But that was 16 long, long, looooong months ago and since then my smile has been turned upside down along with any respect I had for the political system of the world's largest super power.
If Americans elect Trump next week, they'll be getting the president they deserve.
Unfortunately the rest of us will be getting a ginger-haired wide boy who seems more likely to kick off World War 3 than prudently shepherd us through the complex, diplomatic manoeuvering required these days to ensure international peace and economic stability.
If he can lose close to a billion dollars of his own cash in a year, imagine the fun he could have when let loose on the US treasury ... and the military.
What I really want to rant about is how distracting the politics of personality has become in the presidential campaign, and how deeply disappointing it is to see just how low the high-brow among us will stoop to score a point (and a point could be all that it comes down to, after all).
And as if it isn't bad enough watching the would-be leaders of the United States trade petty and dirty blows, the media has turned the whole campaign into a circus.
I know exactly what Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton think about each other and every highly-questionable slur they've put out there to bring each other down but I honestly couldn't tell you what either of them intended to actually do to improve America for Americans if they get elected.
There simply isn't space among the slanderous headlines to address real matters of policy.
The race for the top job has become more like a top-rating sitcom than a serious international event.
With our own election about a year away, we can expect interest in New Zealand politics to rise -- especially when it actually gets a chance to after the US campaign stops hogging headlines.
By comparison, Key versus Little will be mind-numbingly boring. But isn't that what politics should be?
�Eva Bradley is a columnist and photographer.
