KEY POINTS:
I shed a tear or two when the results of that other election came in. Friends of mine had just flown in from the United States, so we were glued to CNN, the BBC and (just for fun) the very conservative Fox News.
It didn't matter; history was being made no matter where we looked.
There were moments to savour. John McCain's concession speech to his followers restored our admiration for him. He had never looked more presidential, but where had that John McCain been hiding?
If only he'd spoken like that during the campaign (and hadn't chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate), Barack Obama's date with destiny might have been postponed.
But it was hard not to get emotional as America's historic moment became ours, too. As one of my friends, a lifelong Democrat wiped away tears, the other declared that, finally, it was good to be American again.
There would be a black man in the White House, a man who could reach across partisan politics and racial divides to preach a message of inclusiveness, of one America, neither liberal nor conservative, neither black nor white, but united. An America that would rise and fall as one.
That was change Americans had believed in; change we all could believe in.
Obama may not solve all the mind-boggling challenges ahead of him, but he's already made a difference to boys like my 15-year-old son, whose horizons have been stretched and their faith in the world revived by an idealistic, skinny black guy with a gift for oratory and a message of inclusiveness.
You have to take your comfort where you can.
There was never any chance I'd be shedding tears of joy on Saturday night, when the fairly inevitable happened here.
Friends invited me to an election night party, warning that it was likely to be a grim and silent affair, though the National Party supporters had been told not to gloat. Resignation was in the air.
After nine years of Helen Clark's leadership, the mood for change was too great. We get tired of Governments, even of great leaders. That's democracy and human nature. And perhaps that's as it should be
I always think of Alfred Lord Tennyson's words at times like this: "The old order changeth, yielding place to new, And God fulfils himself in many ways, Lest one good custom should corrupt the world."
There were personal highlights. My 18-year-old exercised her democratic right for the first time, wearing a bright red top and blue shorts, unintentionally reflecting her preferences. The blue was for National's Sam Lotu-Iiga, who lives in our neighbourhood, one of two new Samoan MPs in the new Parliament. Among my daughter's friends, all first-time voters, voting tended to mirror parental preferences.
But I'm proud to say, in the interests of free political expression, that my 13-year-old would have voted for John Key as Prime Minister because he wanted someone new in the job and faster broadband.
It really is that simple for some people.
Change was on everyone's lips, but change to what? Was it really a new direction, and if so, in which direction? Was it a lurch right to the politics of Rogernomics, or just a desire for fresh faces and new blood?
John Key seemed to understand that National's win was not a mandate to turn far right when he channelled Obama in his victory speech, preaching inclusiveness and reaching out to those who hadn't voted for National.
"I will lead a Government that serves the interests of every New Zealander and it will be a Government that values individuals' achievement and it will be a Government that supports those that cannot support themselves and it will be a Government that we can all be part of."
I like the idea of unity of purpose and pulling together, but whether Key's able to withstand the more right-wing inclinations of some of his senior MPs and the pressure from his new best friends in Act remains to be seen.
As former National Party MP Paul East said on TV One's election special, this election wasn't about Helen Clark doing anything wrong, it was about an electorate yearning for change. After nine years, the tide had gone out on Labour.
It's gone out on Winston Peters, too, who was unusually gracious as he conceded defeat to National's bright young thing Simon Bridges.
I'm sorrier about his departure than I am about the demise of the country's first Pacific Island MP, Taito Phillip Field, who was dispatched by Su'a William Sio, with a respectable but reduced majority for Labour.
Field is making noises about trying for a return under his new Pacific Party, but I hope he saves himself the trouble and moves on. The people have spoken but he seems not to have heard.
It's to Helen Clark's great credit that she has listened and stepped down as leader.
That's one lesson we might usefully learn from the Americans, who limit their Presidents to two terms.
I believe history will look favourably on the Clark Government's achievements and record her as one of our greatest Prime Ministers.
But no leader, however outstanding, is indispensable. The tide has to go out some time.
