KEY POINTS:
Her face is crumpled, mouth skewed at an ungainly angle as she loses her struggle to keep her tears at bay.
Her eyes are screwed tightly shut even though the person she has been waiting to see is standing right in front of her.
Next to her another
young girl clasps one hand hard with the other, her face lit with a joy so acute it also seems to border on anguish.
For these two African American kids, framed by an AP photographer's lens, the moment they came face to face with Barack Obama in Springfield, Missouri, on November 2, 2008 could become a day they one day recall with pride.
But as Obama takes his historic first steps on the world stage, there's also a chance that they may not.
There's a chance that in the future they may reflect on how they met the first African American President of the United States who promised so much but failed to deliver.
It seems harsh to consider the prospect amid the euphoria.
Today America has given the world a great and generous moment.
In the land of the modern Caesars, they have passed over the son and grandson of admirals in favour of the son of a Kenyan student with a Muslim middle name.
But there have been other bright dawns in recent memory - when the young Bill Clinton first occupied the Oval Office and a fresh-faced Tony Blair took charge in Westminster. They both had their successes and failures and rolled with the usual political compromises.
And not since FDR has a president taken charge at such a difficult time.
Obama carries with him into the White House a huge well of goodwill and the hope for something better from millions inspired by his story. At the very least he represents the closing of the Bush years and the chance of a fresh start.
But how does Obama deal with raising hopes to a peak of Mt Everest proportions and yet avoid an avalanche of disappointment?
The size of Obama's victory, with his strong performance in the big states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, critically gives him a big mandate moving forward.
And beyond all the symbolism, the way Obama ran his campaign gives hope that he can be a success at a practical, political ground level.
- He defeated - and subsequently deployed - the champions of his party, the Clintons.
- He made the previously smoothly purring Republican election machine look like a banged-up old Cortina.
- During the financial crisis, his looked like the steady hand that really needed to be locked on the tiller.
- He used the three debates to convince the public that he was capable, knowlegable and worth a chance.
- He hitched his movement to the internet in a way that had never been seen before.
- He got his basic organisation, strategy, tactics and campaign talent right.
Importantly, he is surrounded by talented economic and foreign policy advisers with recent experience of government. He will have a good chance with a democratic-dominated Congress to push through his agenda.
Obama has no choice but to hit the ground running. In quick succession he faces the need for a new financial stimulus package and the naming of his new administration team.
The presidency carries a lot of symbolic power. When Ronald Reagan was elected with the promise of `morning in America' it created a feel good mood in the country.
In these dark days, Americans have once again reached for the sun, choosing the candidate with the charisma to set the nation on a more optimistic path.
How well he does is in his own hands.
