Obama aims for smooth transition

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama put aside the victory celebrations on Wednesday and began crafting a White House team to help him lead a country mired in a deep economic crisis and two lingering wars.

The day after a sweeping election triumph that will make him the first black U.S. president, Obama named the leaders of his transition effort and offered U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel the job of White House chief of staff, party sources said.

Emanuel is expected to accept the offer, the source said, as Obama begins to lay the groundwork for a smooth takeover of power on January 20.

Obama led Democrats to a decisive victory on Tuesday that expanded their majorities in both houses of Congress, as Americans responded to his call for change and emphatically rejected Republican President George W. Bush's eight years of leadership.

Raucous street celebrations erupted across the country, but Obama has little time to enjoy the triumph. Once in office, he will face immediate pressure to deliver on his campaign promises and resolve a long list of lingering problems.

"This victory alone is not the change we seek -- it is only the chance for us to make that change," Obama told more than 200,000 jubilant supporters in Chicago's Grant Park after his win.

Obama has vowed to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in the first 16 months of his term and to bolster U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, but his first task will be tackling the U.S. financial crisis, the worst since the Great Depression.