There are a lot of people who are saying that this presidency is going to be of historic significance. This is generally a reference to Barak Obama being the first American president of African-American descent. Certainly this is significant here in the United States, but from a world perspective, it is but a footnote. The idea that Barak Obama’s presidency is automatically of high historical significance to the world is a bit presumptuous. I do believe that there are people who have allowed their visceral hatred of George Bush to drive unrealistic expectations of the Obama presidency. And there are some who will only be happy if the Obama presidency reduces the United States the world’s lap dog, submitting to every whim of the world’s self proclaimed higher authorities. Pardon me for being the iconoclast, but I don’t see the US trading all its power and independence for the world’s approval. If the US does, it will be the first super-power in the history of the world to willingly do so. That indeed would be of historical significance. But I will reserve my judgment of the significance of the Obama presidency until after it’s over.

Now, to keep this on topic, there is no way in hell I’m subjecting myself to these types of crowds on the National Mall.

-Old Army