Musings on the Inauguration

The following is a commentary on things that I really have no authority on which to comment. Take from it what you will.

The president's (God I love that - President Barack Obama) speech today was in some ways exactly what I expected, and in some ways not at all what I expected. It was decidely, and I'm sure deliberately, more somber than all of his past speeches.

"Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans."

As one of the commentators on NPR put it today, Obama didn't come out and "sing" like in his other speeches. It was his time to grow up, to move from the campaigner to the president. He made it known that there is work to be done - and work to be undone, in his not-so subtle jabs at Bush's policies. He also hinted that things are going to take longer than perhaps projected during the campaign. Unless you are very, VERY naive, this is to be expected.

It didn't matter. I, and millions around the country, hung on his every word. The speech covered all points, from the economy to health care to foreign policy to energy. Hooray for restoring "science to its rightful place"!

I'm still not quite sure what it is about Obama that intrigues me - his ideas for change, his youth, his ability to instill a sense of hope in everyone. The seriousness of his speech today made me believe he could actually DO something, that it wasn't just all talk - something I have so desperately hoped for over the past few months.

I watched the inauguration on www.cnn.com/live at work (don't tell!). And while I was able to hold back the tears (I may have shed one or two on Election Day), I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere projecting from my computer screen. This man, who 50 years ago wouldn't have been able to have a cup of coffee with his vice-president, drew almost 1.5 million people out in JANUARY. Young, old, black, white, families, college kids. The absolute joy and hope of the massive crowd was I think what got to me the most.

Some random notes:

• My motherly instincts took over when all of the former presidents were walking out - all I could think was, "Why are all those old people not wearing hats?!" I'm glad that most later donned some form of ear covering. George H.W. Bush and Aretha Franklin certainly had the right idea.
  

• I was not very happy with the people who booed Bush. I don't like him either but I would never boo him. You trying doing that job. And to the people who sang "Na na na na hey hey hey goodbye" - slightly funnier, but still inappropriate.

• Also, poor Ted Kennedy! Yikes...thoughts are with him.
  

• And while I am a strong supporter of the separation of church and state, sometimes I feel it is appropriate. I'm certainly not talking about Rick Warren - him I could have done without. It's one thing to talk about God in an invocation, but Jesus? Anyway, I absolutely loved the benediction given by the Rev. Joseph Lowery. American needs to ensure that "our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills." Amen to that!

So now it begins - a new era for America. And hopefully it will be a new era.

"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet ."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."