Inauguration 2013

History was made this week as the nation watched our 44th president take an oath to continue to leading our nation. 

Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 became a day to be remembered in our nation’s history as President Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as our nation’s leader. I admit that in my 27 years, this was my first time watching the inauguration of our nation’s leader. I as did some of my co-workers, found this event to be an excellent tribute to American history. 

I watched my first inauguration live on ABC while all of my co-workers watched it on NBC. To hear their feedback compared on what they saw compared to what I saw while watching the inauguration was interesting because both stations differed in a lot of ways. Both stations had their own highlights as to what was important. On NBC there seemed to be a personal connection with the reporters while on ABC there was a personal connection with the public. 

I enjoyed watching the ABC coverage of the inauguration because throughout the broadcast, they gave out trivia questions about past inaugurations and provided interesting facts about past and present information of previous inaugurations. One of the most interesting facts that I found interesting was that most presidents past who have won a second term had a better first term than they did when taking their second term. To name a couple of these would be former President Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal and former President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. A few other interesting facts shared on the ABC broadcast was that Lady Bird Johnson was the first “First Lady” to hold the bible while her husband took his oath and Chelsea Clinton was the first “First Daughter” to attend the event.

While what I found interesting seemed to be on the historical side, my co-workers found seemed to find the human element more interesting. By comparison, my co-workers found it interesting when Al Roker asked the president and the vice president to come over and give an interview. The president politely waved back to Mr. Roker and kept walking while the vice president waved and said while he would love to come over and talk with Mr. Roker, but said he was not allowed to do so for security purposes.  

Something both stations emphasized was the expense of the event. Some people on social media sites and in the news felt that the expense was too much for the event, but my co-workers and I disagree. This year the inauguration was funded by donations from President Obama's campaign. Do to the decrease in funding provided this year, cuts to the annual event had to be. This seemed to have been done by having two inaugural balls instead of having the usual twelve. My co-workers and I concluded that the expense was necessary because it is something that is a part of our history and people will remember it for a long time. 

Most people are publicly aware that two people who inspire President Obama are President Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.  I along with my co-workers thought the inauguration was successful incorporating these two historical figures in the 57th inauguration of President Obama. This was accomplished by quoting important speeches both gave and by having President Obama take the presidential oath on Lincoln and King’s bibles, one on Sunday and the other on Monday. 

My co-workers and I found the speeches and entertainment to be well presented. All speeches went along with this years’ inauguration theme  “Faith in America’s Future” which clearly represented equality to all. This was the first time a president has ever mentioned gay rights in his speech.  Which brings us to Poet Richard Blanco whom is the first Latino and gay poet to be invited to attend the inauguration. The poem he gave mentioned a lot of what has gone on in the last year including the Sandy Hook tragedy. Some of my co-workers found his speech to be good and interesting, others found it to be confusing and others found it to be too long. I was one of the few who found it a little long and confusing at the same time. His topic or topics of the poem were all over the place.

By popular demand, my co-workers and I agreed that Beyonce gave one of the best renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Alicia Keys and James Taylor were among the favorite performances in the inauguration and of course the one thing every one of us noticed was the way former President Bill Clinton acknowledged Kelly Clarkson after her performance of “My Country Tis of Thee.” 

The luncheon and the parade were two events that seemed to be uneventful. I thought the luncheon was nice because everyone who attended got something. I thought the speeches for the luncheon were a little long. The most interesting thing about the parade to all my co-workers and myself was the interaction the president and vice president along with their families had with the crowd. They all acknowledged and embraced the huge crowd there to see them.

“ I believe that Barack Obama will eventually become one of the most historic presidents of all time, having stopped the war in Iraq, helping the country recover economically and providing health care for everyone,” Kevin Brady, executive director of The Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District and my boss said. “Admittedly, he can’t fix everything, no-one person could but when the smoke clears and the dust settles, in years to come, Obama will be one of the most notable Presidents in history,” Brady said. 

In deed, Obama will be remembered throughout history, not only because he was the first African American President, but also because he won a second term and accomplished many things that helped our nation.  He will also be remembered as the first president to mention gay rights in his speech.

As I stated before, this was the first inauguration I have ever watched. I found it to be an enjoyable experience. I learned quite a bit from watching this inauguration than I thought I did.