Massive Turnout and Desire for Change Give Barack Obama the Presidency

One tenth of voters said they were voting for the first time—predominantly young people under 30, African-Americans, and Latinos.

There were still some hard feelings on both sides. Obama advocates said McCain had run a highly negative campaign. "The only way he could see a path to victory is by tearing down Barack Obama," spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter told MSNBC before the polls closed. She expressed disappointment that McCain supporters had sponsored a wave of last-minute TV ads criticizing Obama for associating with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his controversial former pastor in Chicago whose inflammatory sermons condemning America and white people offended many voters. The ads were picked up by the news media, and excerpts from the sermons were widely displayed on cable TV.

For their part, McCain supporters said Obama made it seem, falsely, that McCain was a clone of President Bush and that he was out of touch with everyday Americans.

But in the end, his ties to Bush were too difficult for McCain to overcome, and the desire for change was too strong.