Despite being confined to the The Centre Sheraton in Montreal for a work-related conference, I was able to catch Barak Obama’s inauguration speech today and I’m glad I did.

If you know me, you know that I’m jaded and cynical beyond my years and that I feel no compulsion to afford authority figures with a higher level of respect than I would afford any member of John Q. Public. With that in mind, let me say that President Obama is the first person, politician or otherwise, that I would label a leader without having to cringe.

This is a momentus day, not only for the United States, but also for the world as this new President embodies a new, positive hope for future, and an end to the divisive, dogmatic liberal vs. conservative debate that has defined U.S. politics for so long.

One of my colleagues jokingly asked, “How does he remember the whole speech?”. I smiled in reply, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the apparent ease with which he delivers his speeches might be a reflection of the fact that he actually believes what he’s saying.

If only a man or woman of this calibre would step forward to lead our country….