CHICAGO | Yes he can.

At 10:57 p.m. local time Tuesday night, Sen. Barack Obama addressed a crowd of nearly a quarter-million people in Chicago’s Grant Park as president-elect of the U.S.

On Jan. 20, Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president and the first African-American president in the nation’s history.

“If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, still questions the power of democracy, tonight is your answer,” Obama told his supporters.

The popular vote was close — 51.3 percent for Obama to 47.5 percent for Sen. John McCain, with 73 percent of all U.S. precincts tallied — but not the count in the Electoral College where it mattered most. Numbers as of press time gave 338 electoral votes to Obama and 141 to McCain.

In Chicago, the young and old danced in the street, they laughed, they cried, they chanted “Yes we can” well into the Wednesday morning hours.

Though “change” has been the operative word of Obama’s campaign, he noted there is much work to be done.

“Tonight, because what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” Obama said. “This victory alone is not the victory we seek, it is only the chance for us to make that change, even as we celebrate tonight, we know that the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime.”

Obama, considered by many an underdog candidate at the start of the election process, believed the support from all walks of life contributed to his victory.

“I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to; it belongs to you. I was never the likeliest candidate for this office,” Obama said.

Now that his future as the nation’s leader is assured, Obama is focused on the issues he will face when he walks into the White House.

“The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep, we may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight and we will get there.”