Belated celebratory post – Happy Inauguration Day!

I’ve updated another blog, Facebook, Twitter, texted friends, etc. but had not made it over to WordPress yet.  So, congratulations America on our new president!

On Monday night, I attended a friend’s President to Resident party, in which we played, “Which unbelievable statement did Bush actually make?” and a game of Memory involving matching up cards with the likes of Donald Rumsfeld, Ann Coulter, Border Fences, Axis of Evil, and Guantanamo Bay on them.  We also played “Throw the Shoe at Bush” with some toddler sneakers and a paper image.

On Tuesday, I headed out just after 11am for celebratory Bloody Marys and watching the proceedings in a community atmosphere on the big screen.  My friend and I celebrated for about 12 hours straight.  I’m glad that I was out in a communal atmosphere, a small local bar that was packed for the event.

Last night I was catching up on my Daily Show and laughed at Jon Stewart’s White House Reporter saying, Why does cheese all over Italian food taste so good but if you were toput it on Chinese food, it would be disgusting?  This was his way of saying that although President Obama in his speech used quite a bit of the rhetoric that Bush had used in 2004, it tasted darn good!  The Daily Show roasted President Obama for being very negative (rather than inspiring) about the state of our country, but frankly – let’s call a spade a spade.  We’re in a mess, and the first step toward recovery is admitting that we have a problem.

I’m excited, on several levels. It is (unfortunately) a major achievement that Barack Obama has made it to the White House.  I say unfortunately because Rick Warren making such a big deal out of it really rubbed me the wrong way, and I realized that it’s pathetic that such an achievement is still a first.  It should have been possible and achieved a long time ago in the United States of America.  Nonetheless, I had my doubts before the election about whether it would come to fruition, so I am absolutely thrilled.

Many people are holding President Obama to incredibly high standards, which Bush was obviously not held to, which I find unfair but typical.  But I think that with his pragmatism, he will not commit to giving us the moon when he knows he can’t deliver.  Making moves to close Guantanamo Bay and rescind the gag rule, which I’m counting on to happen before the end of the week, will be a significant start.

I can’t wait to hear from J at Back to Digressing about her experiences in DC.