A victory for Mr McCain (left), 72, would make him the oldest president to begin a first term in the White House. If Mr Obama wins, he would be the first black US president. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - DEMOCRAT Barack Obama and Republican John McCain faced the verdict of Americans voting on Tuesday after a long and bitter struggle for the White House, with Mr Obama holding a decisive edge in national opinion polls.
The winner will set the US course for the next four years to tackle the economic crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a health-care overhaul and other issues.
Who really elects the next president?
IT is the Electoral College, not the popular vote, that elects the next president of the United States. Here are some facts about the Electoral College:
* There are 538 members of the Electoral College, allotted to the 50 states and District of Columbia based on their representation in the US Congress. The smallest states have three members, while the most populous state, California, has 55. Washington DC, which has no voting representation in Congress, has three, the same as the smallest state.
US Senator John McCain of Arizona is the Republican candidate for US president in the election on Tuesday. Following are some of Mr McCain's biographical details:
Joe Biden, Democratic US vice-presidential candidate
DEMOCRATIC vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden is a long-time US senator from Delaware with considerable experience on judicial and foreign policy issues.
Long lines of people waited to vote at some polls in battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia. Polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6pm (7am Singapore time) and over the following six hours in the other 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Mr Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, would be the first black US president. Opinion polls indicate he is running ahead of Mr McCain in enough states to give him more than the 270 electoral votes he needs to win.
A victory for Mr 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.
Mr McCain's hopes for an upset rest on a tightening trend seen in some polls last week, or the possibility that all the polls have overestimated Mr Obama's support.
World stocks rose to a two-week high and US stocks gained with major indices up more than 2 per cent, as investors looked with relief to the end of the campaign. Analysts have said market prices probably already reflected expectations of an Obama victory. But if Democrats tighten their control of Congress, it may be easier for the new administration to deal with the financial crisis.
Opinion polls showed Mr Obama ahead or even with Mr McCain in at least eight states won by Mr Bush in 2004, including the big prizes of Ohio and Florida.
Mr Obama led comfortably in all of the states won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004.
In Ohio, Mr Ian Edwards said he voted for Mr Obama. 'Very simple,' the chief executive of a small technology company said. 'Bad war. Bad economy. Bad reputation overseas.
Mr Jerry Fritsch, in Scottsdale, Arizona, said he has nephews serving in the US Marine Corps and he picked Mr McCain for his military policies.
'I don't want anybody who is going to screw with the Marine Corps heading up our main office,' he said.
The race was closely watched around the world, including in Kenya, where in Mr Obama's late father's village of Kogelo, residents prayed for his presidential bid and for his maternal grandmother, who died in Hawaii this week.
Campaign themes Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle, voted at his Chicago polling station accompanied by their two daughters. Poll workers and voters snapped pictures and cheered.
'Voting with my daughters, that was a big deal,' he said.
Mr Obama then made a final campaign stop in Indianapolis, visiting a union hall to thank members and making several phone calls to voters. He later planned to play basketball in Chicago with friends and staff before watching election returns.
Mr McCain, an Arizona senator, voted near his Phoenix apartment before final stops in Colorado and New Mexico. He will then return to Arizona. Seeking the biggest upset in modern politics, Mr McCain said he was gaining.
'We're going to work hard until the polls close,' he told CBS television.
The candidates hammered their campaign themes in the final hours, with Mr Obama accusing Mr McCain of representing a third term for Mr Bush's policies and being out of touch on the economy.
Mr McCain, whose campaign has attacked Mr Obama as a socialist and accused him of being a 'pal' with terrorists, portrayed his opponent as a tax-raising liberal.
But Mr McCain has struggled to separate himself from Mr Bush in a difficult political environment for Republicans.
Victories in any of the traditionally Republican states where polls show Mr Obama is competitive, including Virginia, Colorado, Indiana and North Carolina, would likely propel him to the White House.
Mr Obama took command of the race in the last month as a deepening financial crisis reinforced his perceived strengths on the economy and in three debates.
Democrats are also expected to expand majorities in both chambers of Congress. They need to gain nine Senate seats to reach a 60-seat majority that would give them the muscle to defeat Republican procedural hurdles.
That would raise pressure on Democrats to deliver on campaign promises to end the war in Iraq, eliminate Mr Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy and overhaul health care. -- REUTERS
