This is a time for optimism. As we launch this new chapter in the US-Australia alliance, together, we will rise to the occasion and create change the whole world can believe in.
History, by looking at the key facts rather than being distracted by the loud ambient noise of the 24-hour news cycle, will probably hand down a far more positive judgment on Bush's presidency than the immediate, knee-jerk loathing of the American and European elites.
The shimmering image of Obama we see in the media at the moment is not the man himself but, rather, a dim reflection of the commentators' grandiose self-image, adorned with the obscure glamour of a year-round suntan.
The Bush years, of course, cannot be rolled back, but there is comfort in knowing that, even on the other side of the Pacific, we can hope we'll never see his like again.
HERE is a thought experiment that does not take very much thought. Picture, if you will, Hillary Clinton facing a foreign policy conundrum. With whom will she discuss it first and most intently: with her president or her husband? (I did tell you this wouldn't be difficult.)