We are gathered in a huge lecture hall to watch the inauguration. Two huge screens are tuned into ABC. The crowd is mostly made up of graduate students and professors. There were a few empty seats 15 min ago but it is pretty full now (11:35am). Dick Cheney in a wheelchair was a source of amusement, and so was the reaction of a few spectators who saw themselves on TV. But mostly everyone is watching quietly. (to be cont'd)
Now the room is completely full. 15 min left of the Bush presidency. Wow. Can't wait.
The room broke into applause at Obama's entry.
seems like obama will take the oath at 12 noon sharp.
but no it's perlman's turn - so we have a constitutional power vacuum.
Sorry I broke it off for a while. This was all very moving and required my full attention.Sometimes you just gotta stop multitasking.
A few other notable reactions. The crowd fell completely silent during the Perlman-led piece. It was cool to watch such a multi-racial ensemble play together. The symbolism probably wasn't lost on anyone and the music was beautiful too.
I am surprised noone stood up during the oath of office. My urge was to stand but I didn't want to be the only one standing. I am not even an American citizen yet.
I also thought it was rather funny that the oath of office was botched by Roberts. People around me seemed to think it was Obama who botched it but now it is pretty clear Roberts had the words wrong. As for me, I thought it was Roberts's fault to begin with. I know how eloquent the new President is (I love typing the word President President President).
As for the speech, most of us applauded Obama's promise to science, and universities, and a lot of us nodded at the mention of "non-believers", even though I would have preferred the term "atheist". i believe in many things, just not that.
PS. For those of you who commented: I was in Stata 32-123, and by my definition, the screens were big. Yet, I don't have a TV at home, so I might not be the best judge of that.