'History is here'

Washington – I realized today how much the election meant to people.

Not only because Barack Obama is black, not only because George W. Bush was an unpopular president, not only because Obama has promised to revive America’s downward spiraling economy.

For each person in the crowd today, Obama’s oath of office had a special meaning that transcended any one of those issues and brought together people who, ordinarily, would never cross paths.

I watched grandmothers slapping hands with young children, well-dressed individuals interacting with those clad in snow boots and sweats and people of all ethnicities coming together in one, shared celebration.

As Obama placed his hands on the Lincoln bible, my neighbor, a black man from Washington state, kissed two fingers and raised them to the sky.

“History is here,” he said, then repeated in a near-whisper. “History is here.”

It’s clear that Obama is popular — perhaps more popular than any newly elected president before him. The question is whether that popularity will hold now that Obama has to make the difficult decisions that come with the job he’s just taken.

But, for now, it’s time for celebration.