New President

A few preliminary notes: 

*We have come to expect nothing but greatness for Barack Obama's speeches, and this was one was well-delivered and inspirational.

I thought it was striking how thinly disguised the reputiation of the previous administration was, specifically the line, "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" a line clearly referencing the previous administration's policy on torture, and the line criticizing those who think, "our system cannot tolerate too many big plans the discussion of the government." Diane Feinstein's short speech was pretty partisan too....

*I was struck by how much blue there was on the stage. I wonder if (and surmise that) Obama chose his red tie to go with his white shirt and blue background.

*Sometimes when NBC panned to a reaction shot, people broke their reaction to the speech and reacted to being on television. So the whole point of the reaction was lost.

*Beyond these small observations, the whole scene was remarkable in the combination of its massive scope and relative observed simplicity--a few speeches, swearings in, performances, and we have a new president. Something so simple was complexly orchestrated after a long, long process. And now, it bears repeating, we have a new president.

--J.S.