Outside The White House, A Celebration

Hundreds of Barack Obama supporters gathered in front of the White House after midnight, chanting his name and banging drums to celebrate his historic victory.

Quince Brinkley, a 46-year-old African American visiting from Chicago, said he came to take a picture and commemorate the moment. "My 91-year-old grandmother voted,” he said, “and as a 46 year-old-man born before the Civil Rights Act, I am elated."

Kenneth Borden, 48, biked down from his home in the District to “say goodbye to George Bush.” Others had similar thoughts: The chant “no more George Bush” rang out from the growing crowd.

Hollis Gentry, 45, who lives nearby, came down to see the house where Obama soon will live. She said she was “kind of in a fog."

The party continued to grow in the early morning hours, with people calling friends and family to report on the scene or tell them to come down.

As camera phones flashed, Melinda Maldonado, 43, said: “We wanted to catch the fever."