After reading/hearing news coverage of today’s activities I have come to a couple of conclusions. First, I have made a goal to attend a presidential inauguration – not just the parade, but the actual swearing-in ceremony with the inaugural address. I will not be picky about what president it is because for me it will be a celebration of the office and the government of this great nation. Second, I’m sick of the news coverage. The inauguration is certainly newsworthy but aside from some brief description of the crowds, the weather, and possibly some background about previous inaugurations the only coverage that the media can really offer of any value is the text of the inaugural address. (Here’s the official copy.) Besides that nothing that is planned is particularly newsworthy out of these events.
The fact is that this very important celebration is not made more real or valuable to me by all the extra commentary (beyond what I listed above). If the media wants to cover it all day that’s fine, just roll the cameras and stream the audio but get the talking heads off the screen – they have nothing to add.
So, congratulations to President Obama. I hope he enjoys this day and then gets right to work preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution. And if I’m very lucky I could attend an inauguration as early as 2013.
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