associated Press made its calls based on surveys of voters as they left the polls.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain battled for the White House on Tuesday in an election that challenged attitudes about race as surely as it gauged sentiments about the battered economy and the war in Iraq.

As if unwilling to cede the stage, both men campaigned into Election Day, long past time when long lines formed at polling places. Obama, bidding to become the first black president, greeted voters in Indiana, McCain supporters in Colorado and New Mexico.

The economy was by far the top Election Day issue, according to an Associated Press survey of voters leaving their polling places. Six in 10 said so, and none of the other top issues — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10.

The same survey found that first-time voters were disproportionately young. About 20 percent were black, and roughly as many Hispanic in a year in which a black man was on the ballot for the first time.

The results were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters.

In the first few thousand votes of tens of millions to be cast and counted, Obama had 51 percent and McCain 48 percent.

The White House was the main prize of the night on which 35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats were at stake. In both cases, Democrats hoped to pad their existing majorities, and Republicans braced for losses.

A dozen states elected governors, and ballots across the country were dotted with state legislative races and ballot questions on issues ranging from taxes to gay rights.

By tradition, the first handful of ballots were cast just after midnight in tiny Dixville Notch, N.H. Obama got 15 votes and McCain six.

They were the first of tens of millions in the race to gain 270 electoral votes and succeed George W. Bush on Jan. 20 as the 44th president.

An estimated 187 million voters were registered, and in an indication of interest in the battle for the White House, 40 million of so had already voted as Election Day dawned. Turnout was heavy. In Virginia, for example, officials estimated nearly 75 percent of eligible voters would cast ballots.

Obama awaited the results at home in Chicago after a marathon campaign across 21 months and 49 states. At 47, with only four years in the Senate, he sought election as one of the youngest presidents, and one of the least experienced in national political affairs.

That wasn't what set the Illinois senator apart, though — neither from his rivals nor from the 43 men who have served as president since the nation's founding more than two centuries ago. A black man, he confronted a previously unbreakable barrier as he campaigned on twin themes of change and hope in uncertain times.

McCain, a prisoner of war during Vietnam, a generation older than his rival at 72, waited in Arizona to learn the outcome of the election. It was his second try for the White House, following his defeat in the battle for the GOP nomination in 2000.

A conservative, he stressed his maverick's streak. And a Republican, he did what he could to separate himself from an unpopular President Bush.

For the most part, the two presidential candidates and their running mates, Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska and Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, spent weeks campaigning in states that went for Bush four years ago. Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada drew most of their time. Pennsylvania also drew attention as McCain sought to invade traditionally Democratic turf.

McCain and Obama each won contested nominations — the Democrat outdistancing former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton — and promptly set out to claim the mantle of change.

"I am not George W. Bush," McCain said in one debate.

Obama retorted that he might as well be, telling audiences in state after state that the Republican had voted with the president 90 percent of the time across eight years of the Bush administration.

After voting with her husband, the former president, Clinton called Bush "the lamest of lame ducks" and predicted that Obama would win and begin making presidential appointments and announcing economic policies within weeks.

The war in Iraq dominated the campaign early on, but by Election Day it had faded as an issue.

The economy mattered above all else, with millions facing foreclosures on their homes, joblessness rising and Americans tallying the losses in their retirement accounts after a stock market plunge.

The race was easily the costliest in history, in excess of $1 billion, more after the congressional campaigns were counted.

McCain accepted federal matching funds, and was limited to $84 million for the fall campaign.

After first saying he would go along, Obama reversed course, then raised and spent multiples of what his rival was allowed.

McCain sought to make an issue of that, saying Obama had broken his word to the public. At the same time, for weeks on end, he could not match his rival's television advertising onslaught.

Figures through mid-October showed Obama had spent roughly $240 million on television and radio advertisements.

McCain had shelled out about $115 million, and the Republican National Committee another $80 on his behalf.

