U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's 22-month campaign culminated Tuesday night with a landslide victory over his Republican rival, John McCain.
The win makes Obama the first African-American president-elect in the history of the United States, as the country struggles to survive the global financial crisis and rebuild on debris left by the Republican administration of the last eight years.
The Illinois senator's inspiring messages, the reaching-out strategies employed in his campaign, and the ability to take advantage of Republicans' shaken base and glitches in the McCain campaign, all paid off in the end.
Desire for change
Holding the banner of "Change" all the way from the primaries, Obama was able to bring together voters of different ages, genders, races and party affiliations in his camp.
The message was widely welcomed as Americans struggled to weather a subprime and financial crisis that, in turn, fed the rising unemployment rate and budget deficits.
They were also afflicted by bipartisan division that delayed the passage of legislation in Congress and caused inefficiency in the current administration.
Internationally, the Bush government's war policies had a public disapproval rate of as high as over 70 percent, and Americans were also concerned about their country's global image, which had suffered in the face of torture accusations, among other negative reports.
In view of these concerns, Obama proposed policies to protect the interests of the middle and lower classes in terms of economic revival, taxes, health care and education, and called for national unity and bipartisan action. He also declared his preference for diplomacy rather than force in handling foreign affairs.
Despite his inexperience in foreign and national affairs, he was still believed capable of bringing the country back on the right track, as the impact of the ongoing financial crisis deepened.
Mixed factors
Although President George W. Bush shielded himself from the limelight during the presidential elections, he and his administration still played an important role in the final result.
During the past years, his administration, which has been blamed for being too rightist, saw its approval rate reach record lows.
Despite repeated declarations from McCain that he is not "George W. Bush the second," some voters still suspected that he would follow in Bush's footsteps and continue with his policies, which proved to be a disadvantage for his campaign.
In addition, Obama's campaign strategy to reach out to grassroots voters in 50 states opened a new chapter in electoral politics in the United States.
He built an extensive network of campaign offices in communities, and employed volunteers to call and visit voters to renew their interest in politics.
Besides, Obama was also running a more inclusive campaign, reaching out to different groups of voters such as the youth and minorities, and appealing to independent and new voters.
He consistently retained a strong lead in fund-raising, partly due to his willingness to accept and pursue small donations from a large number of grassroot supporters.
On the other hand, the McCain campaign usually aimed at big enterprises and businesses as its key sources of political donation, but they could not provide enough for the Arizona Senator to counter Obama's media onslaught across the states and other challenges.
McCain, often called a maverick Republican, also had a hard time appealing to conservative voters, the party's base, and maintaining his popularity among a big camp of independent voters.
Moreover, some McCain supporters began to have second thoughts about their candidate because of his nomination of Sarah Palin as his running mate.
The Alaska governor, who is serving her first term, was perceived as lacking political experience and was unable to fully convince voters that she was qualified to take over office if the president was unable to perform his duties.
William Frey, a demographic expert from Brookings told Xinhua that a demographical change also contributed to Obama's win.
In recent years, the United States has received increasing numbers of immigrants as citizens, leading to a bigger proportion of minorities among the total population, he said.
Again, as a result of rising living costs in coastal states, many people are choosing to live in inland areas including the mid-western and mountainous states, where Republicans are traditionally more powerful.
In addition, as the baby boomer generation is retiring, they care more about social security, health care and other domestic issues, which are the strengths of the Democratic Party.
Not just rubber stamp
For the Democratic Party, Barack Obama becoming president-elect was only part of its victory Tuesday.
Congressional election results show Democrats will hold 237 seats in the House of Representatives and 56 seats in the Senate, expanding its lead created in the mid-term elections in 2006.
Although a Democrat-dominated Congress could facilitate the new president's legislative initiatives, it would not just be a rubber stamp for the White House.
Political analysts feel Democrats often cannot reach a unified decision because of different factions within the party.
On the other hand, considering the risk of unchecked power of a party that rules both the White House and Congress, rival parties and the public will step up their monitoring and challenging of the Democratic Party.
Given the urgency of addressing the financial crisis, the Obama administration is expected to cooperate with Congress in passing legislation needed to get the country back on track.
After years of sparring with Republican lawmakers over the passage of bills related to health care, energy and social security, the Democratic government and Congress are now set to push forward with their schedule.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2008)
