Young voters and independents flooded the gyms and church basements in record numbers last night, delivering a historic and decisive victory to Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the Iowa caucus as he vanquished Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York for the Democratic nomination for the White House.

And Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to win the opening round among Republicans in the 2008 campaign for the White House.

The Hawai'i-born Obama, 46, told a raucous victory rally his triumph showed that in "big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people, and our time for change has come.' "

Obama delivered on his promise to attract new voters, young voters and independents to his campaign, and the extraordinary crowds that he had drawn throughout the campaign proved a strong measure of his support.

He also finished solidly ahead of former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who edged Clinton for second place.

Obama, a Punahou School graduate, called the evening a "defining moment in history."

He said the victory had sent a "powerful message that change is coming to America."

If elected, Obama vowed, "I'll be a president that ends this war in Iraq and finally brings our troops home, who restores our moral standing, who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century.

"Hope is the bedrock of this nation, the belief that our destiny will not be written for us but by us, by all those men and woman who are not content to settle for the world as it is but who have the courage to remake the world as it should be," he said. "That is what we started here in Iowa, and that is the message we can now carry to New Hampshire and beyond."

The GOP victory by Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, represented a rejection by Iowa Republicans of the massive money apparatus that Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, had used on the ground and in a constant flurry of late TV ads to blister Huckabee.

In addition to giving Huckabee a win that could translate into the fundraising dollars necessary to project viability on a national scale, the caucus results provided an opening for a surging John McCain in New Hampshire.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson indicated he's looking forward to New Hampshire, saying "it's pretty clear that we're going to have a ticket to the next dance" after his Iowa showing.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut abandoned their bids for the Democratic presidential nomination after yesterday's results.

TURNOUT DOUBLES

Obama clearly becomes the most serious African-American presidential candidate in history.

"They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. ... But on this January night, on this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do. You did what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days," Obama told supporters at a campaign rally.

Almost twice as many Iowans flocked to the caucuses as attended in 2004, previously the high point for the first round in the presidential primary season.

Clinton publicly congratulated the younger senator, but with an edge that promised a fierce battle to come.

"I am as ready as I can be after having this incredible experience here in Iowa," the former first lady told supporters at a noisy rally attended by her husband and their daughter, Chelsea. "We have always planned to run a national campaign all the way through the early contests."

Clinton has a formidable, well-oiled campaign operation in place for next Tuesday's New Hampshire vote.

The Edwards campaign is also alive to fight another day. Edwards' decision to pour almost all of his resources into Iowa paid off, and his best hope is that New Hampshire voters who like his progressive message will now see him as a viable candidate worthy of their consideration.

"The one thing that's clear from tonight's caucus is that the status quo lost and change won," he said.

Edwards, the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee, said he would distinguish himself from Obama in New Hampshire by arguing that he is the candidate who can deliver the change that voters have shown they want.

HUCKABEE CHALLENGE

For Huckabee, the test now will be appealing to a New Hampshire electorate that has far fewer evangelical Protestants than Iowa and doing so with fewer resources than rivals. But Huckabee can take comfort in knowing that South Carolina, a bastion of evangelicals, holds its GOP primary on Jan. 19.

"Tonight what we have seen is a new day in American politics," Huckabee told supporters. "And tonight it starts in Iowa, but it doesn't end here. ... It goes to all the other states and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

Iowa's GOP is made up disproportionately of Christian conservatives; six in 10 Republicans who turned out last night identified themselves as evangelicals. In 1988, the Rev. Pat Robertson shocked the Republican establishment by placing ahead of George H.W. Bush in Iowa but didn't come close to winning the nomination.

Romney, who in the final days sought to cast himself as an underdog in the contest, said, "I've been pleased that I've been able to make up ground and I intend to keep making up ground, not just here but across the country."

Still, the defeat was a serious blow for Romney and his plans of steamrolling to the nomination with consecutive victories in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Standing with his wife and family, Romney, a former head of the Olympic Games, accepted the "silver" and congratulated his rival for earning the "gold." But Romney vowed to win first place in the "final games" and to "keep it up state after state after state."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service, the Washington Post and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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