In the battle for Congress, Democrats began the night with a 51-49 majority in the Senate, including two independents. Their majority in the House was 235-199, with one vacancy.

In both cases, Republicans fought to overcome a financial disadvantage as well as numerous retirements.

The governor's races included open seats in North Carolina, Delaware and Missouri.

The ballot issues ran from a measure to ban abortion in South Dakota to proposals outlawing affirmative action in Colorado and Nebraska. Three states voted on gay marriage.

As Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived at the Albright United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday to vote, scores of supporters cheered: 'Go, John, go.'

First, most, longest. Election 2008 has redefined American politics in a rainbow of historic records that are likely to resonate across the cultural landscape for decades to come.

The historic campaign -- nearly two years long -- was marked by breakthroughs in race, gender, age, fundraising and use of technology.

The primaries were the most contested, the debates the most contentious and the cost the highest -- nearly $1 billion by today's Election Day. In earlier primaries, voter turnout soared and, in the case of the Democrats, broke all records.

By day's end, an all-time high of 136 to 140 million Americans are expected to have voted. And in the growing trend of early voting in 32 states, almost one- third of those had cast early ballots before Election Day.

Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and fighting two foreign wars, 9 million Americans registered to vote for the first time with an excitement not witnessed in generations.

Marked by both passion and polarization, the race drew legions of African Americans, youth and disaffected independents who had historically not played such a large role in determining the victors.

"We won't know for years to come, but the potential is that 2008 is a realigning election, measured not only in voter registration rolls but in how we see ourselves," said Richard Norton Smith, presidential scholar at George Washington University.

Breakdowns are plaguing polling places in Philadelphia, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Problems are also reported in New York state, Virginia and Florida.

Voting machine malfunctions and other problems were exacerbating long lines at polling places in several key battlegrounds as voting got underway on the East Coast and in the Midwest this morning, election monitors reported.

There have already been breakdowns in Philadelphia, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, according to reports gathered by the Election Protection Coalition, a cooperative effort by more than dozen voting rights groups.
All three cities were high on the list of expected hot spots where problems were feared.

The coalition, which by 9:30 a.m. EST had received nearly 11,000 reports of problems, has also fielded complaints about polling places not opening on time in Virginia, where long lines have been predicted for weeks.

The most reports came from New York state.In Richmond and Fairfax, Va., CNN reported that polling places had to switch to paper ballots because of machine malfunctions.

And in Florida, there were reports that ballots were missing from polls in Tallahassee.

It was unclear if the problems reported thus far were isolated or indications of broader breakdowns. But voting rights groups were already sounding the alarm.

"What we are seeing this morning is exactly what we have been predicting for months," said Jonah Goldman, director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections. "Because of this breakdown in resources, people are being turned away and will be standing in line for hours."

Many election watchers had hoped that massive early voting nationwide would take some of the pressure off polling today. By some estimates, as many as 30% of the ballots cast in this year's presidential election were cast before today.

Early voting before election day in West Virginia and North Carolina revealed problems with electronic voting machines that were flipping their votes inexplicably. Election officials said the problems resulted from machines that were improperly calibrated.

But several battleground states expected to be crucial to today's results -- including Virginia and Pennsylvania -- had limited early voting, making it harder for local election officials to correct problems before today.

Potentially further complicating the day's voting will be confusion over new registration lists that some states are using for the first time.

Voting rights groups are expecting even more problems as polling begins in the Rocky Mountain states and on the West Coast.

In Denver, which experienced long lines in the 2006 midterm elections, voters will cast their ballots on paper ballots for the first time in decades, setting the stage for more confusion there.

Sure, chances of Republicans retaining the White House are remote.

But some last-minute state polls show the GOP nominee closing the gap in key states — Republican turf of Virginia, Florida and Ohio among them, and Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania, too.

If the tightening polls are correct and undecided voters in those states break McCain's way — both big ifs — that could make for a repeat of the 2000 heartbreaker for Democrats that gave Republicans the White House.

