“On the Inauguration Day”

I realize it was a historical day in the world, I decided to take notes on some unusual occurrences. My entire life I have ever experienced any presidential inauguration like that, I felt so much hope and excitement on the inauguration day. It's almost overwhelming. I can't imagine what other nations are feeling. Considering four former presidents and their family from Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, to the Bushes were standing next each other at the Obama Inauguration. Anyone else feel this way?

One of my favorite was the flubbed exchange of the Oath of Office by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and President Barack Obama. It was almost as if the cable news shows did not want anything negative to upset such a historic day, so they made a conscious decision to not show Roberts and Obama making a mistake as the Oath was recited.

My fiancé and I watched several hours of the day's events, including the parade and inaugural balls, and not once did we see the mix-up broadcast. We saw Obama recite the words "So help me God" a number of times, and we saw him speaking words while a voice-over by a broadcast journalist was being recited, but we did not see Roberts and Obama struggling to get through the oath in a correct manner.

President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to change Washington and that was just what he did on the inauguration day. He hosted several Inaugural Ball on January 20 at the Washington Convention Center with free or affordable tickets available to everyone. There’s never been anything like it. As President Obama bounced from one inaugural ball to another, something became very clear. He is most at home when surrounded by young people. When Obama and his wife, Michelle, went to the ball attended by 18- to 35-year-olds, the president seemed to ad-lib his speech to those attending. He talked about how that age group was a key component of his election victory and that he could not have achieved the presidency without them. He talked of how he had heard from many families that young people would ask their parents who they were voting for and then without hesitation would add, "You have to vote for Obama." He and Michelle laughed and danced and ended by telling everyone there, "That's old school," describing their music and moves. Everyone in attendance loved them. No wonder. Obama understands the younger crowd. He deserves credit for motivating a new generation of political activists.

One aspect of the younger crowd that I was not impressed with occurred the night before the inauguration. Rappers Young Jeezy and Jay-Z performed a song called "My President," which was derogatory towards then-President Bush. I thought that was in poor taste and unnecessary. One of the lines rapped by Jay-Z included:
"Red, white and blue flag, wave for me baby. I was hot before Barack, so imagine what I'm gonna do ...No more white lies, my president is black."

I can't imagine Obama was happy about having those types of lyrics sung on the eve of his inauguration. In an election that spoke volumes about society's desire and willingness to be color-blind when electing a president, why is color being made an issue in a rap song?

When he gave his inaugural address, Obama seemed more serious than normal. Perhaps the weight of the job facing him and this country convinced him to take a more somber approach when speaking. Maybe his advisers suggested he project a more presidential tone. Or perhaps it was the fact that the entire world was watching his day in the spotlight and he did not want to blow it. Whatever the reason was, he seemed different.

The speech also did not contain one of those phrases that would stand out in a historical way, something I was expecting. Perhaps I was expecting too much. That would be easy to do in his inauguration. But I sincerely want to wish him the best. I don't think he has any idea of what he's stepping into, but I hope he's able to rise to the challenge such as the work of fixing our nation's economy, healthcare, education, dealing with the war in Iraq and other major issues has begun.

Thanks for reading......
Rony Delgarde