The presidential election has come and gone, and on the red and blue canvas that makes up the United States, West Virginia is painted a solid red.

President-elect Barack Obama won the 2008 election without West Virginia's help. Roughly 56 percent of voters in the Mountain State voted for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. To put it in perspective, 55 percent of voters in the Republican stronghold of Texas voted for McCain.

Nevertheless, Obama's presidency will have implications for West Virginia. The president-elect and the Democrat-controlled Congress are expected to take a harder line on regulating carbon dioxide emissions than President George W. Bush, which will affect the state's coal industry. But just as importantly, Obama made several pledges during his campaign to help states with funding for children's health insurance, education and infrastructure.

Among those celebrating Obama's victory are labor unions, which had a rocky relationship with the Bush administration.

"The working people of this state and country deserve a shot at being part of the most prosperous country on the continent," said Kenneth Perdue, president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO.

One issue of particular importance for organized labor is free trade. Obama has pledged to fight for "fair trade" -- that is, trade agreements with other countries that require them to meet certain labor and environmental standards. Many Democrats and union members believe such agreements will put American industries on equal footing with foreign competitors.

The AFL-CIO also is asking Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which requires the National Labor Relations Board to certify unions in which a majority of a company's employees have signed up to form one, requires companies to negotiate a new contract with the union within 90 days or seek arbitration afterward, and strengthens penalties for companies that engage in illegal, anti-union activities.

The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year but was stopped by a Republican filibuster. Perdue said the legislation still will have a tough time passing even though Democrats have increased their power in Washington, D.C.

Among the opponents will be business interests such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In a letter to Congress last year, the Chamber wrote that the act would create a "check card" process that would eliminate secret ballot elections for forming unions and thereby expose to abuse employees who didn't want to join.

Education is another area of government that is likely to receive a great deal of attention in the Obama White House. While education has traditionally been a function of state government, the federal government took a greater role under President Bush with the passage of No Child Left Behind, which required schools to meet certain performance standards.

No Child Left Behind has been unpopular among educators and many state officials. Obama has pledged to decrease the law's reliance on standardized testing as a measure of performance. He also has proposed a "zero to five" plan to provide states grants to fund early childhood education.

Both proposals get good reviews from Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, the union representing many of the state's teachers.

"We have a good education system already, and it is looking at ways to further reform the system," he said about reforming No Child Left Behind.

Lee said the WVEA also is watching whom Obama will tap as Secretary of Education. So far the president-elect hasn't hinted at whom he will pick for the job.

Another issue that dominated the election was the rising cost of health care. Obama made several promises to help individuals and businesses cope with the expense.

Among the promises were tax credits to individuals for insurance premiums and to small businesses that provide health insurance to their employees. Another was a pledge to make large employers that do not offer or do not make reasonable contributions to health care contribute a percentage of payroll to provide employees with health care. Also, he wants to establish a National Health Insurance Exchange allowing individuals and businesses to shop for health coverage, or allow them to enroll in a proposed public plan based on the benefits available to members of Congress.

It is Obama's health care plans that drew the most criticism from state Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney. He said to cut costs, Obama's proposals limit health care services and cuts fees for health care providers.

He also said that to pay for initiative, Obama is proposing to raise taxes. The president-elect would get the money for the program by allowing tax breaks for people earning more than $250,000 expire two years from now, according to news reports.

"They are proposing more taxes on high-wage earners," he said.

Obama's health care proposals, like most of his other initiatives, were proposed before the current financial crisis and before the federal government injected hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial markets to keep them afloat. The president-elect has said his administration will not be able to undertake some initiatives in its first few years as a result, although he hasn't said which would be scaled back or delayed.

Other campaign pledges include:

• A $4,000 tax credit for college education that will be granted in exchange for community service.
• $150 billion over the next 10 years to invest in "clean energy."
• A requirement that 25 percent of the nation's energy come from renewable resources by 2025.
• A $50 billion economic stimulus plan with half going to states to help them avoid cuts in education and other services as they struggle with shrinking budgets, and the other half being used to improve roads and other infrastructure.