The disappointment for Republicans, by contrast, was crushing.  Surely a post-mortem in their ranks will now rage over which direction the party can take now after suffering two presidential losses in a row and whether it was harmed either by a faulty candidate or by the rightwards pull exerted on it by the Tea Party.

To what extent Mr Romney’s faith hurt him in the race is still a murky question, but it could have suppressed the evangelical vote which was so pivotal in putting George W. Bush into office for a second time in 2004.

Without a strong mandate for the next four years, the chances of Obama achieving desperately needed bipartisan reform seems remote at best.

As the results started to come in, the audience whooped and washed Big Macs down with bubbly.

The stage is set for Obama, although tradition means he will wait before addressing his supporters until Romney has conceded.

I am standing 30 feet from the podium where Mitt Romney will be conceding in approximately five minutes. p.twimg.com/A7E3mNOCUAI9Mfe.jpg

I have just called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory.

She would have been a wonderful first lady.

The nation chose another leader, and so Ann and I join with you to pray for him and for this great nation.