Obama: with election over, U.S. must work together

By Deborah Charles

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Barack Obama said on Saturday that, with the long U.S. presidential election campaign over, now was the time for Americans to put aside political differences and work together to solve the economic crisis.

Obama, a Democrat who won a decisive victory against Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election to become the first black U.S. president as of January 20, vowed to seek unity.

He noted Republican President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush had invited Obama and his wife Michelle to the White House on Monday and that the Bushes had offered to do all they could to help with Obama's transition.

"This speaks to a fundamental recognition that here in America we can compete vigorously in elections and challenge each other's ideas, yet come together in service of a common purpose once the voting is done," Obama said in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address.

"And that is particularly important at a moment when we face the most serious challenges of our lifetime," said Obama, who regularly attacked the Bush administration during the campaign for causing the now-global economic crisis.

Obama noted that figures released on Friday showed a 10th straight month of job losses, bringing the total number of unemployed Americans to about 10 million.

"Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes," Obama said. "Their stories are an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we must act swiftly to resolve them."

'CAN'T AFFORD TO WAIT'

Obama said he and his transition advisory board -- a well-regarded group of business leaders, former top Washington officials and economic experts -- discussed the challenges at a meeting on Friday and started developing a series of policies to address the crisis.

"While we must recognize that we only have one president at a time and that President Bush is the leader of our government, I want to ensure that we hit the ground running on January 20th because we don't have a moment to lose," said Obama.

In his own weekly radio address, Bush congratulated Obama on his historic victory.

"No matter how we cast our ballots, all Americans have reason to be proud of our democracy. Our citizens have chosen a president who represents a triumph of the American story -- a testament to hard work, optimism and faith in the enduring promise of our nation," Bush said.

But he warned of the difficulties awaiting the president-elect.

"Our country faces economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in," Bush said.

"This will also be America's first wartime presidential transition in four decades," Bush added. "We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us -- and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people."