Yes, the president-elect of the United States is indeed Barack Hussein Obama.

Some in the media are declaring his 52 percent victory to be "most impressive." The reality is that Obama received about the same number of votes as President Bush did in 2004. Yes, Obama won, but at what cost?

The truth of Obama's personal associations were sheltered from public view. When friends and mentors of Obama's were talked about by Republican candidates, cries of racism and hatred materialized from the left. When Obama's truly dangerous philosophies were revealed, the national press disregarded them. Never in recent history has a presidential candidate made more naive campaign promises than Obama. Not just a chicken in everyone's pot; but a brand new, shiny pot for everybody! At what cost?

Obama's first broken campaign promise occurred when he reneged on his pledge to use only taxpayer funding for his presidential crusade. While (John) McCain honored his taxpayer funding pledge, Obama did not and spent over $650 million. That is 7.7 times as much money expended as McCain.

Obama also had the support of all three major television networks. Network newscasts were critical of McCain over Obama by huge margins. Obama was featured on the cover of major magazines dozens and dozens of times. Late night comedians lampooned McCain cheekily and often. Newspapers from New York to Los Angeles couldn't do enough to slant the news in favor of their privileged nominee. Hollywood, gangster rappers, television celebrities and other media darlings supported Obama and played the public notice for all it was worth.

But perhaps the most important dynamic of this presidential campaign was the lack of a conservative candidate at the top of the ticket. McCain won the Republican nomination and all GOP members are to be held accountable for that. However, for some on the left to call McCain a "Reagan conservative" is an insult to the legacy of our nation's 40th president. McCain crossed the aisle so many times he often forgot where his Senate seat was located. And by doing so John "the maverick" McCain lost the support of countless conservatives across the nation.

Despite being outspent by a ridiculous amount of money, despite having the major media solidly aiding his campaign, despite not having a conservative candidate in opposition, Obama squeaked by with a little more than half of the total votes cast. And you people on the left, you liberal romantics are calling the victory a "most impressive mandate"?

Because of the choice of Barack Obama as the next president, we need to pray as never before that this nation even has a future.

Dorothy Hilton lives in Springfield.