In 2000, Democrat Al Gore narrowly won the popular vote by 537,179 votes. But George W. Bush won the state-by-state electoral balloting that determines the presidency, 271 to 266. The outcome wasn't clear until a 36-day recount awarded Florida, then worth 25 electoral votes, to Bush by just a 537-vote margin.

Before the 2000 election, political insiders had speculated just the opposite, that perhaps Bush would win the popular vote but lose the presidency to Gore.

One day before the 2008 election, Obama sat atop every national poll.

Enthusiastic by all measures, the Illinois senator's Democratic base was expected to run up the score in liberal bastions of party strongholds such as New York and California.

But the race appeared to be naturally tightening in top battlegrounds that each candidate likely will need to help them reach the magic number in the Electoral College, electoral-rich Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia among them.

To win, McCain must hold on to most states that went to Bush in 2004, or pick up one or more that went to Democrat John Kerry four years ago to make up for any losses. McCain's biggest target for a pickup is Pennsylvania, which offers 21 votes and where several public polls show Obama's lead shrinking from double digits to single digits.

McCain faces a steep hurdle. Obama leads or is tied in a dozen or so Bush-won states, and has the advantage in most Kerry-won states.

The Republican's campaign argues that as national surveys tighten, McCain's standing in key states also rises and that, combined with get-out-the-vote efforts, will lift McCain to victory in Bush states and, perhaps, others.

"What we're in for is a slam-bang finish. ... He's been counted out before and won these kinds of states, and we're in the process of winning them right now," Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, said Sunday.

Obama's team is awash in confidence.

"We think we have a decisive edge right now" in states Bush won four years ago, said David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager.

There's still another possibility, perhaps more improbable than the first — that McCain wins the popular vote while Obama clinches the White House.

True, Democrats have been fired up all year.

True, Republicans haven't been.

True, Obama and McCain have been faring about even among independent voters.

But there are signs that the GOP's conservative base has rallied in the final stretch and these voters usually turn out in droves, even if lukewarm on the candidate.

Then there's the question of a tie in the Electoral College. In that case, members of the next House would select the winner.

If Obama carries every state that Democrat John Kerry won in 2004, plus Iowa, New Mexico and Nevada, then he and McCain each would have 269 electoral votes. A tie also would result if McCain takes New Hampshire from the Democrats' column but loses Iowa, New Mexico and another state that Bush won, Colorado.

In an election year that's defied conventional wisdom time and again, anything can happen.

(This version CORRECTS the margin of victory in the 2000 popular vote.)

"Go vote right now," Obama urged from the Ohio Statehouse steps, reminding people of a nearby polling location where they could cast ballots by sunset. "Do not delay because we have work to do." A show of hands found most in the crowd already had.

With just two days to go, most national polls show Obama ahead of McCain. State surveys suggest the Democrat's path to the requisite 270 electoral votes — and perhaps far beyond — is much easier to navigate than McCain's.

Polls show the six closest states are Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio. All were won by Bush and made competitive by Obama's record-shattering fundraising. The campaigns also are running aggressive ground games elsewhere, including Iowa, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Colorado and Virginia.

All that's left now for the candidates is make sure people vote Tuesday — if they haven't already.

Indeed, Election Day is becoming a misnomer. About 27 million absentee and early votes were cast in 30 states as of Saturday night, more than ever. Democrats outnumbered Republicans in pre-Election Day voting in key states.

That has Democrats — and even some Republicans — privately questioning whether McCain can overtake Obama, even if GOP loyalists turn out in droves on Tuesday. Obama may already have too big of a head start in critical states like Nevada and Iowa, which Bush won four years ago.

"This is off the charts in some of these states," said Michael P. McDonald, a political scientist at George Mason University.

As the campaign closes, voters were being inundated with a crush of television ads and automated phone calls.

In a new TV ad, Obama highlighted Vice President Dick Cheney's support for McCain. The ad features Cheney, an extremely unpopular figure among the general public, at an event Saturday in Wyoming, saying: "I'm delighted to support John McCain."

