6 Nov 2008

Mood of the nation reflected by US papers

3:25 pm on 6 November 2008

The mood of the nation is captured by newspapers in the United States, with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

The New York Times says the election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African American leader sweeps away the last racial barrier in American politics.

The paper also says an accumulation of seismic challenges awaits Senator Obama: historians are pointing to Abraham Lincoln taking office as the nation was collapsing into Civil War or Franklin D. Roosevelt arriving in Washington in the throes of the Great Depression.

The Washington Post keeps it simple - the banner headline reads "Obama Makes History". It describes a "decisive" victory, with the Democrats simultaneously expanding control of Congress.

The Los Angeles Times says Barack Obama has broken the "ultimate racial barrier" in a nation founded by slave owners.