Like probably a literal billion or so other people across the planet, I watched the Inauguration of President Obama yesterday. I felt good watching the peaceful change-over of power, that despite all the divisiveness in this country, we still manage to get right every four or eight years here in America. It’s a practice that makes our nation unique; something to be proud of, particularly since so many others can’t seem to manage it.

There’s a lot riding on this one; I was happy to see President Obama take the Oath (about as happy as I am to be able to say “President Obama” non-hypothetically), because his administration offers so much potential. It’s no secret that I wasn’t particularly happy with the previous administration (referring to the Bush years in the past tense feels good too) or with the governing decisions it made. I, like so many others, are pinning our hopes on the Obama team steering the ship of state in a direction we’re all a bit more comfortable with.

Let me be clear; it’s a big ship, and even minor course corrections take a while. I’m not one of those people who see the new President as some sort of messiah who would give us all unicorns and rainbows the moment he took office; He’s just a man. A man, who, I’m sure, who’s going to make half-a-dozen decisions in the next month that will piss me off to no end, but who I think has a good head on his shoulders. I believe he and his team will deal with issues deliberately, rationally, and with genuine concern for the common good; governing more from the head and the heart than from the gut and the hip. Pragmatism rather than demagoguery.

I think I can live with that.

A lot of the sentiments expressed in the Inaugural Address seem to bear out my beliefs here. It’s a good speech, I suggest you re-read the whole thing. However, here are just a few little nuggets from the text that really seem to get to the heart of why I feel better today about where things are headed than I have in a while:

Sure it’s been repeated so much in the last year and change as to almost render it meaningless, but the change that the Obama presidency brings with it is something to feel good about. I’m not one to be outwardly emotional about much of anything, and true to form, I didn’t gush or cry or break into spontaneous applause at the moment in question. However, I couldn’t help but find myself smiling this morning at the office when I walked past the familiar display case hanging in the hallway and saw this photo hanging there instead of the one that was there yesterday.