President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address

It was a momentous day today with Barack Hussein Obama becoming the first African-American president.

I watched the inauguration with Ali. A bit of a flub during the oath (Chief Justice Roberts' fault I think). Ali and I both thought Obama's address was good. I was pleasantly surprised at the originality of it. I was expecting some echoing of prior addresses by FDR, Lincoln, or JFK. However, it was all Obama. The address I thought began rather sternly which I appreciated. Rather than being too celebratory, it was a reminder that the country (and the world) is in difficult times, and to me, it was basically a call to work, to get active about sorting out the country's problems, particularly economic. Like his acceptance speech on election night, the address was sobering. It was another wake up call in my opinion.

Not posted, but I did catch some of the presidential procession down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. The Obamas according to recent precedent walked parts of the distance.

The Inaugural Parade of bands, military and other groups was really cool and went on into the early evening. I haven't watched inaugural parades, but I don't recall newsclips of previous parades continuing into darkness. That was rather neat to see, and I really enjoyed hearing the marching band music. The drums really get one going. While most of the viewing stand became empty after awhile, Barack and Michelle Obama were there until the end as I guess they should be.

There's still balls to come, but for television viewers, that's about it for today. All in all, it was a very happy day. Let's hope the months and next four years ahead are successful ones for getting America back on track.