History in the Making!

I didn't want to be cliche and like every other blogger out there and post about the inauguration of Barack Obama. However, I feel like it's something I should talk about. I really didn't think I would care a whole lot about it or be moved by it, but I was. I was charged with helping to plan a watch party for our campus, so I looked at it more as a work event than something I would enjoy. As someone who graduated with a degree in political science, I am always interested in elections, speeches, and things like that. This event did not disappoint. Seeing all those former presidents and vice presidents in attendance was neat. I mean, who would have thought Walter Mondale would be there! I literally got chills after Obama was inaugurated. I feel like this country is energized more than ever before. More people care about politics and believe in the election process, especially young people.

I really enjoyed Obama's inaugural address as well. He is a great public speaker and is very engaging. I think he gets a very important message out there, letting people know that there is still a lot of work to do. His election isn't the end of the road, it's the beginning of a political process which will hopefully make us a better country. I hope that those who worked so hard to get him elected will continue to work to see his ideas turn into reality.

There were only two things that bothered me about the event: 1) Why is everyone saying that Obama is the 44th president? He is really only the 43rd. Grover Cleveland served two different terms (1885-1889 and 1893-1897), and is labeled as the 22nd and 24th president? But isn't he one person that should just be counted as the 22nd? Yes it was the 44th Inauguration, but Obama is really only the 43rd person to serve as president. 2) MSNBC was the only station we could get to work to show the coverage and Chris Matthews was awful! He made some inappropriate comments and I didn't enjoy him. But overall it was an amazing moment, one that I will never forget, and it made me add "attend a presidential inauguration" to my list of things to do before I die.