Gerard Baker: no victory for Left | Bronwen Maddox: world won't stop hating America | Nation united by hope | Republican humiliation | Medvedev calls for missiles as world celebrates | In-depth: US elections reaction and features | Comment Central: did Palin not know Africa was a continent? | Partying as the results came in

The weight of the world began to bear down on Barack Obama’s shoulders yesterday as the President-elect turned from an epic campaign towards the challenges ahead.

Mr Obama will become America’s first black president after a record turnout propelled him to emphatic victories in a series of battleground states.

Final counting showed that he won 52 per cent of the 133 million votes, giving him a six-point lead in the popular vote and a thumping majority in the electoral college over John McCain.

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BACKGROUND

• Bush - 'We should all be proud of Obama'

• The challenge that greets Obama

• Full video and text: Obama's victory speech

• Voters honour Martin Luther King's dream

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“The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep,” he told a vast crowd in Chicago as he invoked a new spirit of patriotism. “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.”

Less than 24 hours later, he was assembling key components of his administration. Rahm Emanuel, a congressman and former adviser to President Clinton, was offered the post of White House Chief of Staff. Mr Obama also set up a 15-member advisory board for the 76-day transition, headed by John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under Mr Clinton, and his long-standing aides Pete Rouse and Valerie Jarrett.

A series of rapid-fire announcements of Mr Obama’s economic and national security teams are expected over the coming days. He has recognised that with economic crisis at home and unfinished wars abroad he must “hit the ground running”.

Today Mr Obama will receive his first intelligence briefing as President-elect from the CIA.

There were several hints of the task facing him. President Medvedev of Russia mixed congratulations to Mr Obama with provocative remarks over missile defence plans. President Karzai of Afghanistan responded to the American military’s accidental bombing of wedding guests in his country by saying: “This is my first demand of the new president of the United States: to put an end to civilian casualties.” The Dow Jones index fell 486 points to 9139.27. President Bush has identified the transition period as a time in which national security is particularly vulnerable and Joe Biden, Mr Obama’s running-mate, recently gave warning that the new administration was likely to be tested by terrorists.

Mr Bush paid generous tribute to the election of a black successor four decades after the civil rights movement marched so that African-Americans could vote in such elections.

“All Americans can be proud of the history that was made,” he said. “Many of our citizens thought they would never live to see that day.” He has invited Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle, to visit the White House before the inauguration on January 20.

Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State and herself a black woman who grew up amid racial strife in Alabama, said: “This is a country that’s been through a long journey in terms of overcoming wounds and making race not the factor in our lives. That work is not done, but yesterday was obviously an extraordinary step forward.”

Speculation swirled around Washington that John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004 and an early supporter of Mr Obama, was “actively seeking” to replace Dr Rice in the top foreign policy post.

The leading contenders for Treasury Secretary were said to be Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Lawrence Summers, who held the post under

President Clinton, and Paul Volcker, who chaired the Federal Reserve from 1980 to 1987.

Having promised to make bipartisan appointments, Mr Obama may ask Robert Gates to stay on at the Pentagon. Richard Lugar said that he was not interested in taking a job, but Chuck Hagel, another Republican Senator, is said to be keeping his options open. Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, is tipped for a senior role, possibly defence or education.

Mr Obama began his first day as President-elect having breakfast with his daughters, a rare occurrence during his 21-month campaign. He has yet to decide when to move his family from Chicago or to choose a school. He has, however, promised Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a puppy.

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