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BARACK OBAMA has swept to a landslide victory as the first black president of the United States, defeating John McCain after the longest and most expensive campaign in the country’s history, writes Denis Stauntonin Chicago.

Addressing tens of thousands of supporters in Chicago’s Grant Park, the president-elect promised to unite the country and to present a new face of America to the world.

“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,” he said.

“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 America's 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.”

The mammoth crowd in Chicago was subdued as the results came in on giant screens, cheering as each state was called for Mr Obama but standing in awed silence much of the time. Many wept when it became clear at 10 pm local time that Obama would be their next president.

“I think I’m still in shock,” said Ann Marty, a 25-year-old Chicago architecture student. “I’ve been working for this and waiting for it and thinking about it for two years. Now I just can’t believe it.”

The crowd cheered when Mr McCain’s concession speech was broadcast and applauded each mention of the defeated candidate’s name in Mr Obama’s victory speech. McCain’s supporters in Phoenix, by contrast, booed every time the Republican mentioned the new president-elect.

The popular vote was closer than many polls had predicted, 51 per cent to 47 per cent with three quarters of the votes counted. Mr Obama’s victory in the electoral college was resounding, however, winning most of the major battleground states including Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Mr McCain’s fate was sealed when he lost Pennsylvania, the only big state John Kerry won in 2004 that the Republican was targeting this year.