OBAMA: #44

Congratulations BARACK OBAMA on becoming the 44th President of the United States! He will also be the first African-American President in the U.S. The projections were made first by ABC at around 11 PM EST. Right after the projections were made, throngs of supporters in Times Square, NYC, and in Grant Park, Chicago, cheered. Many were in tears. Times Square looked nearly as crowded and ecstatic as on New Year's Eve.

In an ABC poll, 80% of those polled said that race was not a major factor in their voting decision, instead, 63% believed that the economy was the reason.

When John McCain gave his concession speech in Phoenix, Arizona at around 11:20 PM, his supporters booed when McCain first mentioned the name "Obama." McCain took it professionally and signed that he wanted them to stop. I applaud him for finally taking responsibility about the actions of his supporters. However, I still fear that many right-wing Republican conservative extremists, who were clearly upset at his speech by continually booing Obama, may be even more deeply divided from the rest of the country and may now have an even bigger reason to cause hate in this country.

Plus: reactions

• Aunt (before projection): Are you voting just because every other youth is voting? Did you hear in the news that if Obama wins, to watch out for terrorist attacks to "test" Obama? Or from white supremacists?
• Mom in a seemingly disgruntled, "Yeah-he-won-so-what-I-just-don't-plain-like-him" tone.
• Dad: Already? I just went up to take a shower and he won already?