A great result!

I hung on in there until 6.00 am, switching between TV channels so as not to miss anything. One of the guys from the Music Group booked a trip to San Francisco several months ago, specifically so he'd hopefully be in late-closing California as that State's votes confirmed Barack Obama as the next US President. We texted one another during the night as the drama unfolded, and he was naturally thrilled when what he'd hoped for actually came true. I also maintained a stream of emails during the night with my brother in Australia. Meanwhile, back home, I remained glued to the TV, becoming more and more hopeful as time went by.

I have to say that I found the BBC coverage very disappointing, littered with technical glitches which none of the others seemed prone to, and just plain unprofessional most of the time. While I returned to them on and off, I spent more time with our own RTÉ, with ITV, with CNN, and with France24, all of which were better. One thing I did like on BBC was the way this photo montage coalesced on screen at the moment Obama passed the magic 270 mark.

John McCain's concession speech was generous and statesmanlike (though the crowd were far from well behaved, I thought), but it was President-elect Obama who stole the night with his magnificent oratory, his extraordinary aura of authority and confidence, and the sheer force of intelligence which he exhibited in his acceptance speech. That recurring refrain of 'Yes we can' gained in strength with each repetition, and was always destined to be taken up by the crowd. It speaks volumes that this acceptance speech already resonates in the memory. If he can do this at this point, what lies in store when it comes to his inauguration address? Perhaps it isn't too much to hope for something on a par with what John F Kennedy had to say all those years ago.

It's a terrific result. Well done America!