This is a truly historic moment for the US and the world. I have avoided any analysis on TV or on-line. I want to get my own thoughts in order first. This could be one of the most important election results in my lifetime.

I stayed up until 02:30 this morning watching the results come in. I went to bed shortly after Pennsylvania was called for Obama, then a senior Republican strategist all but conceded, so I figured it was all over.

I have been a fan of Obama since I saw an early appearance of his on The Daily Show. A charismatic, able young African American, but what impressed me most was that he sounded reasonable. Missing were the straw man arguments, the false choices, the mysticism and the bullying.

He has continued to impress me over the last year or so. He strikes me as someone who is truly interested infinding solutions, rather than the usual peddling of interests.

There can be no doubt that the USA has firmly ended the Bush era, but what next? There is a feeling of possibilities. Paths have opened up that were never present in the Bush / Blair years.

Perhaps most importantly, the US will regain some of its self-confidence, and some of its moral capital. There will be opportunities to rebuild and strengthen the Atlantic alliance. The problems we face are global ones, they require global solutions.

Change I can believe in? I am willing to give it a go.