Who is the new president? Is he the crisp non-ideological technocrat who ran a flawless campaign as surely as an up-and-coming star at General Electric or another big US multinational? The man with whom many chief executives instinctively feel they could do business?

Or is he the community organiser from Chicago with tight links to unions, who railed against corporate profits in his campaign and vowed to alter the North American Free Trade Agreement? The left-winger who wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and puts equality above efficiency?

John McCain, Mr Obama's Republican opponent, tried unsuccessfully to paint Mr Obama as a dangerous radical who associated with Bill Ayres, the former Weather Underground member. The rabid elements of the Republican base accused him of being a closet Muslim who despised his country.