The 2008 White House race, a spellbinding two-year political romp enriched by an all star cast and cliffhanger plot lurches is almost a wrap. But is there one more twist in the tale?

Spanning three winters, ice-bound Iowa prairies, arid Nevada deserts and unusual detours to Hawaii and the Middle East, the most dollar-soaked and protracted campaign ever promised ... and delivered history.

It was a compelling drama of shattered glass ceilings and monsterous crowds, interwoven with smears and gutter politics.

The end should be written on Tuesday, when either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain will become president elect — barring another recount drama.

Incredibly, Obama (47), not even a US Senator four years ago, is now on the threshold of becoming America's first black president, after a stratospheric political rise.

On the brink of bankruptcy

McCain, the grizzled, 72-year-old navy pilot asking for one more chance to put "Country First" as his campaign puts it, is tipped by polls — which have a chequered record in the 2008 race — to lose.

The fact he is here at all is something of a miracle, as his campaign nearly went bankrupt in mid-2007 before his improbable Lazarus act.

The best supporting actress was once "inevitable" Hillary Clinton, who a year ago, had a 33 percent lead in Democratic polls over Obama.

But her veneer crumbled in the Iowa caucuses in January when Obama pulled off a shock win.

Days later, in New Hampshire, Clinton's voice cracked, and she clouded with tears as the strain ruptured the iron lady image she maintained for decades.

Like former president husband Bill Clinton in 1992, she became a "comeback kid" and won the state's primary, but after a bitter six-month battle finally admitted defeat to Obama.

Hilary's dream

All that was left of her dream of being the first woman president were the "18 million cracks" her voters punched in America's highest glass ceiling.

Bill Clinton was once the darling of Democrats but angered some with purple faced rants and was accused of playing the race card against Obama before the former first couple put their legacy in Obama's hands.

Democrats had a monopoly on star power until McCain snatched Alaska Governor Sarah Palin from obscurity to be his vice presidential nominee.

The self-styled pit bull hockey mom in lipstick electrified conservatives and seemed a golden asset for McCain after a stunning convention speech.

But shaky TV interviews fanned doubts about her readiness and a devastating parody by actress Tina Fey made Palin the partisan puncher a punch line.

Obama's running mate Joseph Biden punctuated blue collar appeal meanwhile with explosive political gaffes on which Republicans pounced.

"A noun, and a verb and 9/11"

Walk on players included gruff Hollywood actor Fred Thompson, who dithered before jumping into the Republican race, but was never the new Ronald Reagan conservatives craved.

Wisecracking former Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee won his 15 minutes of fame by winning the Iowa caucuses.

America's Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's campaign fizzled but was the target of one of the best lines of the campaign. Biden said : "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11."

One key player did not even want a part: George W. Bush. Obama tied the unpopular president to McCain at every turn, making the campaign a referendum on eight years of Republican rule.

Obama set off on his "improbable quest" on a chill morning in February 2007, his thin profile in a long coat reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln.

Seeking to bolster national security credentials, he later toured Europe and the Middle East and twice went to his native Hawaii.

"I'm in and I'm in it to win"

Clinton was bent on making history of her own, launching her bid in January 2007 with the blunt vow "I'm in and I'm in to win."

A third Democrat, John Edwards won Democratic hearts when he revealed wife Elizabeth had incurable cancer.

Once his bid foundered, he lost them again, when it emerged he had an extra marital affair.

Often, election sideshows were as entertaining as the main act.

There was the 1984-themed "You Tube" ad warning of a Big Brother style Hillary Clinton.

There was "Obama girl" Amber Lee Ettinger, who grabbed attention with a YouTube song "I got a crush on Obama ... I can't wait until 2008 ... I love it when you get hot on Hillary in debate."

Clinton was caught on a mike with an off-key rendition of the US national anthem and McCain's ill advised joke song "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran" would haunt him in the general election.

Obama had to defuse his own timebomb, after tapes of racially tinged rants from his former pastor Jeremiah Wright emerged.

The final cameo: "Joe the Plumber" who emerged as the blue-collar hero of McCain's campaign — after bumping into Obama on the campaign trip.

AFP