Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, leading Democrats in an unprecedented call for change across the nation. Before a crowd of more than 100,000 in Chicago’s Grant Park and on television sets across the world, Obama declared, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible…tonight is your answer.”

Will Barack Obama win in an historic landslide? Or will John McCain pull off a stunning comeback? How much control will Democrats have when the Senate reconvenes in January? A lot is at stake and unprecedented turnout is expected as America votes. Stay with the Saint for post-election updates throughout the week.

Sen. Barack Obama held an early morning rally in Grand Rapids yesterday, drawing an estimated crowd of 16,000 people to Calder Plaza, where the Democratic presidential candidate delivered a 30-minute speech contrasting his economic proposals to those of his Republican challenger, Sen. John McCain.

“The unemployment rate here in Grand Rapids and other parts of this state is nearly double what it is across this country,” Obama said. “And a new jobs report is coming out tomorrow that experts predict will show our ninth straight month of job loss. McCain just two weeks ago said ‘the fundamentals of our economy are strong,’” he said. “Well, where I come from, the strongest fundamental of the economy is a job.”

According to Real Clear Politics, Obama is leading in statewide polling by an average of seven percentage points, and trending upward.

Just hours after Obama’s rally in Grand Rapids, the McCain campaign announced it was pulling out of Michigan in order to focus its efforts on more competitive battleground states such as Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a McCain campaign official in Grand Rapids told this reporter that he was “unfortunately not allowed to give…any information on that.” He declined to characterize the move as a complete pull-out, noting that some staff will remain in the state.

It was announced today that both the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee have decided to suspend all future TV and radio advertising on behalf of McCain in Michigan.

The move all but concedes Michigan’s 17 electoral votes to Obama. The state hasn’t voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988, but many Republican strategists believed McCain had a shot. According to the McCain campaign, staff and resources in Michigan will be “shifted” elsewhere.

“It’s not good news,” said Michigan McCain campaign Co-chair Charles Yob in an interview with the Grand Rapids Press. The anticipated loss of Michigan tightens the already difficult battleground electoral math for McCain.

According to Andrew Romano of Newsweek, “The truth is, without Michigan - which the campaign has now all but admitted it will lose - it’s very difficult to see how McCain can emerge victorious on Nov. 4.”

Speculation grew today that the McCain campaign was considering a similar move in Pennsylvania, which has also been trending Democratic.

The McCain campaign has cancelled all future candidate appearances in Michigan. On Monday, Obama will visit Ypsilanti, where he will appear alongside rock legend and Democratic activist Bruce Springsteen.

With less than two months to go, the presidential election of 2008 has already established itself as a race of historic proportions for both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention were held not long ago with the DNC held August 25-28 in Denver, CO and the RNC held September 1-4 in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.On the Democratic side and before a crowd of more than 80,000 people, Barack Obama accepted the nomination, becoming the first African-American to lead a major party.

Also nominated as the Democratic vice presidential candidate at the convention was Joseph R. Biden, 65 and the senior senator from Delaware. Although some Hillary Clinton supporters were upset that the Democratic primary runner-up was not selected, most, such as Aquinas freshman Heather Thum, found the choice an excellent fit.

“Vice-presidential picks are meant to “make-up” for what each candidate is missing,” said Thum. “I think in both cases, it has been a huge strategic move.”

Biden, current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, brings an element of international expertise that many political observers viewed Obama as lacking. In the run-up to the Iraq war, Biden pressed unsuccessfully for a law requiring President Bush to exhaust all diplomatic options before invading.

As for the Republicans, John McCain shook up the race with the announcement of his running-mate, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and now the first woman to appear on a Republican presidential ticket. With the surprise selection has come speculation that some Clinton supporters will back McCain for his inclusion of a woman on the ticket. Aquinas freshman Becki Johnson doesn’t think it will play out that way, though.

“Those uneducated about the issues will,” she said, but “voting for a woman just because she’s a woman is just as stupid as not voting for a woman just because she’s a woman.”

