America has turned to an extraordinary man to deal with extraordinary challenges. 

Barack Hussein Obama -- whose Kenyan father abandoned him at  young age and watched his mother lose a desperate struggle with cancer -- has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America. He becomes the first African-American to win the nation's highest office.

But he takes over The White House at a time the world's largest economy struggles to deal with the worst economic downturn in more than 70 years,  a slumping housing market, its troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, its rivals around the world looking for opportunities to challenge its leadership and the nation smarting from a bruising campaign season.

Few American presidents have taken over the Oval Office facing such serious challenges.

 The man Obama defeated in the presidential election, Arizona Senator John McCain, acknowledged the significance of the outcome. He called and congratulated Obama for being elected the first Black American to be elected U.S. president. 

McCain also noted that Obama's election will make African-Americans proud.

One of the leading African-American figures, former U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell, said Obama's victory was particularly significant because he ran for office as "an American who happens to be African."

Powell, a former U.S. millitary chief, said he was not ashamed to admit in public that he shed tears -- together with his wife and son -- when Obama was declared president elect.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson -- who was twice candidate for the Democratic party nomination for president -- also was seen shedding tears after Obama was elected. 

Obama was elected after an extraordinary campaign that saw him beat formidable political rivals.

He first defeated New York Senator Hillary Clinton to win his party's nomination before taking on McCain, a Republican, in the general election .

Obama also harnessed the power of the internet in ways never seen before, helping him raise more than $600 million from donors around the country to fund the most expensive campaign in U.S. history.

He also inspired millions of young and new voters to register and cast their ballots, a move that ultimately paid off as these essentially made the difference between the number of votes garnered by McCain and himself.

Obama ran a very disciplined campaign that enabled him to focus on his election message, instead of scrambling to put out small fires that could have been sparked by gaffes.

Obama campain's rallying cry was "Yes, We Can." But the president elect's first message to the nation was simple and straight forward: the tasks of rebuilding the economy and delivering on campaign promises may take longer than just one term in office.