It’s official. Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.
The Senate and House of Representatives just concluded a joint session in which the electoral college vote results of the Nov. 4 election were counted and certified with great fanfare.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who serves as president of the Senate, presided over the meeting and read the official results – Obama of Illinois received 365 of the 538 electoral votes for president and Sen. John McCain of Arizona received 173. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware received 365 electoral votes for the office of vice president while Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska received 173 votes, Cheney said. 
With the electoral votes duly recorded by Congress, Obama will be free to take the oath of office on Jan. 20, on the west front of the Capitol.
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Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts (Ballots from the Electoral College are carried into the House Chamber for joint session of Congress/ Vice President Cheny hands Rep. Robert Brady of Pennsylvania vote results from Ohio.)
