Our new president

This video represents the moment we as a country moved past the George W. Bush era to the Barack H. Obama era. As you can tell, the people around me were jubilant. I was too, I think the Obama era will be a definitive time for our country. It has to be. There are too many issues that need urgent addressing that it would be impossible for his tenure to be unremarkable.

But that's not to say that everything will be golden. I believe Barack Obama has many of the qualities that make a good leader - poise, brains, curiosity - but those qualities are necessary, not sufficient. To be remembered as one of the greats requires not a small amount of luck and the right environment. You can have the best ingredients in the world, but if your oven breaks, there's not much you can do to salvage your dish. I suppose the same argument could be made by those in the Bush camp - that 9/11 thrust him into being a wartime president and that he kept the country safe, regardless of his approval ratings. But I wouldn't go that far, you can only make so good of a dish using inferior ingredients.

So, my advice for #44 would be to lead with your instinct, but counter it with reasoned skepticism. Invite the best and the brightest into your advisory circle, but don't let intellectual exercises impede on taking deliberate action. Have a small enough ego that you can admit mistakes, but fight with everything you have for deep seated convictions.

It feels like a breath of fresh air has rushed into Washington. At work, people are beside themselves with the possibility of putting into action many of the concepts only theorized the past 8 years. At the same time, we cannot let ourselves become drunk on power and ambition - we all know how that turns out. As a country, we have to listen to our President's call for sacrifice. Not everything will work, but we have to try everything so that something will. The next four years will be difficult on all of us. I don't expect Obama to have the same approval rating then as he enjoys now, but what he will be doing is laying the groundwork for the next half century of American prosperity. I'm excited to be a part of it and I'm ready to get to work.

Getting There

As you well know, today was the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Approximately 2 million people crowded the National Mall and surrounding area to witness the event, including yours truly. The journey was not without its tense moments and long walks, this post will chronicle my day today. Another post in the future will discuss my thoughts on the election, but here it is, a play by play.

6:30 Wake up! My subletter in Houghton called me at 12:30 AM to figure out how to get into my apartment for the semester. After I told him to go through the front door, down the hall, and into my apartment, we got it all cleared up and I fell asleep, only to rise 6 hours later. Only it was definitely worth the grogginess, what I was getting up for.

7:15 We're out the door, my two roommates, Colin and Kate, and walking to the action. We took G NE to Union Station, which is about a 15 minute walk. After that, I'm not sure where we went, but we encountered some of the crowds. There were a few levels of ticket holders, people who got to stand or sit closer to the Capitol. I think about 250,000 tickets were distributed. We didn't get any of them, but we accidentally entered ticketed line which had snaked around this street that got blocked off at the end by a Metrobus. This snaked line prevented anyone from moving (see picture) anywhere and the people kept on coming despite the dead-end. One of the most surreal moments of my life then took place when, in the middle of this mass of humanity, none other than the Rev. Jesse Jackson decided to appear from a doorway (looking a little stunned, as you can see). He gave a quick smile, walked 3 feet away from me, and disappeared into the crowd. This only added to the chaos. Twenty minutes later, we all turned around after some jostling, and decided to chart a new course. We then lost Kate, who was smart and went to watch the events at home sans the gigantic crowd.

9:00 After deciding that we had initially turned too soon, Colin and I forged on, taking D street to 6th in hopes of getting in line there to see Obama before he was sworn in. We had three hours. After a short walk, we got to 6th street, where my map had said there was a checkpoint to let people in. A rapidly growing crowd was gathering at the street corner, which was blocked by police, concrete barriers, and police tape. They were only letting 100 people (it looked like a lot less) go at a time, in some delusional crowd control scheme. Well, a lot more than 100 people were waiting and the crowd was growing restless. An older gentleman rebuked the mega phone-wielding police officer telling us to move back with a polite "Please tell us when we will get in." The cop didn't answer his plea. Soon, after letting some emergency vehicles go by (at the expense, almost, of people's toes), the police gave up and the crowd jumped the barriers. It felt like a 5K the way people rushed down that block. You almost knew that we were only rushing towards another logjam. I was right - two blocks later a metal security cage was slowly letting people go through, there was no way we were waiting. Plus, we wanted to see the ceremony, this line was for the parade. I'm glad we asked someone.

10:00 Despair sets in. We decide to make one last-ditch effort, to walk the entire length of the Mall, parallel to it, to get to the Lincoln Memorial. We get pushed farther and farther north, trying to travel west towards the Memorial, but we eventually make it past the White House and on to 18th street, where we head due south and see a glorious sight. Well, it doesn't look like much, but we see blocks and blocks of people walking without a roadblock in sight! Salvation is within our grasp. We get to the park near the WWII and Lincoln Memorials and we can finally move freely, but the crowd is pouring from the streets and we rush to find a spot to stand near a jumbo tron. What a spectacle - tens, hundreds of thousands of people cascading onto the dormant grass around some of the most recognizable landmarks our nation has to offer. All to see one man. I'll post a little bit about the actual event later, but it's back to the daily grind tomorrow, so I should sleep. I have some cool videos to share too, so stay tuned. It's going to be a good four years.

Even though I've only been in DC for a little more than a week, I've come to both love and respect our Nation's capital in more profound ways than I initially expected. Being around the Capitol or walking the National Mall this week as the Inauguration festivities kicked off brought a giant swell of humanity into the city. I'm glad that I'm not yet a jaded "local" who scoffs at the large crowd of so-called tourists invading the city to see President Obama. Everyone was a tourist at one time or another here, and I believe that at least some of that sentiment should always be held on to.

Of course, I still prefer encountering folks who have an understanding of how to ride the Metro, or what proper museum etiquette is, but the important part is that they're here, experiencing history. And isn't it partly the local population's responsibility anyway to point people in the right direction, to lend a helping hand? We are all guests in this great city, and we should all lend a helping hand to our fellow visitors.

