KEY POINTS:
The US press is looking to the future Obama-led Government, one day after his historic presidential win.
The Washington Post reports that the win has "ushered in a new era of Democratic dominance in Congress".
"Democrats will use their new legislative muscle to advance an economic and foreign policy agenda that Bush has largely blocked for eight years.
"Even when the party seized control of Congress two years ago, its razor-thin margin in the Senate had allowed Republicans to hinder its efforts," reports the Post.
The New York Times reports Obama is now preparing to "confront the daunting challenges" he will face as president.
Obama will be in the White House in just 76 days.
The man who is there now, President George W. Bush, offered Obama his congratulations last night, pledging to cooperate fully with Obama's transition. He also promised to keep the President-elect informed of important decisions, reports the Times.
The Wall Street Journal reports on attention now shifting to the transition team and new administration of Obama.
"Mr Obama issued a statement Wednesday announcing that his transition team would be headed by Mr Podesta; Pete Rouse, who has been Mr. Obama's chief of staff in the Senate; and Valerie Jarrett, a friend of the president-elect and campaign adviser."
The Journal also reports that intelligence officials have begun to issue Obama with "highly classified briefings".
The Boston Globe reports Obama's win will bring a "significant shift" in domestic and foreign policy.
"The people who crowded Grant Park last night, straining for a glimpse of President-elect Barack Obama, were aroused by a lot of passionate issues - war, jobs, race - and yet they insisted that no single goal, nothing that could be written out and measured, defined their expectations for the next administration," reports the Globe.
The paper reports that it is not the changes in policy but the change in presidential "tone" that everyone is expecting.
"Any president's greatest power - as chief executive, commander-in-chief, symbol of the nation - is in the tone he sets, a message that infects every corner of the federal government, penetrates American popular culture, and shapes international opinion of the United States and what it stands for," the Globe reports.
- NZHERALD STAFF
