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I’m not very big on politics, and I didn’t volunteer to work with any of the candidates this past year or so. I’ve seen too many politicians look so good and end up screwing the voters that it’s pretty hard to get me excited about a politician. But the more I saw of Barack Obama the more I hoped he’d win. Part of it was to get rid of the Presidential Foliage but part of it was the distinct feeling that this guy was different. I’m not talking about the color of his skin, or the heritage or nationality of his family, it was something else. There was a feeling that after so many politicians promising one thing and delivering another Senator Obama might be a rare politician, one who wouldn’t promise the sun, moon and stars above just to get into office only to ignore us once he got there.
When I got up yesterday there was no way I wasn’t watching the inauguration. Politics is politics but this is history. This is one of those times where down the road people will be asking where you were when it happened, like Kennedy being shot, the Challenger disaster, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. There was no way I wasn’t going to be a part of it, at least in front of my tv, even if I couldn’t get to one of the many public viewing locations around Boston.
When they showed the Obamas and the Bushes before the ceremony a girlfriend commented to me that she wondered if they two women talked about what they’d be wearing, with the outgoing First Lady in silver and the incoming First Lady in gold (some people say yellow, but it looked gold to us). I said at the very least their staffs may have gotten together, but I was struck by how fitting it was. In the Olympics the gold medal is better than the silver medal, and no slight intended toward Mrs. Bush but I definitely think we’re getting a better deal with the Obamas, and not just because I don’t think President Obama will treat the former Presidential Plant’s fat cat buddies a lot different than they were treated over the past eight years. I won’t think it was any mystery why the former President got booed when he was introduced yesterday, no matter how bad taste it was to boo him. And yes, I’m glad to see him go, too, and I giggled when they booed him. My bad.
When Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts. Jr. messed up when he was administering the oath to Senator Mr. Obama yesterday (he did resign from the senate last year, after all) I had to laugh. My girlfriend suggested it was nerves, and I had to relate what I had read in the Boston Metro yesterday about how much the two men disagree on just about any subject available. Of course the Chief Justice was an inauguration virgin yesterday and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was nervous, but I love the fact that it seemed Mr. Obama was more prepared for the day than the Chief Justice was.
I loved President Obama’s speech, and while I can get the text from the speech from any number of sources I’m hoping to find a video of it somewhere that I can download to keep. (I found it! And if you go to the YouTube page there’s a link to download an MP4 video of the video. Sweet! But I should have expected that from the President who fought to keep his Blackberry.) I haven’t paid a lot of attention to a politician’s speeches in the past, especially since so many don’t seem to be worth the air it took to make them, but I have never been more proud to be an American than I was yesterday. There was one part of President Obama’s speech that were extra special to me.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
I can’t begin to tell you how glad I was to hear a politician make the determining factor of whether something is continued or not a question of whether it does any good or not. The fact that he’s making accountability such a big part of his administration, even forgetting how little accountability seems to have matter in recent administrations, made my jaw drop. I have a feeling those aren’t just words, either.
Being a Caucasian woman I have no idea what it means to the African American population, but for the first time in my life I was proud of my country for who they had elected to lead it, and I look forward to seeing how President Obama handles the challenges we face in the coming four years, if not in the next eight years.
There’s a real mess in our country as President Obama took the oath of office, but I can’t help but feel that for the first time in my life we have someone who won’t shrink away from the hardest of jobs, who won’t try to pass off tough questions or spin his ass off to try to get us to believe that he truly had the country’s best interests in mind when he went into work every single day of his term.
There was one rather glaring note to yesterday’s events, and it’s a fashion thing that really bothered me. It wasn’t Jill Biden’s “hooker boots”, it was the shoes on Michelle Obama’s feet and especially the gloves on her hands. Other than that I loved what she wore, but the green against the yellow reminds me of something I’d want to buy TarneX to get rid of. With all due respect, Mrs. Obama, whose call was that? if it was yours, it was an example of why everyone in the public eye needs a fashion consultant every now and then to talk us down from some pretty bad fashion decisions. It it was the choice of a stylist, I trust she’s already fired and has had to forfeit some of her fee as a penalty for that one.
Congratulations, President and Mrs. Obama, and to Malia and Sasha. You didn’t get scared off when things got tough, and already you’re a wonderful example to us all. May we live up to your expectations as you’ve already started to fulfill so many of ours. I hope the press will give Malia and Sasha a chance to continue growing up without having to deal with the damned press and paparazzi too often. Luckily they’ll have the Secret Service around in case anyone get’s too carried away.
Congratulations, and thank you. I’m not sure any of us knew just how much we needed someone like you seem to be in charge of our country.