Not to be outdone, the Republican National Committee rolled out battleground phone calls that include Hillary Rodham Clinton's criticism of Obama during the Democratic primary. She is heard saying: "In the White House, there is no time for speeches and on-the-job training. Sen. McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign, and Sen. Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002."

Obama and McCain campaigned on each other's turf Sunday. Obama was in Ohio, a bellwether state Bush won four years ago and where polls show Obama tied or winning. McCain visited Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, states won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004. He trails in both.

"I've been in a lot of campaigns. I know the momentum is there," McCain told supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania. Overall, polls show Obama winning or tied in more than a dozen or so states won by Bush while McCain trails in every Kerry state.

McCain and the RNC dramatically ramped up their spending in the campaign's final days and now are matching Obama ad for ad, if not exceeding him, in key battleground markets in states such as Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

After months of planning, the Republican Party launched the last stage of its vaunted "72-hour program," when volunteers descend on competitive states for the final stretch. Democrats unleashed their "persuasion army" of backers scouring their own backyards to encourage people to back Obama in the campaign's waning hours.

More than 10,000 Obama volunteers in Ohio were knocking on doors and planning to hit their one millionth home Sunday after a five-day push.

His campaign reported that Saturday was its largest volunteer day, with more volunteers showing up to work the phones and walk neighborhood precincts than ever before in the campaign. Said Obama spokesman Bill Burton: "Our volunteers are completely engaged."

McCain's crew says theirs are, too.

"There's no doubt that we've got an uphill battle," said Rich Beeson, the RNC's political director. But, he said: "I'm not going into Election Day with any trepidation that they've put any state away" by banking early votes. "We still have a lot of voters that we can and will turn out."

The RNC reported making 5.4 million voter contacts last week, compared with 1.9 million in the same week in 2004, and it says it's volume has steadily increased since October began. Overall, it says 26 million voters have been contacted by volunteers over four months.

On Saturday alone, the RNC says an estimated 3 million voters were contacted by phone or in person, and it saw so many volunteers show up to help that in at least one state, Colorado, the party ran out of canvassing packets. Some 180,000 were gone by midday Saturday; more were printed.

For all the hype, Republicans and Democrats alike acknowledge that turnout operations usually only are determinative in contests that are close; they're good for gaining a few percentage points at the most.

McCain planned visits to media markets that hit battlegrounds Florida, Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico, and Nevada on Monday. A repeat trip to Pennsylvania also was slated before McCain returns home to Arizona.

Obama was getting help Sunday from rocker Bruce Springsteen in Cleveland and also was hitting Ohio's two other largest cities, Columbus and Cincinnati. He plans visits to Florida, North Carolina and Virginia on Monday.

Exuding confidence, Obama told reporters he would hold a news conference on Wednesday. Later, Obama spokeswoman Linda Douglass walked back Obama's plans, saying he'll meet the press before the end of the week, but "don't count on Wednesday."

Excerpts from recent newspaper endorsements of presidential candidates John McCain, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat.

___

The Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette endorsed McCain on Nov. 2:

The United States and the world are on the brink of a major economic recession. Our nation also is troubled by unending war against terrorism, immigration laws in desperate need of reform and spiraling health care costs.

But at the top of this mountain of challenges is the economy — the engine that drives so much of our daily lives and determines so much of our future. At a time like this, we cannot succumb to panic. We must not throw wrenches in our path to economic recovery. And as the Great Depression taught us, the worst remedy for this country's problems would be higher taxes for individuals and businesses.

Comparing the two major presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain's approach is best aligned to spur economic recovery. This is the overriding reason The Gazette Editorial Board endorses the Republican Arizona senator over Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

___

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette endorsed Obama on Nov. 2:

While mostly an enabler of the Bush world view, Mr. McCain has been a sometime maverick in the past. That happy warrior, however, was missing in this campaign. Laboring under the long shadow of the White House record, his campaign has gone further into the shadows, reduced to peddling fear and guilt by association. The ticket has not put country first, but lust for power.

