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Obama and McCain await voters' decision

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-05 06:36

Washington - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain cast votes along with millions of other Americans on Tuesday as an extraordinary two-year fight for the White House headed to the end with Obama in clear command.

Voters at Woodlin Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md. [Agencies]

Long lines greeted voters in many key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, but no major breakdowns or irregularities were reported as at least 130 million Americans were expected to cast votes on a successor to unpopular Republican President George W. Bush.

Tuesday's winner will face a crush of challenges over the next four years, including the country's economic crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a health-care overhaul and other issues.

Polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 pm EST/2300 GMT and over the following six hours in the other 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, would be the first black US president if elected. Opinion polls indicate he is running ahead of McCain in enough states to give him more than the 270 electoral votes he needs to win.

A victory for McCain, 72, would make him the oldest president to begin a first term in the White House and make his running mate Sarah Palin the first female US vice president.

McCain's hopes for an upset rest on a tightening trend seen in some polls last week, or the possibility that all polls have overestimated Obama's support.

Opinion polls show Obama ahead or even with McCain in at least eight states won by Bush in 2004, including the big prizes of Ohio and Florida. Obama led comfortably in all of the states won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004.

World stocks rose to a two-week high and US stocks gained with major indices up more than 2 percent, as investors looked with relief to the end of the campaign.

Analysts have said market prices probably already reflect expectations of an Obama victory. If Democrats expand their control of Congress, it may be easier for the new administration to deal with the financial crisis.

In Ohio, Ian Edwards said he voted for Obama. "Very simple," the chief executive of a small technology company said. "Bad war. Bad economy. Bad reputation overseas."

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