Yes, the load of these years comes to a close and the possibility of new life breathed afresh on such a grand stage is with us. Not perfect by any means, and certainly for those of us who remember the lofty rhetoric of JFK's inaugural a much different speech, but still, for sheer momentous occasion on a stage we have all awaited all this long season of hope, there we were, and the mall filled with compatriots, and the renewed interest in the American occasion, the crowd the speech the inclusion and the embarking on what will come. I feel an uncertain sense of gratitude that we reached this pivotal condition, this place in the American future that has the chance for an expansive vision. I wish Obama and the troubled nation an energetic rebirth. On!