With The Raise of A Hand, Obama Lifts An Entire Nation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Barack Obama raised his right hand, placed his left hand on a bible, and just like that, achieved a feat of epic proportions today as he was officially sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.

This will go down as the most important day in U.S. history.

Obama, the nation's first ever African-American president officially earned that title at noon EST, even though he hadn't actually taken the oath of office, according to The Constitution. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., who botched the words of the oath swore in the former Illinois Senator at 12:05PM EST. Once Obama finished the oath, the enormous crowd of possibly a couple million people cheered and teared wildly in the freezing cold at Washington D.C.'s National Mall on Capitol Hill. 

Then Obama delivered his 20-minute inaugural address.

"I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors," said the new president. His speech seemed to be a confluence of hope and a sobering reality of where this nation stands. "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America -- they will be met."

Flawlessly said.

Obama has always been a man that tells it like it is, and no matter how harsh that reality is, he still manages to engender hope. On this day, he called for all of us as Americans to bond together and get this nation moving again. He ever so slightly denounced many policies of the outgoing Bush Administration and the overall shortcomings of the politics in Washington, and even issued a warning to terrorists.

"We say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us; and we will defeat you," said Obama with an air of defiance and his trademark self-assurance. He also touched on several of the darkest occasions in recent memory such as the terrorist attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and vowed to end the divisiveness and partisanship that's so pervasive in Washington.

Soul-singing legend Aretha Franklin sang a beautiful and stirring rendition of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" just prior to Joe Biden's swearing in as Vice President, then a splendid violin composition preceded Obama's seminal moment.

Every living former president was present, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and of course, the just departed George W. Bush, whom Obama, wife Michelle and Joe and Jill Biden escorted to Executive One, the helicopter that flew him back home to Crawford, Texas and presumably, a life of normalcy.

Without question, this was a stunning and legendary moment; a flash point if you will, in the history of America. I am endlessly proud of Obama for this extraordinary achievement. It inspires us all in ways that we've never known before or even thought possible.

God Bless America.