Four years ago, about a month before the presidential election, I took this picture of a sign hung above BBar and Grill at 4th and Bowery in New York. I posted it the next day to PWHNY with the title “Holiday Hope.” It was Columbus Day.

My post “Election Day Diary” from November 4, 2008 records our growing euphoria as the election results came in.

I’ve had my share of disappoints with Obama’s leadership over the past four years, but I still believe in him. So this morning, I remain full of hope, because shortly after landing on a dark and drizzly runway in Brussells, I was able to take this screenshot on my iPhone:

It’s a great feeling to have a president that you admire. Before Obama, I’d spent most of my adult life feeling ambivalent at best about US presidents, at worst full of disgust and embarrassment.

I was smiling this morning as I presented my passport to Belgian immigration.