On January 20, the political side of my brain will breathe a sigh of sadness at Barack Obama’s departure from the White House.

For a brief period in my life, Obama gave hope and stability to the world. Yes, hope and stability. How could a boy who grew up in such an unstable environment with a single mother, aided by two loving grandparents, still achieve greatness in his adulthood and a family life that has served as an example to other leaders and married couples alike across the globe?

Obama and his wife, Michelle, treated each other with clear love, respect and affection and they adored and cared for their children.

Whatever scars his childhood left, Obama refused to let them control him. The President’s good example in leadership skills offered something no other public figure could dream of. His early personal accomplishments: a prestigious law degree, a strong professional career, a modicum of fame as an accomplished writer and Obama’s public life showed to the world that we need not be defeated by the plague of terrorism engulfing Europe and elsewhere in the world if we remain united.

I sincerely hope that when historians get together to measure Obama’s record of protecting America’s public funds from disastrous commercial development – it’s national monuments, parks, forests, wilderness and wildlife – they rank him high on a list of luminaries that include Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Obama is an admirable man. The world will miss him. His exemplary leadership style, his skills and profound knowledge must never ever be forgotten.

He set a good example for other world leaders to follow.