Inauguration Day postscripts

I liked the First Lady’s lemongrass yellow outfit but I didn’t care for her white ball gown. It was too frilly and fluffy, making her look heavier than she really is, and I don’t think of her as the frilly type. The white was stunning, however. I just wish it had been a sleek, smooth look.

The cable news babes are going all ga ga over Michelle Obama’s fashion sense (I hadn’t really noticed she had any out of the ordinary). I’ve like some of her choices and not others. Her preference for American designers is nice, I suppose, along with purchases off the rack at J. Crew and such. She might be a fashion plate for ordinary American women, rather than haute couture.

Chief Justice John Roberts is SO on my hit list for botching up Obama’s great moment taking the oath of office. The whole world was watching Obama  take the oath on the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln. Few moments in history will rate as high as this one, yet Roberts blew the words! He got them out of order and tripped up the new president who was trying to say it correctly. Would a crib sheet have been a crime?? Apologies not good enough; he can’t unring the bell. Me, I’d have been reading every single word.

(I heard last night that the oath was botched at two other inaugurals, but didn’t note which ones.)

Obama stepped right up with his full name: “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear … ” That was his choice, I’m sure, as was the decision to end his oath with the words “so help me God.” They aren’t required by the Constitution. The president adds them if he wishes.

Heard an interesting stat last night: two million people on the mall and not a single arrest! Amazing.

Of course Cheney had to show up in a wheelchair. Probably trying to garner sympathy from folks who before now have thought he was a Darth Vader type creature.

I heard some of the crowd singing “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye” as Bush’s helicopter lifted off and circled the mall. It’s a wonder they weren’t throwing shoes at him, but I guess that wouldn’t have been in keeping with the celebratory mood. I wonder if he will ever acknowledge, at least to himself, how badly he botched things up.

All that said, it was still an awesome day, an incredible event. Expectations for Obama are running unrealistically high and I’m trying to keep a check on mine. He can’t be all things to all people, and likely won’t be able to accomplish everything he promised or hopes to do. But with Bush’s departure and Obama’s ascension, the sun is finally rising again in America.