US election

Anti-tax crusader Rand Paul's election victory has given the tea party a flag bearer to send to the Senate and hope that more like-minded Washington outsiders would be elected to Congress.

There were messages of good will from many Kiwis, but it was the jubilation of Americans that brought tears to Tracey Barnett's eyes.

Gov. Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, hadn't been back home in Alaska for a full day and her staff had begun fielding requests for post-election interviews, including from Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King and others.

President-elect Barack Obama has pivoted quickly to begin filling out his new administration, selecting hard-charging Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff while aides stepped up the pace of transition work that had been cloaked in pre-election secrecy.

Barack Obama is vowing to be a president for all of America, even those who voted against him.

The jubilant cries of Chicago residents cheering on hometown boy Barack Obama and his mandate for change will ring in the ears of former Dunedin man Leigh Alderton for years to come.

US citizen and former ODT staffer Zach Hosseini writes from America on election night of his pride and joy at the triumph of Barack Obama.

Culminating their satirical coverage of the campaign, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert teamed up for a live one-hour comedy special - though Stewart had his more serious moment as a newsman, too.

Over a two-year campaign, Barack Obama laid out a vision for the nation's future in soaring speeches that enthralled his audiences. With his victory in the presidential election today, those goals will collide with daunting realities.

Barack Obama has been elected the nation's first black president night in a historic triumph that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.