I feel like I'm supposed to blog about the inauguration, but I really don't know what to say. I don't really have the words to describe what's happening; there are times when this still feels like fiction to me. One of the things that will fade over time is the massive doubt Barack Obama faced as he began running for president. As he settles into the mundane routine of governance, the country will get used to him as the president, and the mystical quality of his candidacy and victory will start to fade.
Last night, as I was having dinner with my family, I watched my great uncle holding my newborn cousin in his lap. My uncle is over 90 years old. He's lived most of his life in the District. When he was growing up, our nation's capital was a segregated city. My little cousin's earliest memories of living here will be framed around the tenure of a black man as president of the United States. I stood there trying to wrap my head around that for a moment, and I might as well still be standing there.
-- A. Serwer