Accepting the ResultAmerica's hard-fought presidential election came to a grand finale yesterday with choreographed statements by the winner and loser - one to a cheering but chastened band of disappointed supporters, the other to fans, US citizens and much of the watching world.
"America has spoken and I'm humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens," President Bush told delighted supporters just after 8 p.m. Irish time.
"With that trust comes a duty to serve all Americans and I will do my best to fulfil that duty every day as your president. The voters turned out in record numbers and delivered an historic victory.
"Earlier today, Senator Kerry called with his congratulations. We had a really good phone call. He was very gracious. Senator Kerry waged a spirited campaign and he and his supporters can be proud of their efforts. Laura and I wish Senator Kerry and Teresa and their whole family all our best wishes."
After a day which began with defiance and determination from his running mate John Edwards - determination to hold out until every last vote was counted - but was then characterised by silence as the fact of defeat loomed larger, Mr Kerry finally conceded, at first in a private call to Mr Bush and then to his supporters.
Ever the dutiful soldier, Mr Kerry delivered the most painful speech of his life, choking back the tears and the bitter aftertaste of defeat as he appealed to fellow Democrats to work to heal America's divide.
Amid the raw emotions which occasionally overwhelmed him, forcing Mr Kerry to gaze up at the ceiling for composure, the senator was careful to tell the faithful that he had thoroughly explored the prospects of a legal challenge and recounts before giving up on the election.
"In America, it is vital that every vote counts and that every vote be counted, but the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal fight," Mr Kerry said.
"I would not have given up this fight if there was a chance we would prevail, but it is now clear that if all the provisional ballots were counted, which they will be, there won't be enough outstanding votes for us to win Ohio and therefore we can't win the election."
It was in many ways, Mr Kerry's finest appearance - the flinty New Englander's feelings were on full display for perhaps the first time in his candidacy. The concession speech, delivered in the 18th-century splendour of Boston's Faneuil Hall meeting place, was a rare encounter with failure for Mr Kerry.
The product of a privileged New England upbringing, a graduate of Yale, a Vietnam war hero and husband to two heiresses, Mr Kerry has lost just one election in his political career and that was some 30 years ago.
But in ending the quest that has consumed him for more than half of his lifetime, the Democratic leader remained mindful of the extraordinary passions unleashed during the course of this election season and the dangers of leaving his supporters to nurse their resentments.
So Mr Kerry extinguished the last hopes for Democrats that, even in the face of a convincing re-election victory for President Bush, somehow the results could be salvaged.
After studying the returns and consulting Republican as well as Democratic politicians in the state, Mr Kerry's aides advised him to surrender. Shortly after 11 a.m. (4 p.m. Irish time), Mr Kerry made a brief phone call to the Oval Office.
"I did my best to express my vision and my hopes for America," he said. "I wish things had turned out differently."
The way was now clear for Mr Bush. "A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation," he said in a victory speech in Washington. "When we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
Speaking directly to supporters of Mr Kerry, Mr Bush said: "I will need your support and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can to deserve your trust."
Last night Mr Bush's most trusted ally, the British prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, publicly congratulated the US president but urged him to redouble his efforts to help broker a Middle East peace settlement.
"The need to revitalise the Middle East peace process is the single most pressing political challenge in our world today," the prime minister told reporters in his Downing Street home.
He said Mr Bush's re-election came at a critical time for a world which was "fractured, divided and uncertain. We must be relentless in our war against terrorism and in resolving the conditions and causes on which the terrorists prey."
Earlier, Mr Blair told parliament he would press the President to revive the Middle East peace process, which he said was essential to winning the war on terror. - (Reuters, The Guardian, The Irish Times)