Was God smiling down on Barack Obama yesterday? I will leave that for others to decide, but one thing is certain: the sunshine was beautiful, rendering it the type of Inauguration weather that we have not seen since at least 1992, if memory serves.
I attended George W. Bush's first inauguration in 2001, and vowed never to go to another, unless I have some sort of invitation that also provides me with a comfortable seat where I'm actually able to see what is going on. We were about halfway between the Washington Monument and the Capitol, I suppose...too far away even to see through binoculars what was transpiring on the west front of the Capitol where the President is sworn in. If it had not been for the Jumbotrons set up all down the lawn, we would have heard the President's voice, but not been privy to any of the accompanying action. The worst part, though, was the nasty, soggy cold. It was about 37 degrees...too warm to snow, but cold enough that the misting rain felt miserable. We were chilled to the bone by the time we headed out of town that evening.
Apparently, it was plenty cold yesterday, but not enough to dampen the spirits of the revelers. And certainly, the sunshine would have helped to dispel some of the freeze.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
1. For me, there was real joy in the very visual reminder that we have reached a point where we can elect an African-American person to the highest office in the land. Would Dr. King have really dreamed, 40 years ago, that it would become a reality this soon?
2. Barack, Michelle, Sasha and Melia Obama are SO photogenic. Fox News' cameras did a great job of following them very closely all through the day, as they wended their ways from the White House to the Capitol and back down the parade route again.
3. Rick Warren's prayer was gutsy, eloquent, reverent, yet warm. And He prayed "in the Name of the One Who has changed my life...Jesus, Yeshua" (and additional Names of Christ in other languages). More power to him!
4. Pundits, both left and right, have jumped all over Obama's speech. (By the way, I will never forget where I was when I watched him be sworn in: eating Rocky Top Grilled Chicken at Longhorn Steakhouse in Greenwood!) I thought it was pretty good. Of course, it is just a speech. But, I was struck by the realism of it. Not much soaring rhetoric, which I think respects the ominousness of the moment in our economy. I was surprised by this.
5. The multitude of celebrity sightings as the Inauguration got underway. I enjoyed watching all of the Senators emerge from the Capitol, as well as all of the living ex-Vice Presidents and ex-Presidents, with their spouses.
6. The grace displayed by both the outgoing President and the incoming one towards each other.
7. Hearing Fox anchor Brit Hume say, on catching a glimpse of former President Clinton, that "Bill Clinton always looks like he's trying to figure out what facial expression to assume next."
And now, for the LESS THAN DESIRABLE ELEMENTS OF THE DAY:
1. The closing words of Rev. Joseph Lowery's prayer were completely out of keeping with not only the rest of his prayer, but the spirit of the day itself. This man is a hero to the civil rights movement, yet seems not to realize that we are in 2009, not 1959. Beseeching God to bring us to a place where "the black aren't held back and the white will choose the right"...Distasteful and disrespectful doesn't cut it. Bill O'Reilly blamed it on Lowery's age (87?).
2. Elizabeth Alexander's poem didn't really do anything for me.
3. The campaign rally-style chants of the crowd "Obama! OBAMA! OBAMA!" when he descended to the Capitol platform seemed cultlike on a day when we celebrate America and the peaceful transfer of power, rather than electoral victory.
4. Having to look for even 10 seconds at Al Gore, one of the most phony, power-hungry and insincere politicians in American history, and realizing what tripe he's foisted on the American people with his global warming swindle. Had he not contested Florida, the last 8 years might well have looked very different.
All in all, I enjoyed the day much more than I would have thought possible 2 1/2 months ago. Presidents come and go, and the Republican party is far from dead. I will support this President when I can, and will vigorously oppose him when conscience dictates. Thus goes the sweep of history.
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