I spent this morning and early afternoon watching coverage of the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Had steak and eggs for breakfast. Kept the tissues nearby. Only wept twice — once before he spoke, again as he talked of Washington and his men on the riverbank whose snows were stained with blood.

I was pleased to hear President Obama (damn, I enjoy typing that) not only acknowledge non-believers as equals besides those of faith, but also repudiate the most heinous legacy of the Bush Years with this powerful statement:

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

May this truly mark the dawn of a new and brighter chapter in America’s history.

Welcome, Mister President. And good luck.