Rude awakening

The first thought that entered my head when I woke up on this Day 2 of Barack Obama's presidency was, what if he can't do it? What if, despite his best and sincerest efforts, he is too young, too inexperienced, the problems—and the world—too big and complex? This, of course, is what I would be feeling were I were the one who had found herself elected President of these United States, stepping into the Oval Office and thinking, oh my God, what the hell am I doing here? (Come to think of it, this is similar to what I was feeling the day after I got married—the wedding was fun and kind of a fairy tale-come-true thing, but it didn't take long for the finality of the whole business to sink in in a decidedly uneasy way.)

I didn't invite that thought into my head this morning, but it was there, and it hung around for a bit after I first got up and got the coffee started. Then I listened to NPR and heard that the President had already begun working on the country's business, getting right to it in his quiet, smart way, and I knew he, and we, were going to be OK. Yes, we will.

N.B.: Alison gently reminded me that Aretha Franklin sang "America" (aka, "My Country 'Tis of Thee") at the Inauguration, not, as I said in yesterday's post, the National Anthem. I stand corrected, and plead special leniency, as I think "America" would make a fine replacement for our current anthem, almost as good as my first choice, "America the Beautiful." 

What a day!

And now, we have a new President! Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated this morning before about 2 million joyous Americans who filled the D.C. Mall, and 11 more who filled my living room, sitting on the couch, on dining chairs and folding chairs, eating lox and bagels, English muffins, and toaster waffles, watching MSNBC and hanging on to every word of the ceremony.

When the Oath of Office had been administered (John Roberts managing to scramble it) and nevertheless gracefully taken, we raised our glasses of Champagne in a rousing toast to our new President. Some of us cried buckets as Aretha Franklin began to sing our National Anthem. We sang along with her! We cheered! We talked! We laughed! We said a few less-than-complimentary words about the 43rd President as he—at last!—left the building, decided that seeing his Vice President being wheeled away in a wheelchair couldn't have been better scripted, and were grateful beyond words to see the back of them.

And once again, I was struck by the elegance of our system of government, by the wisdom of the Framers, who crafted a Constitution that allows such an orderly transfer of power from one leader to the next. No coup, no disruption, no chaos. We have a new Chief of State, a new Commander-in-Chief, we changed from a Republican to a Democratic President, and yet after all that, I could leave my house to walk downtown, and everything was peaceful and orderly, people riding their bicycles, driving their cars, shopping, eating, going about their business as usual. I am so lucky, and so grateful, to be an American. What a country . . . and what a wonderful new President we have been blessed to elect. Mazel tov, Barack!

The E Street Inaugural Ball

(Standing) Phil, Joseph, Milt, Allan
(Seated) Dorothy, Gishi, Lorna, Stacy, Alison, Robin

Inauguration eve

Nine more hours, and we'll have a new President. I'm filled with anticipation, delight, excitement, gratitude, joy, thanksgiving . . . and a small frisson of apprehension. My prayer tonight, as it's been every night since Election Night: Baruch haShem, please keep him, and us, safe. And let tomorrow bring a new day of hope.