Clown Time is Over

Inauguration notes.

Fine Obama speech, acknowledging the pep rally is over. Lemony and tough, almost astringent. Reagan gave you the grandfather routine. Now there’s work to do.

How about John Roberts flubbing the oath — repeatedly? This guy’s Chief Justice? Jesus, even Rehnquist got it right.

There was always something missing in Dick Cheney’s personification of Old Man Potter, but the last-minute addition of the wheelchair set things right. At least now George W. can stop tying those strings around his fingers.

The classy-yet-all-American musical interlude on “Simple Gifts” was nice. One hesitates before expecting that art and science might be brought back into the national imagination — one thing at a time, after all — but Obama is hitting the right notes so far.

Mostly watched MSNBC, where Chris Matthews was even wiggier than usual, at one point comparing the Bushes to the Romanovs, whereupon that sane fellow Eugene Robinson quietly suggested that no, it wasn’t quite like that.

Still can’t quite believe this good thing is happening. Or that the Bush years, now history, formed a large part of our lives. But goodbye to all that. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry. Sayonara, sucker. Up in the nursery an absurd little bird is popping up to say “cuckoo” — so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night. Hasta la vista, baby. TTFN. Goodnight, Irene. Drop a line when you get a chance. Later. So long, it’s been good to know ya. But not really.