At Last

I was going to write about how I feel about the changing of the guard, but Chicago Fan at the Slog summed it right up:

For me, the main thing about the Obama presidency is that it re-sets my default mood. Since Bush v. Gore and the judicial coup d'etat of 2000, my default political mood has been pissed off. Occasionally things would make me more pissed off or less pissed off, and once in a blue moon I'd be happy, but pissed off was the baseline from which everything started. And that was before 9/11 and Iraq.

Now, with a President who can speak in complete sentences, who believes in the rule of law, who believes in hiring people for their competence and ability rather than their personal loyalty and religion—my default political mood is happy. Things will piss me off about Obama, I'm sure, and some things will elate me: but the baseline is changed from pissed off to happy, and that's a huge shift.

And you usually hear about the first 100 days of a new presidency, how's this for the first 100 hours!

Last-Minute Bush Regulations Are on Hold Pending Study
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Obama Reverses Bush Abortion-Funds Policy
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Obama order gives 1-year deadline for shutdown of Guantánamo prison
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Obama gives new life to the FOIA
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Obama Meets With Officials on Iraq, Signaling His Commitment to Ending War
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Speaking to his senior staff, Obama said, "However long we are keepers of the public trust, we should never forget that we are here as public servants, and public service is a privilege. It's not about advantaging yourself. It's not about advancing your friends or your corporate clients. It's not about advancing an ideological agenda or the special interests of any organization. Public service is, simply and absolutely, about advancing the interests of Americans."
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Scientists Welcome Obama’s Words

And last but not least I want my co-bloggers to know how much I appreciate their patience while I've been going thru some heartaches, headaches, toothaches, computer aches and just general mid-winter aches. My colleagues in blogging, just like my colleagues at work, make me humble when I realize how lucky I am to be included in their company.