Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Well, Okay...

... all the chliches are exhausted, all the histories recorded, all the superlatives super'led. What's Left to say? (Hmmm, I notice that I "accidentally" capitalized that "L"!)

We had a party last night, we made a cake...



... well, actually, we had it made. Ellie's idea. And invited the neighbors in. Everyone was euphoric. We watched Barack and Michelle dance--she gorgeous in her ivory gown, he, well, handsome. Our spirits lifted with the champagne... Would have done, even without!

I thought Obama gave a terrific Inaugural Address, though it sounded a bit more like a State of the Union than an Inaugural. Appropriately. Our new young President struck the right note, as he seems so often effortlessly to do. There's repair work to be done, in addition to the building. He managed, skillfully, and in the nicest possible way, to repudiate everything Bush had stood for. And not only Bush, of course: his repudiation went all the way back to Ronald Reagan, the disastrous practice of a "trickle-down" economy that predictably failed to trickle down, and the politics of the slow, deliberate strangulation of government. Mercilessly, Obama exposed the futility of these policies, and the damage they have wreaked upon the country. He did not hold back.

And now it's not just his job, as he has so often pointed out. It's our job. To judge from the crowds gathered in freezing weather on the Washington Mall and from their response to his accession to the presidency, he has us in his hands. If we allow the nay-sayers to prevail--on the left as well as the right--he is done for, and so are we as a nation. As the somewhat hackneyed but still truthful message on the cake repeats, "We Are One." Have to be. No option. And our new President makes it clear that he understands that this is true for the world as well as for the country he has been elected to lead. I wish him well.

5 comments:

simon jacobs said...

I am excited to have a president
that knows what 'dharma' means
beyond the 90's sitcom of "dharma
and greg".

Meaning a president that is not constrained by the particular
worldview of evangelical christianity.

A president who believes in pluralism.

Cardozo said...

Speaking of participatory democracy, I hope everyone will visit the new whitehouse.gov and follow along with the new blog there.

Catherine said...

Us Canadians were rapt too.

Of everything I saw yesterday (& I'm a journalist, I saw a heck of a lot, albeit online and via telly), what struck me the most was the intense connection between the President and the First Lady.

It was -is -a wonderful symbol of connection and understanding. The final barrier we might consider now, past race, religion & creed, is gender. And it was inspiring to see two people so intimately connected so as to be total, complete, full equals, in a complete aura of love.

Oh, and that cake looks GORGEOUS. Nicely done.

Anonymous said...

Oh my God, I can't get past the photo of that cake!

Peter Clothier said...

Pluralism, yes, Pete. AND inclusiveness...!

Thanks for the tip, Cardozo, and for yesterday's kind words. I'll plan to check in on the White House, now that it's no longer a source of pain and anger.

Catherine, I'm glad that Canadians can now feel good about their neighbors to the south again. I know that it's a world-wide feeling, and welcome it. It's well past time for US to be a part of the world community again!

And yes, Citizen, the cake was delicious. Not quite all gone. Care to join us?