Today, I tuned in to President Obama’s coronation inauguration. (From Nate Beeler political cartoons.) And speaking of tightened security, not every ticket-holder got to see the ceremony today.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to soil the day or anything. It was a beautiful day, and despite the fumble on the oath of office -
which is to me the most important part of the day, his inaugural address was moving, and I, like many others, have high hopes that he can take our country forward in the right direction. (And a little wording problem isn’t even close to what has gone wrong in the past.)
But are our hopes and expectations too high? Obama is a man, not a superhero (from Sinfest), a saint, or a messiah. He received a mandate of the people to become President, not a mandate of heaven to be King. The Founding Fathers wanted us to have a simple ceremony to remind us of that fact, but with every new president, it gets crazier and crazier.
And of course, there’s the growing coverage. Moving way beyond the old-school television and radio, we have online streaming footage, a crowd-sourced photosynth, and even satellite coverage by Google. (Which was claimed by CNN.)
I guess this is all a roundabout way of saying, we all want the country to move forward, but don’t expect President Obama’s 100th day in office to end with the Rapture. (I don’t agree with Limbaugh, I just think pundits will always have a place.)