I cannot imagine a more exciting time to be in America.

After arriving on the continent in Canada two weeks before the US election, I crossed over the border and into Seattle on the third of November. On my first full day in this country I was lucky enough to witness a small part of events will be a day that will be remembered and retold for generations to come.

Despite the many opinion polls showing Obama to be ahead of his rival in the lead-up to the election, there was still a widespread air of pessimism and a view that somehow the election could still be stolen from his grasp. Almost nobody was prepared to predict an Obama victory without qualification.

In Seattle, the longest ques of the day started in the afternoon outside famous after party venue, the Showbox with the line stretching all the way around the corner even after the venue was full. The mood visibly changed from uncertainty to optimism at early results. When Senator John McCain conceded defeat, the last signs of pessimism were gone and the country erupted into celebration.

The sight of Obama's victory speech brought tears to the eyes of millions. It seemed that the United States had seen the ray of hope and now had a direction out of the present darkness. While Obama urged Americans to rebuild the country block by block, it was clear that this process could not begin until after a long night of celebration on the streets of the nations cities.

I doubt that Hollywood could come up with a better fairytale.