Bo-Bo Knows Barack Obama

On September 11, 2001, the world stood by our side in recognition of our nation's great pain. Today, I hope, the world stands beside us to celebrate the promise of great change. Just 16 minutes before he would shed forever the word elect in his title, Barack Obama stepped onto the platform where he would take his oath of office.

The crowd waved flags. They chanted, "Oh-bah-mah. Oh-bah-ma."

A lesser person might have grinned and waved, but Obama maintained a gravitas that demonstrated how deeply he understands the enormity of the work at hand. Today he takes on the mantel of crisis, the mantel of a nation's hope, the mantal of great expectations.

By order of the constitution, the president-elect is officially the president at noon on January 20th. When noon came to Washington D.C., Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero were playing a John Williams arrangement of "Air and Simple Gifts":

'Tis the gift to be simple,
'Tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
to bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning, we come round right.

My greatest thanks to Obama for kindling a national hope I thought had burned to ash. I ask only this: lead the country with an integrity that never makes me doubt the hope I feel today:

"With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

-President Barack Obama, Januray 20, 2009