President Obama's Inauguration

On January 20, 2008, president Barack Obama was inaugurated. Obama took the presidential oath of office. President Obama finished the oath at 12:06 P.M. leaving us without a president for six minutes. While saying the oath, there was a slight mess-up but was corrected. He swore on the Lincoln bible. His wife, Michelle, decided to hold a children inauguration for her daughters, who were all present to watch Barack Obama become president. Today, he is the 44th president of our country, but also the first African American president in the United Stated history. That isn't the only reason he is so popular. As he takes on the responsibilities as president, he must help with the global warming crisis, help get our troops safely back to America, and find ways to help fix the slumping economy. After two hard years of campaigning, he won the public election to McCain last November. After the election, Obama has been trying to make plans for when he becomes president. Now, it is time for those plans to be put into action. Can he do it?



The first article I found centered around Obama's speech, and the man who wrote that speech. Jon Favreau, who is 27, co-wrote Obama's inauguration speech and wrote Obama's other speeches as well. He stood anonymously in the crowd while he listened to the speech a great deal of people enjoyed. One quote from the article particularly stuck out to me. The quote is as follows: "That skill had been put to almost daily use in the 18 months of brutal campaigning on the presidential trail." The line struck up questions in my mind. What if one night he didn't write a speech? What if the speech was too plain? What if he didn't finish the speech? What if he just decided to quit? What would Obama have done? I truly would like to know the answers to these questions. Overall, the inauguration speech was well written, but the hard work put into the speech to make it that amazing, is unimaginable.

The second article focuses on the Inaugural Balls held. There were ten official balls and the Obamas and Joe Biden, along with his wife, promised to attend all ten. The daughters of the president, Malia and Sasha, did not show up at any of the balls. Even some invited celebrities were asked to wait a while in the cold before being allowed inside. There were several balls, including one for youth. Some tickets cost as much as 150 dollars. One quote I noticed in particular was, "Mr. Obama accidentally stepped on Mrs. Obama’s hem, revealing that the new president might be better on the basketball court than on the dance floor." In my opinion, this is a rude remark. Everyone messes up once in a while. why should that matter. Overall, inauguration balls are a big part of the celebration! Even though some people may not consider an inauguration a celebration, someone new takes control of our nation. In my opinion, this should be a celebration to those who love America.

My opinion on the inauguration overall is that, when someone new takes control of our country, we should make sure that he or she will take care of us. Anyone could falsely swear on the bible, but would someone do that in front of the entire nation? I personally don't think someone would. Therefore, inaugurations are a sometimes fun, exciting, and smart way to hand over the presidency onward to a new individual. This has happened several times in the past, and is a tradition that will hopefully last as long as America is a free place to live!

Citation:
Article One: "Barack Obama's inauguration speech ... crafted by 27-year-old in Starbucks." Guardian.co.uk. 20 Jan. 2009. 21 Jan. 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/barack-obama-inauguration-us-speech.
Article Two: "At Inaugural Balls, Only One Couple Mattered." The New York Times. 20 Jan. 2009. 21 Jan. 2009 .