Obviously, the innauguration of Barack Obama was a big deal for millions of people. I voted for him, and hope that he can even partially meet the many expectations we’ve all laid on his administration. My family will be praying for his safety and success.
I liked his innaugural speech quite a bit. It was serious but hopeful. It was a message for serious adults in a serioius time, not just puffed up, pseudo-patriotic rhetoric.
With that being said… my favorite Obama quote from the day was reported in the New York Times:
Mr. Obama, the first president since John F. Kennedy who came directly from the Senate to the White House, first savored his inauguration over a lunch inside the Capitol. A hearty seafood stew, served topped with puff pastry, helped to counter the day’s chill.
The president had only a few spoonfuls before he left the table to greet his 237 guests, but he turned to a waiter and said, “Don’t let them take my soup.â€
As someone who, myself, uses humor (sometimes successfully) to help put people at ease and move along through trying social situations, I found President Obama’s casual, gently funny remark to be a very nice indicator of the man’s personality. It’s not the remark of someone trying to get a big laugh from the whole table; he probably didn’t expect it to be reported. It’s not, after all, newsworthy at all.
It’s just a nice, funny aside from a guy who’s trying to be chummy with the wait-staff ass well as the joint-chiefs-of-staff.
I like that. A lot.
That reminds me of my favorite telling Obama line. It’s quoted in Rolling Stone (and appears again during PBS’ Frontline documentary).
During his first session with the Foreign Relations Committee, while Sen. Biden (!) was bloviating, Obama scribbled a quick note and passed it back to his staff who were excited to receive their first note from him. It read–in toto–”Shoot. Me. Now.”