Phew!
Let's hope the damage of the past eight years can be undone and that the world can again find faith in America.
There's a long road ahead, and I can't help but reflect on a similar wave of euphoria that swept this side of the Atlantic in May 1997; a time that we, too, believe, would herald a new age of decency and fairness for all. Blair let us down and led us into an illegal and immoral war - let us hope that Obama is made of better stuff.