Blaglash.com

The political process is this venerated, admired and even envied here in the US.  The democratic bragging rights are always ours somehow, and we’ve used them to start wars, rebuild nations, get what we want, and intimidate.

But I thought about it, and I feel like George Bush Jr has been president my whole life.  Not only that, but where’s my demographic?  Where were the dierct pleas for my vote throughout the election season?  Sure, Mccain picked Palin, and Obama claimed the youth, but I still did not feel… PANDERED to.Maybe I should have looked further left?  Maybe I should have done more to feel included?  Had I signed up to phone bank, or put up posters, maybe I would feel like I had a candidate, beyond rooting for the Democratic Party.

I didn’t do those things, but I did watch from afar.  And now that it’s over, I can remember the times and speeches and gaffes that made me squirm, get excited and feel loyalty.  All those things remain in the back of my mind while the Inaguration Speech now takes the front seat.

The sheer volume of people at the Inauguration made me feel included, in a strange way.  Everyone on twitter talking about the Inauguration made me feel a part of things.  The CNN coverage made me want to be there, or at least watching with lots of other people in Times Square.  But the most notable thing was Obama himself, referencing his race for the first time that I could remember, and addressing “non-believers” directly.  That felt good among all the invocations and benedictions.   Just acknowledging that we exist, albeit euphonically, made me feel included, part of politics; not to mention Sen. Feinstein, a cute lady, practically directing traffic throughout the whole shebang.