President Obama’s Inauguration and a goodbye to President Bush

It seems like a long time coming, but today Barack Obama was sworn in as America’s 44th President.

My first impression of the day was in marvel at just how many people packed into the National Mall for President Obama’s inauguration. People all over the country have been wondering just what sort of impact Obama is actually going to have on the nation, and the world in general, and soon Obama is going to have his chance to live up to his promises and quiet his critics, but that is for another day, today was a day for celebration and for us all to enjoy watching history being made.

We often hear the phrase, “you are watching history being made”, but it has never really meant as much to me before as it did today. The election night back in November may have been historic, but today was heads and shoulders above anything I have ever witnessed in my life as Obama became the first black President of a country that not all that long ago was founded in part by slave owners. The inauguration could not have been timed better, coming just one day after the country celebrated the best known, and arguably, most influential leader of America’s civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King.

It was nice to see all the past Presidents that were in attendance, especially Bill Clinton, I always love getting the chace to see old Slick Willy when I can.

I found Obama’s speach pretty good, could have been better, could have been worse. I must admit, it did sort of make me feel a little bad for President Bush as the speach definitely highlighted just how poorly Obama viewed some of the major fundamentals of the Bush Presidency. I must say, I defnintely was as anti-Bush as anyone could have been over the past 6 or 7 years, so I’m not really sure why I started feeling sorry for him… maybe just the sudden realization that he is out of there.

I heard on the radio today that President Bush left office with a 22% approval rating. That is pretty low, and who knows, maybe Bush is right and history will redeem him and we will all look back fondly on the past 8 years when we are older, who knows, but for now, he leaves offices viewed as one of the worst President’s in the history of the country. Definitely not the legacy that he wanted to leave when he undertook this job 8 years ago.

On another night, I felt Aretha Franklin did a fantastic job singing today… and I loved your hat !!

While Barack is starting office with some of the highest expectations of any President ever, his wife, Michelle Obama has some pretty high expectations of her own. The media is already saying that she is the most fashionable First Lady since First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, I dunno, but I sure was less than impressed with her shiny yellow outfit today, but hey, that’s just me.

So, today the country starts a new chapter in its history. It will be nice to see some fresh blood in the white house, and a Presidential family with young children that will be running around the White House lawn. I think Obama will be good for the country, but as we have learned over and over again… there is no way to predict what the future holds in store for us.

For now, let’s all just enjoy the first days of a new dance in Washington

obamas dancing

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