The nomination of Palin has additionally raised serious questions over the extent to which the Alaska governor was vetted. While traditional Republicans have expressed great enthusiasm for her conservative credentials, Palin is also viewed as inexperienced in matters of foreign policy, and she is additionally the subject of a growing ethics investigation over allegations of official misconduct.

The McCain campaign wasted no time in interrupting the media’s coverage of Obama’s acceptance speech with this morning’s announcement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for vice president. Prior to the announcement, Palin was widely seen as a dark horse candidate, a distant possibility in the face of such familiar options as Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and even independent Joe Lieberman.

Palin, 44, has served as governor of Alaska for less than two years, after holding office as mayor of Wasilla, a town of less than 10,000 people. A self-described “hockey mom,” Palin has developed a reputation as a political reformer, passing toughened ethical standards for Alaskan politicians upon assuming the governorship. Nevertheless, as CNN reports, she is currently “under investigation for her firing of a state official, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.” Democrats have already jumped on the investigation in their criticism of McCain’s selection.

Many in the political realm are interpreting McCain’s pick as reinforcing of his efforts to lure former supporters of Hillary Clinton to his camp. According to CNN, “Palin will be the first woman to be nominated for vice president as a Republican and only the second to run on a major party ticket, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.”

“To have been chosen brings a great challenge,” said Palin in an appearance with McCain in Ohio on Friday. “I know that it will demand the best I have to give and I promise nothing less.”

As governor, Palin has developed a reputation as a committed conservative and devout Christian, opposing abortion rights and gun control, and advocating for expanded exploration and drilling of the nation’s oil resources. Her husband, Todd, works as an oil production operator on Alaska’s North Slope. According to her official biography, Palin is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and an avid hunter and fisher.

McCain’s endorsement was solid. “She’s got the grit, integrity, good sense, and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today.”

The announcement came as a surprise to many, although the Obama campaign and its Democratic surrogates were quick to respond.

“McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency,” the campaign said in a statement released early Friday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today accused the United States of orchestrating the recent Russian-Georgian war in South Ossetia in order to aid an unspecified presidential political candidate.

“U.S. citizens were indeed in the area of conflict,” Putin asserted in an interview with CNN. “They were acting in implementing those orders, doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such an order is their leader.” Putin declined to offer any material evidence of his claims. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino denied the allegations.

“To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational,” she said.

According to CNN, Putin spoke with President Bush during the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, but that he was “disappointed that the U.S. adminstration didn’t do more to stop Georgia early in the conflict.”

Today, various news outlets reported that U.S. and Russian military vessels have taken up defensive positions in several Georgian ports. The United Kingdom took similarly provocative measures today, calling upon the European Union and NATO to prepare for “hard-headed engagement” with Moscow following the Georgian crisis, according to the Financial Times.

In similar developments, the United States has expressed uncommon political appreciation to China for the country’s refusal to endorse Russia’s military intervention in South Ossetia.

Hillary Clinton is back. And, yet again, she’s fired up and ready to go…this time in support of former opponent Barack Obama. Using her Tuesday night prime time slot at the Democratic National Convention as a launching pad, the New York senator delivered what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the single greatest speeches of her already distinguished career. Marked by an unquestioning endorsement of Barack Obama and a rejuvenated call to social action, Clinton proved once again that she is a force to be reckoned with.

“We don’t have a moment to lose or a vote to spare,” she said of the task facing the Democrats in November. “No way. No how. No McCain.”

The magic of the evening was apparent from the outset, in which Clinton was introduced by a video tribute produced by her own creative team, a detail negotiated specially for the senator. The video set the tone for Clinton’s appearance, featuring flawlessly edited archival footage, rock music, and a powerful message of social change.

Clinton wasted no time facing the obvious elephant in the room, challenging her most loyal supporters to vote for the cause, and not allow the bitterness of the primary to affect the election’s outcome. “Obama is my candidate, and he must be our candidate,” she said.

“You haven’t worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.”

Many of the delegates and party activists in the crowd had tears in their eyes as Clinton said “Whether you voted for me or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party behind a single candidate.”

