Waiting for Barack

    I simply could not wait until tomorrow to make my Inauguration Day 2009 entry. I considered live-blogging the event, but I will likely be far too excited to type anything other than asdfjkl over and over again. I’m not particularly excited about the event itself, although I’m sure it will be spectacular. All the millions present will hug and kiss and feel as one, and President Obama will be the awe-inspiring figure we have come to adore. What I’m anxious for is his first few days and months in office; for that day when the media stops asking us what dog he should get his daughters and showcasing photos of his bare chest accompanied by inane questions like “ Buffest head of State: Obama or Putin?” I’m waiting for a time when President Obama is just left to get on with the business of running the United States, and most of the media coverage becomes about his presidential decisions.

    We of course await his implementation of the economic stimulus package, and wait to see what his level of engagement will be in Gaza. But I’m also curious about how he will address the various crises in Africa (starting with Zimbabwe), a move which - because of his heritage - many will be waiting to judge as either biased or self-loathing depending on his response. Although Michelle Obama has reaffirmed that her primary role as First Lady will be to raise her daughters, I will not accept this. I’m also waiting to see what wondrous things a First Lady of her socially engaged, educated ilk will endeavour.

Happy Martin Luther King Day, happy Inauguration Day, and here’s to living well in these revolutionary times.