All that's left is to vote, even for Obama

[November 04, 2008]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Now all that's left is to vote, even for the man who would be president. Barack Obama planned to start Election Day like millions of other Americans, at the polls. It's the ending that will be unique, securing his place in history as the first black president or as the loser of one of the toughest races in American political history.

After voting, Obama planned a quick stop in Indiana to encourage voters in this Republican-leaning state to support the Democratic candidate from next door in Illinois. He planned his voting-day game of basketball -- a habit he liked to stick to in the primaries for good luck -- before watching returns at a Chicago hotel room.

He planned to address supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, after the race is called.

He told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis on Monday that he doesn't spend much time thinking about the history of becoming president.

"Sometimes, even early on, I thought about governing and the challenges that await the next president," he said. "And that's usually what keeps me up at night -- not the prospect of losing."

[Associated Press; By NEDRA PICKLER]

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