Weigel

Opening Act: One More Time

I’m on the Mall today as President Barack Obama is sworn in to a second term. The difference, in this city, between the mood of 2009 and the mood of this weekend was roughly the difference between Woodstock and Woodstock ‘94. There is bright, omnipresent joy between the black families wearing Obama gear, and the bearded and leggings’d campaign vets wearing the coats they bought in Iowa. But there’s relief, not dizzy optimism.

Slate’s 2009 coverage of the inauguration did a good job conveying what it felt like.

The president jets around the city thanking people profusely.

The new Fox News poll has broad public support for a bunch of gun control members, big optimism (if that’s what you’d call it) that some control bill will pass, and outlier levels of favorability for the NRA. Obviously it’s that last bit that’s getting the attention.

An old article about global warming and Mali, pointing to an ugle angle of the story there that nobody’s been covering.

Not that it helps with our North Africa strategy.

And I notice that one of Hollywood’s best-liked undeveloped script is a romance about the young Hillary Rodham.