Inauguration Day in America

As I write this, it's nearly midnight on the West Coast, marking the end (at least for me) of what has been a spectacular day. There is a sense of wonder, when you really consider it, about the transition of power that happens every 4 or 8 years in the United States. The peaceful transition of power is something that has been going on in that country for hundreds of years, and it's become so routine that many of us take it for granted. Yet when you consider it, and look at all of the countries around the world that still are unable to accomplish this feat, it does give one pause to consider the significance of what we witnessed today.

The inauguration today caps off what is practically a Hollywood fairytale. The son of an immigrant from Kenya who met a woman from Kansas. The child of a single mother who remarried and moved overseas, but eventually sent her son home to be raised by grandparents in Hawaii. A young man who wanted to get to know his parents better, but lost them both far too early. This was a man, with a remarkably odd name no less, who rose from obscurity to become the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review, and then quickly rose through the ranks of politics, gave a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, and became a US Senator. It's virtually inconceivable that a freshman Senator, only two years into his term, managed to take on, and ultimately defeat the most powerful family in the Democratic Party politics.

With the Clintons dispatched, defeating John McCain must have seemed to be a far easier task, but Mr. Obama never let up, never rested, and pushed with a singular conviction that is rarely seen. He did what few have been able to do: win the Presidency with his own ideals and convictions intact.

It can safely be said that when they make the movie about the road to this Presidency, they won't need to embellish anything. As rare as it is, we have managed to live an amazing story, and I want to congratulate all my friends in the United States for getting it right this time. As your friends and your neighbours, we wish you well, and we with President Obama every success as he takes on some very difficult challenges.

On another note, I have to laugh at someone today, because it's so much fun. In what will be a moment that will forever haunt US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, he screwed up administering the oath of office. John Roberts, ever the perfectionist, the man who never said or did a thing wrong in his life finally had it all catch up with him in front of the billions of people watching him. He had plenty of time to prepare; all he had to do was memorize 35 words of the Constitution. Mr. Obama managed to do it just fine. Suffice to say: whoops!