An inauguration like no other

By
Bill Press                                                                          Read Spanish Version

"Is
this inauguration like all the others we’ve seen, or is there
anything special about it?"

On
the evening of Jan. 20, that’s the first question Chris Matthews
asked me on MSNBC’s "Hardball." Earlier in the day, while
watching the inauguration of Barack Obama from a seat in front of the
Capitol, I’d asked myself that same question. And the answer, I’d
already decided, was clear.

The
inauguration of Barack Obama represents a transition in government
far more profound than any we’ve ever experienced before, because of
both who he is and what he stands for.

On
the issues, the change from former President George W. Bush (how
sweet it is to write those words for the first time) to President
Barack Obama (even sweeter!) is much more dramatic than the shifting
hues of gray a new administration usually brings. The difference is
as stark as night and day. With the stroke of noon on Jan. 20 — even
before John Roberts bungled the oath of office, forcing Obama to take
a mulligan the next day — we went from a president who launched an
illegal war to one who would end it; from a president who ignored
universal health care to one who would deliver it; from a president
who denied the existence of global warming to one who would lead the
fight against it.

Obama
didn’t mention Bush by name, but everybody knew whom he was talking
about in his Inaugural address when he said that "without a
watchful eye, the market can spin out of control." And when he
declared: "Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow
interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has
surely passed." Our new president didn’t wait long to show
evidence of his determination to act.

On
day one, President Obama moved to remove one of the worst scars from
the face of America. He signed an order to suspend the kangaroo
courts set up by the Bush administration at Guantanamo Bay, and to
review the status of each of the 245 prisoners still being held
there.

The
next day, he signed executive orders to close Gitmo within a year, to
shut down what remains of the CIA’s network of secret torture prisons
around the world, and to ban the CIA’s use of so-called "enhanced
interrogation techniques," Dick Cheney’s euphemism for torture.

Overnight,
we went from a lawless nation back to a law-abiding one. That in
itself is a tectonic shift. But what makes the arrival of Barack
Obama so sublimely different is his inauguration as America’s first
African-American president. That change was a long time coming. There
was much pain, suffering and injustice along the way. Still, once the
seeds of equality were planted, it’s remarkable how firmly they took
root. Obama was elected president 54 years after the Supreme Court’s
decision ending segregation in public schools, 45 years after Martin
Luther King’s "I Have A Dream" speech, and 43 years after
passage of the Voting Rights Act.

Imagine:
On Jan. 20, a black man stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, built
largely by slave labor, and became president of the United States.
Later, he and his family spent their first night in the White House,
also built by slave labor. We’ve come a long way, baby. Obama’s
presidency is a giant leap forward many of us never thought we would
see in our lifetimes.

What
great things President Barack Obama says about us, as a people, and
what a powerful message he sends around the globe: that we are,
indeed, a nation where every citizen has equal rights and equal
opportunities. Only in America, as Obama noted toward the end of his
Inaugural address, can "a man whose father less than 60 years
ago might not have been served at a local restaurant now stand before
you to take a most sacred oath."

Whether
you’re a Republican or Democrat, the inauguration of Barack Obama is
a milestone all Americans can be proud of, and a time all Americans
join in wishing him success. Well, almost
all
Americans.

On
his radio show, right-wing bloviator Rush Limbaugh told listeners he
disagreed with fellow Republicans "who have caved in and who
say, well, I hope he succeeds." Not me, countered Limbaugh. "I
hope he fails."

How
un-American can you get? These are tough times. If Obama fails, the
economy fails, the Republic fails and America fails. Only Limbaugh is
too small-minded to understand.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "Train
Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too
Soon)." You
can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his Web site:
billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com.
(c)
2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.