Obama officially elected

Jan. 8 - The U.S. Congress officially declared Barack Obama as the next president of the United States in a ceremonial, yet constitutionally required state by state tally of the electoral college votes.

In U.S. elections, the winner of the popular vote -- Obama in this case with nearly 67 million votes -- does not necessarily win the presidency. That decision falls to the 538 members of the Electoral College, party faithful allotted to each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their representation in the U.S. Congress or population.SOUNDBITE: U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney