President Obama

Today was one of those days that makes me happy to work for a university. There is always someone that possesses the technology and ability to convert a projector into a television to watch something like... the presidential inauguration. So, instead of just letting the DVR at home record the event and watching it hours after being exposed to the online news sources, or trying to organize a group of people to go somewhere with a television... people can just gather in the conference room with their lunches and watch it live with colleagues.

President Obama has sufficiently proven himself as, quite possibly, the finest orator of our current generation of politicians. Now that Obama has been sworn into the office and Bush is (finally) on his way back to Texas, we will actually see what kind of leader Obama will be. It is time for the news media's talking head divisions (on both sides of aisle) to cease their mindless prattling and let Obama's actions dictate the quality of his presidency. The next four years will be an extremely challenging time. Hopefully, Obama will be able to take the momentum he has generated and turn it into something positive in a time that the future looks as bleak as it ever has.

I will close this post with two quotes from The Daily Show's Assif Mandvi about the expectations of Obama's inaugural address, then one from address itself. While the speech was quite good, I'm not sure it lived up to Mandvi's projection.

"I expect Obama to deliver a speech that will make 'The Gettysburg Address' seem like a series of simian grunts. After tomorrow the 'I Have a Dream' speech will be known as the 'I Have a Really Bad Speech' speech because compared to Obama's speech, King's speech will suck." - Assif Mandvi

"Tomorrow's speech with its sweeping themes and majestic rhetoric, will make sweet, sweet love to the English language. And in so doing, will humiliate Homer and expose Shakespeare as an untalented hack." - Assif Mandvi

"Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint." - Barack Obama (from today's inaugural address)