Opinion: Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

(UPDATE: Complete text of Pres.-elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech is available here.)

As expected, the moment the polls closed in California, Oregon and Washington state, network projections declared that Barack Obama would win all three.

And with those three, based on such calls, the senator from Illinois passed the 270-electoral-vote mark needed to win the presidency.

Not only will he be the nation’s first biracial president, he also will be the first native of Hawaii to move into the White House.

He is the first sitting senator to claim the ultimate political prize since John Kennedy in 1960 (as would have been John McCain).

There is one trend that continues -- Obama will be the fourth straight president with an Ivy League educational pedigree.

-- Don Frederick

To get automatic cellphone alerts of every new Ticket item -- on the new Obama administration, the new Congress and this Palin woman -- go here and register.