It is tradition that when Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday, the official inaugural ceremony is held on the following day. However, despite this apparent quirkiness, the oath of office will be administered to the president on Sunday, Jan. 20, the day prior to the Inauguration.

When Obama climbed from his limo to greet crowds assembled outside the National Archives and Navy Memorial, he followed the suggestion of the Memorial's designer William Conklin.

What can a good Republican say about the week that has unfolded? I'm not sure. But speaking as an American, all I can say is that I'm damn proud to be a part of this great republic.

Watching the speech again after the Inauguration, and watching the world watch it, realizing that there was not a corner of the globe that wasn't listening, I think it is fair to have expected more.

I was one of the 2 million folks who braved the elements to attend the Inauguration. I expected cold and confusion and craziness and I got it in spades. I did it anyway.

Miss Manners says you cannot permit a bravo for an operatic performance without also permitting a boo. Can we extrapolate to politicians on state occasions?

If nothing else, this week the city of Washington was Obamafied. People went not just to celebrate, but to bear witness, to be together, to physically join the concise ritual of swearing in the president.

Obama may yet prove a disappointment. The task asked of him may be too great. But for the moment that is of no account. American democracy has delivered, and done so spectacularly.

I cannot help but think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who 47 years ago stood on steps of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke of his dream. Tuesday, that long-awaited, long-fought-for dream of equality was realized.

We are all taught as children not to talk to strangers, but during those hours standing still or barely inching along during the Inauguration Day traffic, I violated that rule repeatedly.

Two of our hosts, Ted and Maegan, were in Washington DC for the festivities and they offer their own personal perspectives from the ground.

If America's investors lift their eyes from their virtual ticker tapes long enough to notice that America is transforming itself, maybe they can give the economy a chance to recover

Each of us is called to "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America." It is a challenge that we can not afford to ignore.

Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement leaders defined their mission: "to save the soul of America." Obama's address can serve as a reminder of that incomplete mission.

I just returned from D.C. feeling like David Blaine returning from his 58-hour entombment in a block of ice: I'm cold, I lost some friends, and I gained an impressive case of PTSD.

Despite some very true and obvious comparisons between the two, I feel it's my duty to nip the coming onslaught of Washington/Obama comparisons in the bud.

Roberts posed, "So help you God?'' as if he were interrogating Obama about whether he does believe in God.

President Obama has made it clear that America is no longer in the business of selling out the legacy of our Founders and the mandates of the Constitution for the sake of a little bit of extra security.

There is no need to applaud Mr. Bush, but no need to boo him, either. He was our own doing, after all, and anyway, we are, perversely, in his debt.