Out of Africa - Obama - President-Elect

Sat up til 4am here in London. Still it wasn't definitively called. Eyes popped open at 7- had to turn on BBC Radio to hear that proper English voice announce: "Barack Obama is the new President Elect of the United States of America." Yes, yes, yes. So many wonderful moments, so moving to witness the joy of Afro-Americans, of black people everywhere and to realize that in a world where we have been talking about the ascension of China, of India... Africa was always eclipsed, forgotten and seemed hopeless. And here he is - an African-American (Kenyan/Indonesian/Hawaiian all there in the mix....) man who has the grace, the dignity, the intelligence and the forgiving heart that can start to bring our foolish little planet together. Have gone through a box of Kleenex watching old black men talk of the long, long unimaginably hard road that this has been, and watching young people everywhere get back their hope.

I once lived in Chicago - and to see Grant Park become the temporary centre of the Universe last night was thrilling. Grant Park was one the scene of vicious riots during a long distant Democratic Convention. Who could have imagined? Who could ever have imagined? Most moving moment - watching that old road warrior Jesse Jackson, not always a loveable or laudable man, tears streaming down his face during Barack's acceptance speech. A morning in millions...