There are other "exceptional" countries too. A woman became the leader of Sri Lanka in 1960, so that makes them an exceptional nation. An Alawite rules over Sunni Syria, so that makes them an exceptional country. Women lead both the parties in Bangladesh, so that makes them exceptional. A former left wing female guerrilla, who was tortured by her country's military, became the President of Brazil. That makes them exceptional. A Sikh person was the Prime Minister of India for 10 years. That makes India an exceptional country.

I could go on.

The part that makes Obama's election exceptional is that when he was born, African Americans couldn't vote in the southern states, and were not allowed to marry whites in those states.