Can there be any question as to what My One Favorite Thing this week was? Could it be any more obvious?? I mean, clearly, it was Rick Warren's Invocation Speech. Duh. What a beautiful testimonial to the goodness of god, the power of prayer and the righteousness of Scripture! [Read more]

What a week. I've been home for four days and it still doesn't seem real. I've talked and written about the things we did while in DC, but I've been slower in finding the right words to express how I felt about the experience.  [Read more]

Greta Christina has written a straight-forward piece at AlterNet that addresses what was wrong with all of the piety at the inauguration.  For my money, here's the quote:

Look. You can't spend all day talking about how God's grace is upon the nation, and how everything that happens comes from God, and how equality and freedom and opportunity are promised to us by God, and how the elected leader of a democratic country is God's servant, and how forgetting God is a sin that requires forgiveness -- and then mention once that some of the people making up the strong patchwork of this country are non-believers -- and call that real inclusivity and recognition of non-believers. [Read more]

You've read Orlando's impressions of her journey through DC on Tuesday. I was there, too, camera in hand. What follows are my impressions from the day.

The early morning daylight greeted inauguration-goers as they glided up to incipient madness. It was strange -- though not surprising -- to see the completely empty down escalator as we all crushed together to ride the up escalator. [Read more]

Grappling clumsily with grand understatement, it has been a most interesting week. [Read more]

I am no less a liberal for being a Christian. So I was somewhat dismayed that Rev. Rick Warren has come under fire for what some bloggers have called his "inappropriate" invocation at President Obama's inauguration.

Now understand, I am no particular fan of Warren, especially in light of his support for California's gay marriage ban. I disagree with Warren's view of gay rights. And while I still wrestle with the issue of abortion, I support the notion that such decisions are deeply personal and that Roe v Wade must remain the somewhat awkward standard for guaranteeing women the right to control their bodies. [Read more]

Usually, on leaving day I get a wistful feeling, reflecting on the good times that I've had, happy to be getting home but sad that my vacation is over.

I don't feel like that today. Yesterday was a day that I will never forget, but today I'm even happier. My head is filled with hope and possibilities for the future. [Read more]

So, A-Man, Genghis, Orlando are all painting D.C. blue tonight, making it tough for them to discuss in detail the incredible experiences they must have had today. In the meantime, I figured I'd give my take on Obama's inaugural address.

A Facebook friend asked me what I thought of the speech, and I told him my initial reaction was 'ho-hum.' It did a good job of listing the challenges we face as a nation and world, and of calling us to action. I thought its foreign policy section was particularly strong. But the address by itself didn't move me much on an emotional level, and I certainly didn't think it had any of those memorable, JFK-worthy turns of phrases that would be quoted fifty years down the road. [Read more]

I was lucky to stand (with family) in the Silver Section today and to witness Barack Obama's inauguration.  I held my four year old aloft during Barack's oath, telling him before and after to remember it, and kissing him and telling him I loved him.  It was that kind of moment.  A dad trying to impress a moment on his son.  Some fascinating things I saw today, and some thoughts:

Overture (the Mechanics)  [Read more]

I left my friend Jake's apartment on Capitol Hill at 8:45am, clutching my hard-won "silver section" inauguration ticket. Hat, gloves, long underwear, wool socks, sunglasses--perfectly equipped for five hours of 32 degrees, mostly sunny. We wound our way around the Capitol, exchanging anti-Bush witticisms with the passerby. At first, there were big, friendly signs: "Silver section -->." The signs happily directed us where we already knew we were supposed to go. [Read more]

It's finally over. Just sayin'.

Today was long. We (my cousin and I) started our day outside of Allentown, PA, and drove south, stopping briefly to pick up Genghis near Philadelphia. Having never driven in DC before, I was glad to have someone in the car who knew where he was going. So, thanks G.

When we dropped G off, he was very nice to make sure I knew where I was going before we said good-bye. I assured him that I knew exactly how to get to my hotel. Then, I pulled away from the curb and promptly took a wrong turn. Oh well. You'll be happy to know that we made it safely and the car is parked for the duration. [Read more]

The National Mall has morphed into Obamafest, the greatest assemblage of human beings, portable toilets, and political history ever organized.  The densities on the Mall on Saturday and even Sunday have nothing to do with today.  The Mall is thickening with people by the hour.  The fact that more humans are entering the District tonight is amazing, given how many are here now.  Yesterday before the concert was that day before the hurricane when the sky is blue.  Well, it's not blue anymore, and the winds are 60 miles an hour.  There is no way to know what it will be like when the force of Hurricane Obama hits the Mall tomorrow, but it will be amazing, I know this. [Read more]

OK, so I didnt find a way to scrounge up an Inauguration ticket. I'm certainly not going to spend one of the most beautiful and meaningful weeks in recent memory being bitter. At least A-man and the Big O are making me feel like I'm there with their insanely comprehensive coverage (although how about a little more multimedia please!). In the meantime, as my own little contribution to the week's festivities, I hereby offer up a special Inauguration version of my Questions column. Now these are no fun without reader participation, so you need to contribute by answering!

1) I've been to the mountaintop and I've seen the inevitable references.

2) A well-stocked Cabinet?

3) The over/under.

4) In case Orlando has some free time in DC. [Read more]

I don't know if you ever saw the Kevin Smith film Mallrats, a sequel of sort to Clerks, but today I was one of the Inaugural Mallrats, the horde of camera-toting lunks ranging up and down the National Mall.  And boy, it felt good.  Started the day with a cab to the House of Representatives office building in which I was to pick up swearing-in tickets.  I had been hoping against hope that they would not be in the Silver Section, which is past the reflecting pool facing the Capitol. Office staff told me:  your tickets are in the Silver Section.  Still felt very lucky.

Crying update. Yesterday, I was overcome with emotion about Obama for the first time since November 5th. I've been searching for the video of Pam, who introduced Obama in Philadelphia at the kick-off of the whistle-stop tour. When I find it, I'll post it. Until then, you'll have to take my word for it. She was fantastic and my eyes filled with tears. [Read more]

Since November 4th, serious Obama detractors have gone underground. Not as far underground as I would like them to be (think center of the earth), but they've been pretty quiet on the airwaves. Sure, there's still Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders bleating about one thing or another and there's still that guy that insists Obama was born in Kenya, but all in all, the negativity surrounding Obama has been with regard to the shit sandwich he is inheriting rather than the man himself. [Read more]

I read The Audacity of Hope a few years back. Before that, I heard Barack Obama's 2004 convention speech and I followed his Senate campaign. I had only been gone from Chicago for two years at that point, and I still felt like Illinois politicians were my politicians. 

I remember thinking somewhere along the line, that when (when, not if) Obama decided to run for president that he would win. I was certain. I don't know why. I don't claim any special insight into, well, anything. I don't have ESP. Nobody came to me in a dream. I just knew. I was certain. As certain as I've been of anything in my entire life. [Read more]

There's nothing wrong with Roland Burris and there's nothing wrong with the appointment

-- Roland Burris [Read more]

Ah, vindication.

Yesterday, I felt like I was the only one criticizing the Roland Burris pick for Roland Burris (as opposed to Blagojevich having the gall to make an appointment in the first place).

Today, the truth about Burris and his planet-sized ego is coming out.

Some fun links:

Burris already has his grave site, complete with a massive memorial.

The Chicago Sun-Times documents Burris' belief that he is divinely directed to hold office. [Read more]