Inauguration 2009
The speech was inspiring, even if the commentary made you shutter for in fear for the Republic (cue tape of Chris Matthews explaining that POTUS is "the commander in chief, the virtual prime minister [i.e. de facto head of government, for those with a third grade education], and the head of state [really, "representative head of state" - any political commentator worth his salt would use this as an opportunity to correct himself and draw a strong parallel to Lincoln's claim that sovereignty descended from the people, rather than the states, as the quintessential justification that united the country, and parleyed this into Obama's declared dedication to Lincoln's model. Let's see how he did:]. I mean, the President is the monarch of the country in a way that should unify the country, in a way that other countries should acknowledge and see his representation." WTF??!?!)

America, we have not only a man who shows some of the greatest promise of a generation, but challenges to match: an international fundamentalist insurgency, two major wars, the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression, a government in crisis, a collapsing infrastructure and social safety net, and the worst fucking media you could hope for. Good luck. 

To be watched in this time of change, are those who would seek to promote the worst elements of democracy.  The Economist observes: When Democrats took over the House and Senate in 2007, some Republicans feared that John Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, would move to impeach President Bush. He never did. He is, however, arguing that Congress should roll up its sleeves and start investigating the outgoing administration  like a forensics team stumbling across a murder site. This isn't a controversial position for many liberals, who remember 2001, and how Republicans inside and outside George Bush's administration investigated the final decisions of Bill Clinton, spread rumors  about how he treated the White House, and kept publishing books about his heinous crimes. These liberals want a repeat from the blue team. But if Mr Obama's administration plans to do that, or to let congressional Democrats do that, it is keeping the plan well hidden behind rhetoric about "post-partisanship".

Meanwhile, Paul Krugman, brilliant economist and poster boy for undermine-peaceful-transition-of-power-party, compared the Bush years to apartheid-era South Africa.

Guest contributer Mohit emails:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/ Check it out! Its completely "changed"! The most interesting part is that if you check the agenda part of the site, Iraq still has its own section but Afghanistan doesn't! http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/iraq/.

And Pavan with some historical perspective:  Bill Clinton must be bitter about the new website, look at his:  http://web.archive.org/web/19990117053540/www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome-nt.html
ah, 1999...