![dek](https://content.time.com/time/photoessays/2008/yip_2008/yip_02.jpg)
John McCain gets patted down before boarding a plane in March, after a campaign stop in San Antonio, Texas.
In one of the craziest elections in American history, Barack Obama overcame a lack of experience, a funny name, two candidates who are political institutions and the racial divide to become the 44th President of the United States
John McCain gets patted down before boarding a plane in March, after a campaign stop in San Antonio, Texas.