Beaten McCain appeals for unity as party faithful boo the victor

The 72-year-old Republican candidate offered no trace of bitterness as he addressed thousands of backers in his home town after making a call to Mr Obama handing him victory.

But the depths of difficulty his party faces were underlined by the reaction of a crowd hostile to his message of uniting behind the president. Mr McCain, with his wife Cindy, running mate Sarah Palin and her husband Todd, took the stage to admit defeat soon after the polls closed in California.

"We fought as hard as we could, and though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours," Mr McCain said. "The road was a difficult one from the outset. Every campaign makes mistakes but I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been."

Mr McCain took pains to recognise Mr Obama's victory and its astonishing symbolism of a black president just 40 years after the end of the civil rights movement.

He said: "This is an historic election, and I recognise the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight." He insisted America today was "a world away from the cruel and spiteful bigotry" of a century ago.

"There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States," he said.

Offering his condolences to Mr Obama for the death on Sunday of his grandmother, Mr McCain said he regretted that she had not lived to see her grandson achieve such "a great thing for himself and his country".

He called for unity despite the divisions the election had raised, adding: "Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face."

Stopping several times to urge the audience not to boo Obama's name, he said: "I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history."

Not all the senator's supporters were willing to accept their candidate's loss. Throughout the crowd, the wails of women could be heard; the victory party soon dissipating in defeat into the night. "This is horrible," offered one distressed woman. "I'm worried for my country. Watch your wallets."

A companion added: "Watch your guns, too."

At the Biltmore Hotel, the party faithful - who had been intending to eat, drink and party through the night - largely went home early in disappointment.

As the bad news unfolded, the feed giving a running update of results was cut.

Grassroots Republican feeling was summed up by 53-year-old Donna Petello, who was wearing a hot pink button that said "Hot Chicks Vote Republican".

She said: "America made a big mistake and they'll surely see that soon. But we can't do anything about it."