I've never watched the Presidential Inauguration before, so I was kind of excited when I walked into work and my boss had the live feed playing on her computer (I was actually rather surprised as well; my boss is the most right-wing Republican I have ever met, and she was not happy when Obama won the election). I sat down just in time to hear the announcer say that the website had just changed, and now recognized Barack Obama as the President of the United States, moments before he was officially sworn in.
I've never really followed politics--I've never really cared that much about them--but I really enjoyed watching the Inauguration. I've since heard many people comment on how Obama stumbled over the oath and even got lost at one point. Personally, that was my favorite part! Well, that and the fact that both he and Michelle nearly started laughing. Hey, guess what, the President is HUMAN! --gasp!-- I like that Obama isn't the best public speaker we've ever had; if he was perfect, who could relate to him?
The only part of the Inauguration that I wasn't overly fond of was Reverend Lowery's poem. The benediction he delivered was very appropriate and touching, but the racial rhymes that he ended with, I found to be slightly offensive.
"When black would not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead man, and when white would embrace what is right." - Reverend Joseph Lowery
Even the crowd was laughing! If he did mean it in a joking way, then it probably wouldn't have been so bad. But if it was supposed to be serious, I thought it sounded like he was making fun of all the races, and I was less than impressed. I'd love to know anyone else's thoughts on this if you'd care to share.
"Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America." - President Barack Obama
It didn't help that John Roberts changed the words of the oath!
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