The campaign of Barack Obama has been like day and night compared to this torrent of smears. Sen. Obama has counter-punched, but he has kept his dignity and focus. His eloquent grace and his commitment to speak directly to issues that matter to Americans — ending the war in Iraq, bringing tax relief to the middle class — have stamped him as presidential in both judgment and temperament.

His very presence on the campaign trail has refuted all the desperate slanders about him. He is what you thought he was: A decent, reasonable and intelligent American who is the only hope to bring real change.

___

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review endorsed McCain on Nov. 2:

The only truly experienced leader in this race — the gentleman whose resume actually is worthy of the phrase — is John McCain, 72, war hero, former congressman and longtime U.S. senator of Arizona.

John McCain is fiercely independent. And he makes no apologies for the principles he holds dear, even if they be at odds with the traditional party base. But he has never wavered in his core belief of what Republicanism (with a capital "R") and republicanism (with a lowercase "r") are all about: Small government. Fiscal discipline. Low taxes. A strong defense. And a judiciary that does not legislate from the bench.

___

The (Springfield, Ill.) State Journal-Register endorsed Obama Nov. 2.

We believe this country needs healing internally to end the class and cultural warfare that has reached levels today we never thought we'd see again after 9/11. The United States' current international image as the world's bully must be reformed if we hope to effect stability in regions that are now hotbeds of terrorism and nuclear adventurism. Economic recovery, as we see it, is dependent on those goals.

For those critical efforts, we believe Barack Obama is the best choice as our next president.

Throughout a grueling primary campaign that began here at the Old State Capitol, Obama went from extreme underdog to the confident, self-assured candidate of the Democratic Party. His poise on the campaign trail since then is no surprise to us. We saw it in person four years ago when he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate and, later, when he met with The State Journal-Register editorial board again after winning his Senate seat. Thoughtful, engaging and intellectually nimble, Obama exuded a sense of quiet self-confidence rare among politicians.

Targeting two key states, defending one and surging in the other, Obama stayed on the safe ground of linking Republican rival John McCain to President Bush.

"This election, more than any other in my lifetime, represents a clear choice between the past and the future," the 47-year-old Democrat said, ribbing his 72-year-old opponent.

Dropping into the Shenandoah Valley, Obama spoke first to about 8,000 people who spilled onto a soccer field at James Madison University because the indoor site was too packed.

Inside, Obama found 12,000 more people, mostly students who were too excited to sit.

On a day when Republican grumbling about McCain grew and polls showed Obama maintaining his lead, the Illinois senator said he took nothing for granted. He went ahead with at an earlier outdoor rally in the Philadelphia suburbs despite a steady, chilling rain.

About 9,000 shivering people came out to hear him there. They stood in mud.

"I just want all of you to know that if we see this kind of dedication on Election Day, there is no way that we're not going to bring change to America," Obama told them all.

About 50 miles to the north, McCain postponed a rally because of similar weather.

McCain and Obama both converged on Pennsylvania, a vote-rich state where Obama leads but McCain remains hopeful of a turnaround. McCain is also trying to hang onto Virginia, which may well go for a Democrat for president for the first time in 44 years.

"No state is going to be more important than this state, right here, the Commonwealth of Virginia," Obama said in his ninth visit to the state since he won his party's nomination.

At night, Obama whipped into Norfolk, Va., and energized a minor-league baseball stadium full of supporters. He said the long campaign has vindicated his faith in America's people.

"That's how we've come so far and so close — because of you," he said at the evening rally. "That's how we're going to change this country — with your help."

The day was marked by a spat between the Obama and McCain camps, over whether a McCain adviser suggested people would be worse off under a McCain health care plan.

Obama called it a "stunning bit of straight talk — an October surprise." The McCain domestic policy adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, said Obama's team had deliberately taken his comment out of context. "This continues their disgraceful campaign," Holtz-Eakin said.

