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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Airport not quite a ghost town, but….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It had been a few months since I’ve flown anywhere, and the scene at the airport was frankly scary. No line whatsoever at security — you just walk right up to the person checking ID and boarding pass. TSA folks were standing at vacant conveyor belts and X-ray machines, waiting for business.
Like nothing I’ve seen before.
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Obama-mania … kinda strange, really
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been up in Washington, DC, on business. Obama’s picture is everywhere: in store windows, on lightposts, on the fare ticket for the Metro subway system. The city’s gearing up for an absurd number of people — 2.5 million people expected for Tuesday, half million for a Sunday concert on the mall.
I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this, and I’m not just talking about the inaugural crowd. The outsized expectations, celebrity, etc….
I don’t know how to account for it: The thirst for effective leadership after eight years of Bush multiplied by Obama’s status as the first black president multiplied yet again by Obama’s own considerable personal gifts multiplied by anxiety about the future equals … something very strange, and not entirely healthy.
