FARGO, N.D. -- Add former Vice President Walter Mondale to the chorus of voices praising the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first African-American president.
Mondale tells WDAY Radio of Fargo that Obama's election represents a "profound historic change and shift in America."
Mondale was a U.S. senator during the civil rights era and says he never thought he would live to see an African-American elected president.
As Mondale puts it: "We elected a truly gifted person who happened to be black."
Mondale -- who lost the 1984 presidential race to Republican Ronald Reagan -- says he expects Obama to emphasize the importance of change and to lead a bipartisan effort to accomplish his goals. He says it'll require "a lot of heavy lifting and courage."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