In Pennsylvania, at Widener University, Obama ditched his suit and tie for jeans, sneakers and a raincoat. Still, shunning an umbrella, he got soaked.

Obama later changed clothes before resuming his events.

The election is in one week. Obama has returned to broad, uplifting themes of change in hopes of ending the campaign in the most positive light.

He promised better days "if we're willing to reach deep down inside us, when times are tough, when it's cold, when it's raining, when it's hard — that's when we when stand up."

Gunning for the 270 electoral votes he needs to win the White House, Obama is almost exclusively targeting tossup red states, the label for the ones that trend Republican. Any one of them might tip him to victory. Combined, they could give him a dominant win.

Meanwhile, he can afford to spend little time at all defending Democratic blue states.

In Hershey, Pa., McCain and running mate Sarah Palin told an audience that they delight in fooling the pundits. "I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it," McCain said.

Obama's Pennsylvania rally was in the strategic Philadelphia suburb of Chester, an area that, like the state itself, could swing to either candidate.

The event was a cross-state bookend to Obama's appearance Monday in Pittsburgh, where he pledged to cut taxes for the middle class and help factory workers as much as company owners.

In court records unsealed Monday, federal agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target a predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads. Agents said the skinheads did not identify the school by name.

Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the two men planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate another 14. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community.

The men also sought to go on a national killing spree, with Obama as its final target, Cavanaugh told The Associated Press.

"They said that would be their last, final act — that they would attempt to kill Sen. Obama," Cavanaugh said. "They didn't believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying."

Roaring toward the finish, Barack Obama presided Sunday over two Colorado rallies that together drew about 150,000 people, a startling turnout in a key swing state.

In Denver, the city where he claimed his historic presidential nomination, Obama stepped on stage and seemed surprised at his own following. He saw an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people — the largest U.S. rally to date in an Obama campaign full of them.

"Goodness gracious," Obama said as peered at the human mass in Civic Center Park.

Smelling victory, supporters even lined the steps of the Capitol, which was so far away from the stage that the people there needed binoculars just to hope to see Obama.

The setting, on a sparkling day in this battleground state, said perhaps more than Obama did in his actual speech. It rippled with the kind of enthusiasm found at victory rallies.

The location of a later rally — a Colorado State University lawn known as "The Oval" — suggested Obama's possible future workplace. He spoke to an estimated 45,000-50,000 people at the Fort Collins event.

Obama's campaign is capitalizing on the scope of such rallies to get people to cast votes early, permitted in Colorado and more than two dozen other states.

"How many people have early voted?" Obama said, eliciting cheers from people bundled up in fleece. "That's what I'm talking about. No point in waiting in lines if you don't have to. You know who you're going to vote for."

Still, wary of complacency or overconfidence, Obama keeps warning supporters that they must work, fight and even struggle for the rest of the campaign.

Obama even ended his day in Colorado by calling voters directly.

At an unscheduled stop at a campaign office in Brighton, northeast of Denver, Obama sat down and called about a dozen unsuspecting registered voters. He shuffled from one call to the next as thrilled campaign volunteers kept placing calls and handing him cell phones.

Based on what reporters could hear from Obama's end of the conservation, all of the calls went well for him. He then told volunteers to keep working through Election Day.

"It'd be terrible if we just kind of let it slip away in that last few days," he said.

His opponent, Republican John McCain, is needling Obama for starting his victory lap without having won anything.

Said McCain of the race on Sunday, "I'm going to win it."

Polls put Obama ahead in Colorado with the number of campaign days remaining now down to single digits.

It was in Denver that Obama, in his groundbreaking campaign, accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the stadium where the Denver Broncos play. If elected, he would be the first black president of the United States.

"Do you ever have small crowds in Denver?" a smiling Obama wondered aloud. Members of the crowd interrupted Obama's standard campaign speech with shouts of "Obama!" and "Yes we can!"

