The President of United States of America

I write this while watching the inauguration of President Obama's second term as the President of the USA.
USA does not claim to be a secular State. So, there was a prayer invoking the blessings of the Almighty. After a soulful prayer, a senior member of the Republican party (Obama, as you know is a Democrat) said a few nice things  and started the proceedings. My mind immediately went back to the not so savoury remarks that our opposition  make whenever a new President/Prime Minister/Chief Minister is sworn in. We carry  the bitterness of the hustings even after we have lost the mandate and tend to run down the elected personality. Or we immediately file a writ petition in the Court challenging the election. When will we learn to lose gracefully?
The speech of President Obama was not as soul stirring as the one that he delivered when he was sworn in four years  back. May be the freshness is lost. The cares and burden of office have perhaps mellowed the man. His speech was relatively sombre. But he emphasised the greatness of his country, the equality that any immigrant enjoys - he emphasised that the middle name does not matter. He was sworn in as Barak H Obama - you know why!
President Obama has created a record of sorts - on the first and second occasions, he was sworn in twice - last time because there was a doubt that the oath was not properly read out to him in the public ceremony and therefore he was sworn in again inside the White House; this time because the constitution demanded that he be sworn in before 12 noon on 20th January; you don't become the President of the most powerful Nation without taking the oath of office in front of your people and so a second swearing in on Monday the 21st January! The proceedings concluded with a prayer seeking the Almighty's blessings on the President.
The entire programme lasted for about 25 minutes and the simplicity, dignity and decorum displayed impressed me. Please don't conclude that I am a yankee lover - I am not even though my daughter is in the USA. The occasion only brought out in stark contrast how we do things here. That is about all!
Sure, we will change - signs of change are visible and this great land of ours will also rank as a super power soon - may be not in my life time - but it sure will. Man lives on hope and without hope you are a vegetable!