Try and imagine the mood of the country if it were McCain and Palin and their families on the steps of the Capitol being sworn in?
The musical piece, "Air and Simple Gifts," composed by John Williams and based on a Shakers' hymn, was surprisingly subdued yet moving; he usually goes for cheap emotion and heart-tugging bathos with his film scores. But how did these four musicians, including Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma, get their fingers to work so fast and magically in the cold? And when will the composition be available on iTunes?
We can't rewind history, but let's hope that the oath-of-office flub by President Obama and Supreme Court Justice Roberts is not some Shakespearean-grade portent of even darker clouds to come. Both are Harvard guys so there might have been some deeper one-upmanship going on, yet Obama did vote against Roberts's confirmation in the Senate.
There seemed to be a glum, forced cheerfulness on both Bill and Hillary Clinton's faces, as if they still can't believe how the one-term Illinois senator bested them in the primaries.
Seeing Dick Cheney in that wheelchair was too Hollywood-perfect with its gorgeous timing, just another wheeled-about villain like global-destroying Dr. Strangelove or misanthropic banker Henry Potter in It's A Wonderful Life.
There was an amazing, surreal quality in seeing that many people gathered on the Washington Mall. Perhaps, nay-sayers and rightwing nutcase doubters in the future will dispute that any of this even took place, and like the first Apollo moon landing was fraudulently staged with special effects by the liberal media. Certainly, we have seen digitally enlarged crowds this size in modern action blockbuster films.
Who could not be mesmerized by Aretha Franklin's objet d'art chapeau? Her head ornament deserves a place in the Smithsonian.
There was a phrase often heard in the HBO series Generation Kill which followed a Marine recon platoon during the first few weeks of the Iraq War, and that is "stay frosty." It suggests that one should always stay extra alert for danger. On this sun-lit, below-freezing January day, Obama's speech seemed coated in frost for the difficult road ahead, despite his impassioned call for hope and service and renewed purpose.
Here's what brain-clogged Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and San Hannity probably heard during the presidential swearing in: "I, Barack Hussein Osama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute as many Americans as possible, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Koran, so help me Allah."
Weren't Obama's ears cold in the chill? No ear muffs, no hat to cover his noggin'?
General Motors received boatloads of free air time -- what great product placement! -- with its presidential Caddy. What effect will this souped-up limo have on GM sales? Can it lead to a more generous Capitol Hill bailout?
What was with George W. Bush's forehead peck on Michelle Obama just before he left the Capitol on Marine One helicopter with wife Laura?
The dark days of Dubya are finally over. How did Americans ever allow one man so blithely and callously and "childishly" wreck this nation? He nearly drove the nation off a cliff.