Traditionally, Colorado has gone for Republicans in presidential races, including twice for George W. Bush. Obama is trying to snag a win here as part of a multi-route path to capture at least the minimum 270 electoral votes on Nov. 4.

Colorado offers nine such votes.

In Fort Collins, where trees of golden leaves lined the campus, Obama seemed to revel in what was unfolding. "What a spectacular crowd and a spectacular day," he said.

Obama also jumped on McCain's comment, made during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," that he and President Bush share a "common philosophy" of the Republican Party.

"I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk, owning up to the fact that he and George Bush actually have a whole lot in common," Obama said in Denver.

"Well, here's the thing," he added. "We know what the Bush-McCain philosophy looks like. It's a philosophy that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that it trickles down."

Obama, though, did not quote McCain fully.

The Republican presidential candidate also said: "I've stood up against my party, not just President Bush, but others; and I've got the scars to prove it." He also offered specific examples of differing with Bush, from Iraq strategy and deficit spending to campaign finance reform and climate change.

McCain also has campaigned aggressively in the state, as has his running mate, Sarah Palin.

More broadly, Obama is using his record-breaking fundraising advantage to buy up media time and make what he hopes is a closing argument for the presidency. McCain and his team say the race is hardly over, particularly for a candidate who's had his share of comebacks.

Obama released a new TV ad Sunday that describes McCain as Obama often does on the campaign trail — as "out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time." It also says McCain is resorting to smears and scare tactics because he doesn't have a plan to fix the economy.

The 30-second ad will begin running Monday on national cable television outlets.

Obama ended Sunday at home in Chicago. He campaigns Monday in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

McCain also ridiculed reports that Obama is polishing his inaugural address, but he focused on warning activists of the dangers of Democrats pushing for higher taxes and bigger government.

"That's what's going to happen if the Democrats have total control of Washington," McCain told supporters at an Iowa rally. "We can't let that happen."

Democrats, current in control of the House and Senate, are on track for sizable gains in both chambers, aided by the poor economy, President Bush's unpopularity, a lopsided advantage in fundraising and a robust organizational effort in key states by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

In Zanesville, Ohio, as he opened a campaign swing in that crucial battleground state, McCain targeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as vigorously as Obama.

"You can imagine Obama, Reid and Pelosi," he said. "Tax and spend, tax and spend."

McCain also echoed running mate Sarah Palin, who told supporters at a Tampa, Fla., rally that Obama is acting as if he's already won.

"He's measuring the drapes," McCain said in Iowa, where public polls show him trailing Obama in the race for its seven electoral votes. "I prefer to let voters have their say. What America needs now is someone who will finish the race before starting the victory lap."

Attempting to turn Obama's call for change on its ear, McCain argued that he is best positioned to shake up Washington.

"I will take America in a new direction from my first day in office," said McCain, taking yet another step to distance himself from the unpopular incumbent president of his own party.

Earlier Sunday, during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," McCain complicated the distancing act when he said he and Bush share a "common philosophy" of the Republican Party, despite disagreements on Iraq, deficit spending and campaign finance reform, among other issues.

Campaigning in Denver, Obama told his audience, "I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk."

In the interview, McCain dismissed the poll numbers that show him trailing Obama nationally and in key states, including Iowa, and said his campaign is "doing fine." A Newsweek poll released Saturday showed Obama with a 13-point lead nationally.

Iowa offers seven electoral votes. A total of 270 Electoral College votes are needed to win the presidency.

"This is going to be a very close race, and I believe I'm going to win it," McCain said.

He rejected the notion that his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is unqualified to be president and is hurting the campaign.

"I don't defend her. I praise her. She is exactly what Washington needs," he said.

McCain continued to praise Palin at a noisy rally before 2,000 cheering backers at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

"We're going to bring change. With Sarah Palin, I'll guarantee you we'll do it a lot faster," he said. "She has inspired millions of Americans with her record of reform."