Besides watching Michelle and Barak looking like 2 people who really love each other, and the lovely prayer at the end that sounded more like a rap poem, my favorite moment was when our new president actually acknowledged that citizens who are unbelievers actually have a role in this society.

I don't know. I just cried because I was so happy...and hopeful.

I got a kick out of Michelle Obama giving Pres Obama the "evil eye" when he stepped on her dress *again*. Hee! Then she fixed it, pulling it out of the way and then he decided to spin her which caused her dress to be right under his feet again! So in the middle of the spin, she just shook her head like, OMG he's messing me up again!

I really enjoyed Malia & Sasha. So cute & such big smiles. I bet they were exhausted last night...and too excited to go to sleep. I hope they got to stay up late to watch Mom/Dad dance. My 8 y.o. g-daughter got to stay up until 10 p.m. last night to see some of the Balls. I'm sure she was hard to get up for school this morning! Even my little 2 y.o. g-son seems to understand something exciting is happening. When he sees President Obama on TV...he points his little finger, bounces on his heels, & says, "O-bam-A Yes We Can!" :)

It was a wonderful day & the sun is shining brightly this morning.

/tricia

Aretha Franklin! I LOVED her hat -- a true Crown. That woman can sing. She gave me the chills. I am a longtime fan.

Sasha and Malia are little rays of sunshine. They make me smile.

I just read this in the NY Times, which summed it up for me:

''IÂve seen many presidents come and go, but IÂve never watched a tableau like the one Tuesday, when four million eyes turned heavenward, following the helicopterÂs path out of town. Everyone, it seemed, was waving goodbye, with one or two hands, a wave that moved westward down the Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, and keeping their eyes fixed unwaveringly on that green bird.

They wanted to make absolutely, positively certain that W. was gone. It was like a physical burden being lifted, like a sigh went up of ''Thank God.''

Oh Yeah.

Another moment I liked was when the President and First Lady were preparing for their first dance, and they giggled at each other.

The people! All those smiling, crying faces of millions of people of all race, creed, age, and economic background. Reported to be 2 million!

What a contrast to the last inauguration that instead of tears of joy we had tear gas, speeding limos, and "free speech" zones.

Well there was a special moment for me that I bet didn't register with most.

It was when the President's motorcade passed the Canadian Embassy. Our flag flying high and all those Mounties, in their "Dress Reds", standing at attention on the stairs of the embassy saluting the new president.

Made me want to sing Oh Canada! LOL

The moment I'll remember....well actually there were many!...but
THE moment was when he emerged, alone, to see that incredable sea of people and solomnly walked down the steps to the podium to take the oath of office.
Linda C

Oh Canada! Indeed!

Forgive me, but I had one more...There was an interview with two Freedom Writers that included their ''fresh face'' mug shots from when they were arrested so many years ago. I loved that they were tracked down to be interviewed, so we could hear what this inaugural meant to them. It was poignant!

As an aside,the crowd was officially estimated at 1.8 to 1.9 million - a record for an inauguration. What stunned me was the news commentator saying there was not one single arrest. That's hard to fathom in this age of at least "acting out."

Where to start? To misquote a movie, "you had me at the music". By that, I specifically mean the trio (quartet?) that included Yo Yo Ma. I loved the rendition of "Tis the Gift to be Simple". I think that song exemplifies how we feel about Obama, that change and hope don't have to be complicated.
Jo

The fact that Obama mentioned non believers in his speech as a part of the United States of America.

Apparently Sasha and Malia had a sleepover party at the white house that included a scavenger hunt and the Jonas Brothers.

-Robin

Claire I think you meant Freedom Riders...those, whites and blacks that took busses and other public transportation in segregated states daring the officials to kick them off or to say they were being civilly disobediant.

And I loved watching Michelle tower over Dubbya...loved her bending over at the helicopter to give him a little going away "air kiss". LOL!
Linda C

Oops! Linda, you're right; that was a slip of keyboard.

When the title changed from President Elect Obama to President Obama! ... When the camera showed that sea of people - I was awe struck (and also glad I wasn't there - I can't handle crowds.) ... When once again the transition of power from one President to the next one occurred without bloodshed - that always moves me...Watching the Obamas smile and wave at all the bands, from big schools to small ones, as they marched by, never showing any sign of boredom...I missed seeing their first dance of the evening, other than short bits on the news, but the way they looked at each other was so romantic...And, like others have said, seeing our previous president fly away in that helicopter, that was sweet!

Sally

Would it surprise anyone if I admitted that I didn't watch any of it? (shrug)

I don't care at all what the First Lady wore or who was there or who sang or any of the other pomp and circumstance. I only want to know what he's done his first couple of days, what he's going to do the next couple of months and whether he keeps ANY of his campaign promises.

I was kind of tickled, though, to find out that he served some good old American Napa Valley Wine at one of the dinners, at about $7 a bottle. Now THAT'S my kind of president!

Annie

One of my favorite moments (aside from those already mentioned) was a shot of President Obama listening to the quartet and looking up and out and just enjoying the moment. I got a real sense of his appreciation, awe and hope in that moment. He was just taking it all in and made me feel like he was a real person. Plus the fact that he took the time to share the moment with his family and wasn't totally wrapped up in the pomp made me smile. It's so nice to have "real people" back in the white house, people that might be my friends in different circumstances...

I couldn't wait for the swearing in, but I loved the crowd shots and the classical music trio. A handicapped Jew, an Asian guy, a Black guy and a woman pianist, all having a blast and making BEAUTIFUL music together. That's America to me!!

P.S. Something that kinda freaked me though is that I remember both Itzahk Perlman and Yo Yo Ma as young prodigies! AND, the prez is MY AGE!

Bri, I saw that 'moment' too. Made me feel good for him.

That doesn't add up, Lpink, as Perlman is quite a bit older than President Obama (I sure like the sound of that). If you can remember him as a young prodigy, you can't be Obama's age. lol. Just giving you a hard time, since this is the first President I'm older than. But I've heard a lot of people make that same observation.

I liked the quartet, too, but I wish they had chosen a different composer. Ma looked like he was really enjoying himself, though.

Sally

OK, I'm a little older than Obama. And I loved music even as a little kid--my aunt and uncle were big classical fans of Perlman. And I'm old.

My DD talked to her music students about the quartet, asking them if they saw it, and told them about Perlman, how great he is, and how he overcame polio, or at least didn't let it slow him down.

Sally

Talked to my best friend yesterday and she heard them interviewing YoYo Ma on the radio and he said they had prerecorded the music. They were playing but the instruments weren't making any sounds. No wonder they were all smiling, thinking about how weird that was! But I totally understand. Being a clarinet player myself I know there is no way you could get a good, in-tune sound out of a clarinet outside at those temperatures. The reed wouldn't vibrate and blowing hot air through a cold wooden instrument just does not work! Big problems for violin and cello and piano too I imagine. They said they tried it but it just didn't work. That I can believe. I thought the performance was a miracle, but in actuality it was a miracle of modern technology. But it was the sound of them playing, and they have played together before. My friend said the interviewer was also shocked, not just me. She said, "Say it isn't so!" But again, I was wondering about that all along. Being a musician, it did seem like a complete miracle and I was wondering how they pulled it off. I thought maybe they had some kind of heaters around them.

When it was over

sore loser ....LOL

I dunno Sharon - based on the sheer number of emails I got supporting my comment, I am CERTAINLY not alone!

A

Amen, Alex.