Barack Obama's followers screamed as news came through that the man they had campaigned so hard for, the Democratic senator from Illinois, was now president of the United States! Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson tells PEOPLE. "We all had our little laugh, our little enjoyment when he said it. It was like, OK, that means it's true." By the time CNN made it official, Obama's uncle Robinson adds, "Everybody was quiet. I can't tell you how subdued it was. We weren't like the people in the stands - you know, yelling and screaming."

It is a true honour being the first BLACK president of USA, where not to long ago blacks were segregated!. However getting the honour of the position at the time of war and global financial crisis, Obama, 47, as the 44th president, won't have the luxury of savoring his achievement for long. "For even as we celebrate tonight," he said at his victory rally in Chicago, "we know that the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime."

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