American Presidential election today:

Obama in command as US voting starts

US: Barack Obama stood on the threshold of history Monday as polls gave the Democrat a sharp edge over John McCain on the last day of campaigning for the most dramatic presidential vote in a generation.

But McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, was adamant he would confound the pollsters to stage a shock comeback and wrench victory from the African-American Obama’s grasp on Tuesday.

The 47-year-old Democrat stressed the historic nature of his quest to be America’s first black president, striking an optimistic tone as fresh polls gave him a wide lead and heaped further pressure on McCain.

“This is a defining moment in our history,” Obama wrote in an article published Monday in The Wall Street Journal.

“Tomorrow, I ask you to write our nation’s next great chapter... If you give me your vote, we won’t just win this election — together, we will change this country and change the world.”

McCain was defiant. “My opponent is measuring the drapes at the White House,” he said, as he wrapped up a frenzied day of campaigning with a midnight rally in Miami.

“They may not know it, but the Mac is back! And we’re going to win this election,” he added, to deafening cheers. The Republican was to launch a frenetic dash through at least seven states on the marathon campaign’s final day. Obama was to blitz through Florida, North Carolina and Virginia bidding to storm Republican bastions and turn them over to his side.

Florida, Monday, AFP