Handover.

In a few hours, the Free World will have a new Leader. Or something like that.

November seems a long time ago, and since then there have been some mutterings, although how fair it is to criticize the man for his handling of a job that he hasn’t started yet, I don’t know.

On this side of the Atlantic, I know a few folks who will be glued to their TV screens/internets today, enjoying the ceremony and pageantry. I probably would be if it weren’t for the whole work thing.

There has been and will be plenty of talk about what an Obama presidency will mean for this little corner of the world. While Mr Obama and friends will have many weighty decisions to make and consequences to face, VM offers a reminder of the very local nature of working politics:

Just as I believe that we didn't need a Northern Irish Mandela and De Klerk ten years ago, I don't believe we need a Northern Irish Obama now. But we DO need a clearly articulated vision for a new Northern Ireland and someone to articulate it... And people prepared to give that someone the political cover to do so...

For that to happen we will need to learn one thing from the new USA: hope and faith that politicians can accomplish good. May it be so.