Standing on a platform creaking under the weight of hundreds of journalists around the world, there was no doubt we were also standing on the edge of history.

Behind the scenes of Chicago's Grant Park, there was excited mayhem.

More than 5000 reporters had requested access. There were 50 satellite trucks. When journalists were talking live, what you couldn't see on television were the other reporters often kneeling around their feet waiting their turn.

For most of us there it was a 18-20 hour day but no one was complaining.

These are the stories that are the dream of even the most seasoned journalists.

When word spread that Obama was about to being declared the winner, dozens of TV crews rushed to watch the crowd reaction. Their screams of joy echoed around the world.

It was hard not to get caught up in Barack Obama's message of hope. Having travelled around most of the battleground states for the past two weeks, you could see the inspiration on the faces of those who are normally uninspired.

Not since perhaps the election of Nelson Mandela has there been such a pivotal moment in the history of race.

Obama never ran as an African American. Just a man who wanted to be president.

But the fact that the colour of his skin in the end helped him, and was not a disadvantage, says a lot about the giant step forward this country has just taken.

I grew up in regional Australia and cannot truly understand the long civil rights struggle.

But as the father of an African American son, I will be excited to tell him that I was there.

He can now truly grow up knowing anything is possible.

Plus President Addison Amor has a ring to it!