Inaugurations and Blogs

On Tuesday evening, the Embassy staff set up a projection TV to show President Obama's inauguration.  It was in a large room that was well filled with people.  And the bar was open.  I joined the crowd because you shouldn't watch something this important in your room by yourself.  An inauguration reflects your country, and you should be with your countrymen and countrywomen to witness it.

And at the conclusion of "... so help me, God", I turned to my friends and we toasted our new President with the finest free champagne in all of Baghdad.  You wanted the job, Mr. President, and now you've got it.  Go make us proud.

So far, he's doing a good job of it.  His speech was exactly the right tone, with inspiring calls to action and service, sober recognition of the military, economic, and social stresses we face, and stern warnings to those who would stand in our way.  A master at work.  Such a change from the doofus who preceded him.

The crowd watching the inauguration was certainly a mixed group.  The majority of us were Obama supporters.  There were a lot, though, who weren't.  But then, the popular vote was only a little over 50/50, so if the McCain supporters weren't there, I'd have been very disappointed.

Okay, enough politics ... I think every blogger and journalist on the planet has pontificated on this subject by now, so I won't contribute any more.  

Instead, I'm going to point you at three very interesting blogs.  I've mentioned the first one in here before.  It's "Embrace the Suck", written by a young soldier in Afghanistan.  He has some very sharp and insightful comments on what our new President ought to do in that country.  Normally his stories have me rolling, but this one is very thoughtful and well-reasoned.

The second one is an entry called "Five Years in Iraq (Shameless Vanity)".  It's on the Free Republic web site and was written by someone I work with.  She has been in Iraq for, yes, the past five years, working as a civilian in various occupations around town.  Many people seem to assume that we civilians are here just for the money.  Well, the money is good, but we're here for other reasons, too, and this posting addresses that.

The third blog is a brand new one with exactly two posts as of this moment.  The writer, Molly Dingledine, is a jewelry artist that I know from Asheville who is going to work in Cameroon with a volunteer organization.  It'll be very interesting to read how her adventure develops.

And that's the news from sunny Baghdad.  Stay warm, America!