“It looked like a unified party,” said MSNBC Political Director Chuck Todd. “To be sure, last night’s speech won’t end some of the tension and hard feelings. But both ObamaNation and Hillaryland got what they wanted out of last night’s speech.”

In addition to helping to unify the party behind Obama, Clinton’s speech sets up the New York senator for another run at the presidency in 2012 in the event that Obama fails to win in November.

Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama officially announced his running mate early this morning. Senator Obama has selected Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, pictured with his wife, Jill. Biden, who has spent more than 35 years in the Senate, is considered one of the most influential voices in American Foreign Policy.

Obama and Biden campaigned together at a near capacity rally this afternoon in Springfield, IL, the place where Obama announced his Presidential candidacy nineteen months ago. Obama praised Biden saying, “Joe Biden is that rare mix - for decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him.”

Biden, in turn, praised Obama while criticizing his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, saying, “these times require more than a good soldier, they require a wise leader.”

Analysts view Obama’s choice as a safe one. Biden has a strong following among working-class Democrats and is well-respected inside the Senate. He is also known as the “third senator from Pennsylvania” because he grew up in the Keystone State. Biden is also seen as potentially helpful to Obama in gaining the support of women, as he has worked to fight domestic violence during his long career in the Senate.

Many political analystist have favorable things to say about the ticket. Reid Wilson writes in an article on realclearpolitics.com:

Joe Biden is one of a few people, along with Ted Kennedy, George Mitchell, Sam Nunn and perhaps a handful of others, who can be called a senior statesman in the Democratic Party. Experienced, intelligent and savvy, Obama’s choice, in retrospect, could not have been anyone else.

A commentator on cable news this morning pointed out that the ticket has a positive balance now, calling it “change meets experience.”

However, not everyone is thrilled with the Obama-Biden ticket. Ron Fournier, a well-known Republican and AP reporter says of Obama’s choice:

The picks say something profound about Obama: For all his self-confidence, the 47-year-old Illinois senator worried that he couldn’t beat Republican John McCain without help from a seasoned politician willing to attack. The Biden pick is the next logistical step in an Obama campaign that has become more negative — a strategic decision that may be necessary but threatens to run counter to his image.

Watch speeches from Obama and Biden below.

(Video courtesy msnbc.com. Photo courtesy wsj.com)

Throughout the course of this seemingly never-ending campaign cycle, both candidates have provided America with some hilariously memorable, if not politically savvy, verbal failures. There was, of course, Barack Obama’s infamous line in Iowa, where he pondered the going price of arugula - a vegetable that’s not exactly in demand (if even heard of) in the region. There was also the stubborn John McCain, repeatedly asserting the existence of Czechoslovakia - a country that ceased to exist in 1993.

Then, there was the John McCain of this past Wednesday, when the Arizona senator revealed in an interview with Politico that he was “uncertain” of how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

“I think - I’ll have my staff get to you,” a fidgety McCain said. “It’s condominiums where - I’ll have them get to you.”

Depending on the source, John and Cindy McCain together own somewhere between seven and ten houses. No, it’s not a misprint. Seven to ten.

Even if it’s only seven houses. For the sake of reality, that’s six more houses than are owned by most Americans, and a full seven more than millions of others. The collective price tag on McCain’s Monopoly board? A modest $13,823,269.

But, of course, John McCain is just like you and me. I heard him say it on TV.

The Americans scored a resounding upset over the French 4 X 100m freestyle relay team in Beijing on Sunday night, winning gold by just six hundredths of a second and bringing all-star American swimmer Michael Phelps one step closer to his goal of besting Mark Spitz’s previous Olympic record of 8 gold medals, set at the Munich Games in 1972.

The highly anticipated event was preceded by dramatic controversy, as French swimmer Alain Bernard promised to “smash” the Americans. “The Americans?” Bernard said. “We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came for.”

Not quite.

The American time of 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds set a new world record. Although Phelps set an individual 100m record during the relay, it was 32-year-old Jason Lezak whose anchoring performance sealed the victory, besting Bernard by mere hundredths of a second.