But back to the reason why I love this city. Not to inject religion into a blog named after an indie rock song, but I think our country would do well to urge its citizens to visit Washington, DC at least once in their lifetime if they are able. A secular pilgrimage. The history embedded into every nick and cranny of this vibrant city is similar to other big cities, I imagine, but something about this being our nation's capital makes everything all the more special. I live in a part of town that was once decimated by the race riots of 1968 after the assassination of MLK. But those riots were only a tiny slice of the history of the streets of my neighborhood. Before a large African-American population, waves of European immigrants called H Street home. People say it's going through another transformation, gentrification, but in reality, it's always been in a state of flux. My neighborhood acts as a microcosm for the entire city, our entire country, really.

Which brings me to my final point. I love this city not only because of its historical significance, but for its current significance. Yesterday I braved the crowds estimated at 400,000+ to see a wave of A-list celebrities as well as the A+ list celebrity, Barack Obama, at the Lincoln Memorial concert. It's funny, I think Obama is the only person in this world who can upstage Beyonce. After his speech, thousands (myself included) streamed towards the exits as Beyonce took the stage to sing "America the Beautiful". I bet that sort of thing doesn't happen to her very often. All in all, I enjoyed the music and the speeches, but looking around me, I was inspired by something deeper. Whenever I found myself with a good vantage point, I surveyed the crowd around me. It was inspiring to see people of all walks of life, from the well-dressed elite to, well, everyone else, all converging to this one spot to catch a glimpse of our next president. The crowd was silent as Obama took the stage, commanding yet reassuring even from a jumbotron hundreds of yards away, standing in the freezing cold. You could tell that despite the myriad troubles we face that we as a country, as a people united in this tough time, we want to believe that this man will guide us to a better, more respected America. Anyone standing in that crowd would've done anything President Obama asked of us at that moment. I have a feeling he will ask us to sacrifice more than anyone in my generation has ever been asked to sacrifice. I hope we will be smart and thoughtful when we decide how to answer that call.

Only time will tell what kind of president Barack Obama will make. I believe he will be one of the greats if only because of the magnitude of the challenges he faces. What is certain is that Washington, DC will always be the epicenter of our nation's history. For tomorrow, at least, it will also be the epicenter of our nation's hope.

The First Week

Well... I've got one week of work in here in Washington, Dc and I'm still alive ;o) Work was exciting and I think I'll like the Union of Concerned Scientists. My boss is great and my co-workers are all really interesting and nice. Already by Tuesday, I sat in on a meeting with the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy, EESI, and the Forest Guild. Later on Tuesday, we got debriefed by our Policy Director who had a meeting with Carol Browner, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change in the Obama Administration (and former EPA Administrator under Clinton), Rep. Henry Waxman, Rep. Ed Markey, and some other Congressional staffers concerning the bailout and upcoming environmental legislation. And that all happened on Tuesday!

I work on K Street, Lobbyist Row, on the 8th floor of a building between 18th and 19th streets. Our office is LEED Gold Certified, and is almost brand new. It takes about 35 minutes to get to work from the house. I walk to Union Station, which takes about 15 minutes. It's a nice walk through residential streets lined on both sides with century-old brick row houses, each uniquely decorated. After I walk to the grand architectural edifice that is Union Station, I take the Metro subway red line to Farragut North. That takes about 6 minutes when the trains are on time (which they usually are). The Metro takes me right to K Street, about 2 blocks from the office. Work starts later out here, which is fine with me! Nine or 9:30 until 5:15 and then it's back home or to the coffee shop.

So everyone around here is talking about something happening very, very soon. Apparently someone is getting inaugurated? Of course, I'm going to brave the cold and go see the next great president take office. They're expecting millions of people and I'm excited to see all the people on the Mall. Sunday will also be very awesome - there's a free concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring my favorite, the Boss, and some other performers like... Beyonce, U2, Garth Brooks... no big deal ;o) I will be sure to take a lot of pictures (and video, if I can figure out how to upload) of the events and will be sure to post them ASAP. So stay tuned.

My first DC run, in which I find out the Capitol really is on a Hill...

After moving to our Nation's capital city on Thursday, I decided to venture out on a run from my house. First off, let me tell you first about the house. It's an early 20th century brick row house in the neighborhood called, depending on the source, Capitol Hill North, Near Northeast, Atlas District, H-Street, or Murderer's Row (kidding). From what I hear, much of my neighborhood was destroyed during the race riots stemming from the assassination of MLK in '68. It remains in a decrepit state for about 30 years, until redevelopment (and the accompanying gentrification) began in the late '90's. I now live on a street that is slowly taking part in gentrification, the heroin user next door is gone, and BMWs, Mercedes, and other yuppie cars are slowly replacing the Broncos and Buicks of old.

Back to the run...

Going south about 6 blocks brought me to Lincoln Park. I headed due West on E. Capitol Street NE and, running past the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, ran right onto and around the Capitol. It is all decked out for the Inauguration, which is only a week away! The bleachers are set up on the steps and two giant flags hang draped from the windows above. Porta-Potties are beginning to be lined up around the reflecting pool and on the Mall. I think they will need a lot more than are currently there, or the bowel movements of 2-4 million people will be severely under served. Not a good thing. After thinking about that subject, I did a quick loop around the National Mall and headed home. Total time, just under 50 minutes. I can't believe I can step out of my house and run past these famous landmarks! Perhaps the grandest revelation of my run was that Capitol Hill really is situated on a pretty big hill. Blame some of my hardship on being out of shape, but I think the grandness of the building overshadows the hill. I was really out of breath by the time I got to the top...