Huge events - possibly world defining - don't enter into the public consciousness daily.

Every generation has its own "where were you when such and such happned?" moment: a tsunami, the outbreak of a war, September 11, an assassination etc.

The examples mentioned above have all adversely affected people and been burned onto their memories but, then again, good news is never as dramatic as traumatic news.

I think we may have witnessed one positive and potentially world-changing moment on Wednesday when Barack Obama was made the Democratic Party's first, black, Presidential candidate. He beat Hilary Clinton to the role and will now face veteran Republican John McCain in the race to the White House this November.

The propspect of a black President in the White House is a real possibility and a sign that, as Bob Dylan said, 'the times they are a-changing."

Much more important than the colour of his skin, however, is Barack Obama's drive towards tolerance, fairness, dignity, and hope for all.

Such is the power and influence of the USA that whoever is in charge - and whatever policies he follows - will directly impact us over here.

Derry isn't likely to feature prominently in an Al-Qaeda 'wish list' of potential targets for suicide attacks, but we all have a brother or sister, cousin or friend, somewhere that does - London, Madrid, New York, Sydney, to name but four.

For the first time, there is a glimmer of light at the end of that tunnel as Obama should prove to be the antithesis of his predecessor. A man who wishes to foster peace, not war.

When George Bush first came to power eight years ago it was a bit of a joke.

His jocular Mr Everyman approach and apparently liekable, if oafish, persona managed to convince the American electorate that he was a suitable President. Well, it convinced enough even if it didn't convince a majority.

The same can't be said of 2004 when, astonishingly, he won again despite the disaster of the Iraq War.

The man who, in a few short years, managed to destroy the goodwill of the rest of the world towards the United States post-September 11, will be stopping off in the North this month as part of his farewell jaunt around Europe.

The man who said it was ok for the world's greatest democracy to torture people - simply because he replaced the word torture with the term "enhanced interrogation techniques", as he did in 2006 - will be met with open arms by our elected representatives.