49. "Hail to the chief, he's the chief and he needs hailing."*

(This post was intended for Tuesday, January 20, 2009.)

OK, one more political thought, and then I'm moving on to more important matters in my book.

That inauguration was something, wasn't it? What a powerful and historic moment to witness, even for those of us who didn't vote for Barack Obama. What a wonderful and profound progression this country has made in just over 40 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act. What a lovely ceremony it was.

And yes, what a hat, Aretha.

I love the pomp and circumstance of the presidential inauguration (and not just this one in particular, but in general). How it serves as a celebration of our enduring experiment in democracy. How it reminds of our country's founding ideals. How it represents--and has represented for our nation's entire (albeit relatively short) history--a peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another, a notion that is still very much an oddity throughout much of the world.

I'm always reminded of that last aspect when the cannons are set off for the 21-gun salute. For all of the shortcomings of American governance (and believe me, I know there's a lot), it's still quite a marvel that regime change--so to speak--in our government isn't accompanied by military coups or the like.

I attended the inauguration in 2004 (guess that's not too hard to admit now that the cat's out of the bag). It's something I recommend everyone do at least once in their lives. Some friends and I attended several of the inaugural balls, witnessed the swearing-in, watched the inaugural parade, and had a grand ol' time as we nearly froze to death during a chilly January week in Washington, D.C.

So I'm grateful for the presidential inauguration; for the significance it carries with it every four years, but also for the added significance of this particular one on January 20, 2009.

My heartfelt prayers and well-wishes are with the new president.



*The title of this post is courtesy of the 1996 comedy My Fellow Americans