A New Beginning for America

When someone asked me yesterday if I was going to watch "it" on TV I was puzzled - oh, the inauguration? Nah, they'll have pictures on the evening news.

But all day it kept bugging me, so I checked the TV guide and got myself home in time. I turned on CNN (what else do you watch on a day like today) and thought I would work while it ran in the background. I ended up watching up most of it, closely. Just time for a quick blog entry before I get my lecture finished for tomorrow.

Some random thoughts:

• So many people crying, so many people moved by this moment. Just the fact of an African American being sworn in as POTUS is giving people hope for the future. Of course, after 8 years of George W., it can't get much worse.
• I was so happy how people cheered when Hillary was introduced. I do which, though, that she was the one taking the oath.
• Imagine the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court flubbing the oath!
• Cool that they let out the Lincoln bible for the swearing in.
• Aren't those girls just adorable? I hope they are able to enjoy live in the White House. People are almost as excited as they were about Caroline and John John. I do hope they appoint Caroline to replace Hillary.
• CNN ran ads for hair and skin products for people of color. How fitting!
• The Obama family coming out of the White House to get to the stand was just so neat - Daddy, Mommy and the girls heading for some fun and just enjoying themselves.
  
• The marching band from Obama's high school in Hawaii was neat - they were all so *scared* and so *awed* at the honor of playing for the president. And he so enjoyed the show. But what was the thing with his thumb and little finger? He and his girls both did it.
• The drummers and acrobats from Chicago were great!
• There was so much military marching music - and the formations of soldiers rather reminded me of East German parades. But the folks in the box are laughing and joking. And it is an inclusive joking, not jokes made at the cost of someone.
• Neat, all the places Pres or Veep or family went to school gets to send a marching band. What if they don't have one? Okay, right, it's the States.
  
• What shall I do with the talking Bush doll in my office? Retire it? When can I get an Obama doll?
• I got tons of email congratulating me on Obama. Actually, I didn't have anything to do with it. I'm German, and I was for Hillary. Some people write: they wish they were American so they could be proud of having elected this guy. Americans are proud of this moment and of being an American. I think it is great, but I am (still) relieved not to be official American any more. Although, when Aretha Franklin sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" or the national anthem was played, I did feel moved. Must be all that indoctrination I had in school. I can enjoy this even without being an American, thanks to CNN.
  
• Dr. Jill Biden is a college teacher with a doctorate in Education and now Second Lady. I hope she continues to teach! And the President, the Vice President, and the First Lady have doctorates in law - finally, people who understand something about education in power!
  
• My spelling checker doesn't know Obama yet. Gotta fix that.
• I hope he enjoys today - there's a lot of work his predecessor left on the desk for him. Good luck in getting America restarted. But after looking and listening today, I think he's going to have a lot of people willing to help him.
• Oooh, I got an edit in on one of the Obama pages (the one on the parade) on the Wikipedia. Does that make me famous?