The multi-age, multi-race crowd at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in downtown Madison was euphoric as Barack Obama took the oath of office today.
As always, throughout the campaign, the effect Obama has on a crowd is moving. The civil rights theme, the sense of history, the references to Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream touch the best parts of the people who come out to hear him.
Sunday's vast outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial captured that mood of change sweeping over Washington, DC. And what a welcome change it is. Obama's message--that America is a multiethnic nation committed to human dignity and social justice—brings people to tears.
This is the America we want to be. And that in itself is a powerful force for good. It was gratifying to hear Obama take some specific swipes at Bush: declaring, for example, that we don't need to give up our ideals to protect our freedom. And watching the diminished Dick Cheney and George W. Bush depart, and the Presidency of Obama begin.
As Obama put it: "This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
There will be plenty to quarrel with in the days to come, as Obama wrestles with some intractable problems and relies on a mix of progressive and regressive advisers. He has taken some disappointing stands--on FISA, and in his silence on the bombing of Palestine. But the tone he strikes, the emotional pull of a message that draws on the best in America, is hopeful.
It was interesting to hear his explicit message to Muslim countries: "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. . . we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." America's own fist is loosening as Bush and Cheney depart.
That Obama listed global warming and the economic crisis among his top concerns, along with the ever-present theme of terrorism, is also a major switch. It was a somber speech, but a hopeful one, and one that both named the problems we face and pointed the way forward.