Live Blogging the Inauguration part 6

I really wanted to like the poem. So that's all I'm going to say about it.

I just heard Rev. Joseph Lowery speak on Sunday. Now this is how a prayer is done. This man is 86 years old, and I think he's done a bit of praying in his day. What a great way to conclude this ceremony. 

And speaking of hats: George H.W. Bush is sporting a festive fur number with ear flaps. I guess when you're over 80, you just wear whatever you want.

Live Blogging the Inauguration part 5

The speech is off to a fine start -- certainly getting right to the point without a lot of flowery blah blah blah. But I'm hoping for more poetry, some more of that oratorical skill to drive home his points that Obama is capable of. 

Okay, now it's picking up. He's getting his preacher's cadence going here at the end. A stirring conclusion to a good speech that felt shorter than that invocation. 

Live Blogging the Inauguration part 4

I could listen to this quartet all day long. Absolutely beautiful. 

I'm watching this with my favorite Obama enthusiast, my 7-year-old son. As the oath of office concluded, he jumped up and down, shouting and waving his American flag. 

Who is directing the NBC cameras? Some weird angles and odd choices for camera shots.

I think Obama stumbled a bit getting through the oath to remind everyone that he is a human being, not the embodiment of the Olympus descended to walk among us mortals.

Live Blogging the Inauguration

With all the somber reminders about this historic day, someone needs to step up to comment on other less important details of this day. Some thoughts on watching the dignitaries process to their spots:

Most Improved Look: Marilyn Quayle. Without her infamous flipped hair, she looks 10 years younger instead of 20 years older since her husband left office.

Best Preserved Face: Rosalynn Carter. She's over 80 and looks amazing. 

Grumpiest Face: Bill Clinton. Not sure if he's aiming for serious gravitas or just pouting. 

Most Adorable Attendees: Malia and Sasha Obama. I almost want to have two more kids in the hopes of getting daughters that cute.

Melissa Etheridge Gets It Straight

There's been a hubbub over Obama's selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the Inauguration. Many of Obama's gay and lesbian supporters and others have felt betrayed because of Warren's support for Proposition 8 in California, in addition to other comments he has made about gay marriage. Recently Melissa Etheridge spoke out, supporting Obama's choice. Not because she's a big fan of Rick Warren -- although she said they had met and had a cordial conversation, she finds his views about gay marriage repugnant. Rather, she understood that Obama was delivering on his promise to reach across divisions. If indeed it's supposed to be a climate of open dialogue, we have to welcome people that we disagree with and perhaps dislike. 

Many people have wondered what the nature of the  promised "Change" will be. So far, here on Inauguration Day, the change looks less like radical policy reversals. It looks like radical reaching across ideologies to have conversation. We'll see if the perspective of Melissa Etheridge will carry the day among other Obama supporters. We'll see if the conservatives/Republicans will be willing to participate in the conversation.