- So Obama went with the red tie.
- One of the coolest traditions of the peaceful transfer of power is the note the out-going president leaves on the desk for the in-coming president. I would love to be able to read just one of those letters, but they are never made available to the public since it’s such a personal note. I wish I knew when this tradition first started (I couldn’t find anything online), and it stinks that Presidents Truman and Johnson never got a chance to receive such a letter. Charlie Gibson thought Reagan started the tradition, but I think it goes back much further.
- Michelle Obama gave a present to President and Mrs Bush . . . nice touch and I saw a new tradition.
- Not that I’m a fashion expert, but I wasn’t fond of Jill Biden wearing boots.
- Man, that presidential limo sure is tall, just about six feet. It’s about as tall as a truck, yet it’s a car, or a tank.
- Cheney pushed around in a wheelchair was an interesting site. He reminded me of the banker in It’s A Wonderful Life. But I give him credit, he stood when he needed to.
- I wonder what other countries think of the inauguration festivities.
- It looked like the elder Bush had a teddy bear in his coat pocket, turns out it was a hat.
- I saw Bill Clinton actually give him a hug and helped him walk, that made me smile, two “enemies” now embracing.
- I wonder if former presidents send each other Christmas cards. All of which seemed to get a decent amount of appluase except for the current president.
- Lady Bird Johnson was the fist wife to hold the Bible during a swearing in ceremony.
- It was great watching the whole think in HD.
- It must be interesting being president for eight years and having ‘Hail to the Chief’ played everytime you enter a room and then all of a sudden it doesn’t happen any more.
- ABC cut over to the moving trucks at the White House right before the start of the inauguration.
- It might have been cold in Washington, but that sun sure was shining bright upon that city.
- I thought Rick Warren’s prayer was very appropriate, he ended it in Jesus’ name but in a unoffensive way, I think.
- I’m not a fan of when early excerpts of a speech is released, but my favorite line is: Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
- The oath of office didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was the first time for both of them to do such a thing. Not really a good way to start off, but I got hope. It’s going to be the most viewed YouTube item of the year I bet. Blame will be pointed somewhere, but I wonder who will get the brundt of it. It appears that Obama was expecting Roberts to pause, he didn’t which caused some crazy awkwardness, then Roberts moved some of the words around that confused Obama. Here’s a decent article about the flub, and the comments are entertaining.
- When a news anchor points out that that Roberts goofed, I can hear my Republican friends yell, “That damn liberal media!”
- In the CNN feed you could see someone from the Air Force placed a stool down for one of the Obama girls so she could be seen right before the oath. In another feed, you could see people on the state look at the crowd and not at the acutal swearing in. Both wore JCrew in case you were interested. But stock in the company now.
- Speaking of CNN, this feature was just awesome. CNN.com/TheMoment
- Bob Schieffer described the crowd as a “sea of citizendry.” That sounds nice. He also said that he’s covered a total of 10 inaugurations, and haven’t seen one like this one.
- There weren’t any arrests, I find that amazing.
- Poems are boring. Did you know that when Robert Frost read his poem it got blown away, and then he decided to recite one from memory.
- I really enjoyed listening to Air and Simple Gifts.
- Biden is the first Catholic VP.
- People were walking on the reflection pool, that was kind of scary. I hope no one got hurt.
- Eight years ago Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and Tom Brokaw lead the coverage, now we have Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, and Brian Williams.
- Katie’s new hair . . . I don’t like. She looks like Suzy Orman.
- I enjoy listening to Peggy Noonan.
- The new cover of the New Yorker has a funny Obama cover.
- Ouch, what happened on Wall Street?
- It was kind of a cool seen seeing the helicopter take off from the capital.
- I wonder if any of the former presidents while walking through the rotunda thought that perhaps the next time they will be there will be when their body is lying in state. Yeah, it’s a dark thought, but I wonder these things.
- I think my Senator, John Cornyn, is just trying to get some attention.
- There’s a Turbo Tax commercial that comes on in which actors are dressed as Benjamin Franklin and Presidents Jackson and Grant. It really creeps me out because they are painted green like the currency of money, but to me, they look more like corpses.
- I’ve wondered if the many Christians I’ve seen pray for Dubya would pray for Obama. Well, some folks are praying for Obama, to fail.
- Quirky Obama Merchandise. Link
- http://www.isobamapresident.com/
- Almost unrecognizable celebrities. Link
- Dubya was the third Methodist to serve in the White House, and there’s an article on the United Methodist’s website assessing his presidency. Link
- Al-Qaeda hit by the Black Plague? Article
- Google G-Drive is coming. Link
- And today’s random theme show song is a modified West Wing intro . . .
Grace, Peace, and Love
