Boots and Balls

I have an unhealthy love of anything presidential. Presidential inaugurations rank right up near the top of my list of cool things that I would love to see some day (a state funeral would be even cooler). But, even though I'm interested in this one and have already left instructions with Ed to set the TiVo so that I can see today's festivities after I get home from work, I'm certainly not feeling the level of excitement I would've had we been watching the Bushies pack up and move back to the ranch.

Regardless of who it is that's taking the oath of office, the event itself is fascinating and I can't ever help but feel a bit of pride that the government really does go on and power changes hands (at least sometimes) smoothly and orderly. Overly simplistic and romantic view, I know, but it does inspire me and remind me that we don't live in such a bad place after all.

It's also always interesting to view the inauguration and project my thoughts forward 40 or 50 years trying to imagine how this man will be remembered in the future. Will he be remembered as a great leader? A crook? An incompetent boob?

I admit I have no idea how W will be remembered that far down the road, but at the moment, I can't imagine it will be terribly favorably. The man is a risk taker and I think that will be his legacy. It's too early to know if those risks are going to pay off or if they're going to cause even greater problems in the future (I have theories about that!). He's either going to be remembered as one of the greatest or as one of the worst. I don't think there will be a lot of middle ground about his legacy.

All the hoopla surrounding the inauguration, though, (hoopla = dumb parties costing millions of dollars where the president and first lady show up for one quick dance before dashing off to the next one) is annoying as hell. While the actual inauguration ceremony fascinates me, the balls and parties just bug the hell out of me. W has such a natural swagger, I just can't even think about watching him tonight as he goes from party to party and basks in his own glory. And, I really don't care what kind of dress Laura is wearing. I especially don't care what party girls Jenna and Barbara do, and I certainly don't want to see Papa and Mama Bush gloating in their sons' glory. But, I have a feeling I'll get to see all that and more over the next 24 hours.