What a scenery chewer...did he study Method Acting?

Free at Last!

Thank God we're free at last!

And my body is overtaken by chills AGAIN, just reading it! I love this day.

"...we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Loved it.

my boss sent to the inauguration, and all I got was this stinkin' view.

And his cadence! So sweet to hear a president with that beautiful—and uniquely American—black-preacher cadence. It was subtle, but it was there.

How'd people react to the "red man can get ahead, man" benediction, Mr. Frizzelle?

That Green Zone that your boss jerked himself off to for years until the public sentiment turned against the war?

What a beautiful day!

It's a new day in America!

Congrats on the seats.

the Stranger in the Green Zone?! You've really arrived.

Even if you couldn't see the magnificent speech being delivered.

My favorite paragraph: "For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate."

Obams touches on these very recent historical moments without the heavy-handed reference of Bush. "9/11" is not the justification for every misstep, instead we are reminded that our history is ours, and Katrina and the attacks are elevated to the level of metaphor. It is subtle, but it is more powerful, since we can learn and move forward from these moments, instead of becoming mired in their weight.

Actually, I thought the poem was fine. It was the way she read it that wasn't that good. Maybe her jaws were freezing shut.