Preparing for Inauguration Day
Our offices are closed today to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. The intersection of MLK Day and Obama’s inauguration makes for a heady mix, as innumerable others are noting. On Tuesday, as Obama is sworn in and gives his inaugural address, the staff and I will be huddled around a computer watching via live Web streaming. I’m somewhat concerned that Net traffic will overwhelm the various servers and we’ll find ourselves out of luck; let’s hope that’s not the case. Later in the week, on the Milestone Documents Blog, I will post a historians’ roundup of the address. And one of our historian colleagues, Chester Pach, will be immediately setting to work on writing a complete analysis of the address. By March, this entry should be loaded on Salem History, where all libraries that purchased Milestone Documents in American History (and their patrons) will be able to access it for free. In addition, we’ll make it available via MilestoneDocuments.com and Amazon.com. Coming in April to those same venues, also from Chester Pach, will be analysis of Obama’s other key speeches, including his 2004 convention speech, 2008 speech on race, and his election-night address in Chicago’s Grant Park.
Speaking of inaugural addresses, we’ve wrapped up our countdown of the top 5 addresses in history at the MD Blog. I’ve heard that one sure way to bump up your blog traffic is do to a top 5 or top 10 list. While our traffic wasn’t exactly server-busting, it did show a nice spike indeed. The list was anything but scientific, of course, but it was nonetheless fun and illuminating.
Twitter grows on me. I’m finding it eases the pressure on blogging; I don’t feel like a loser when I don’t blog for days at a time, because now there is Twitter to use for quick posts and links and observations, all of which take only a few seconds. Andrea Betts wants me to display more wit and humor on this blog; I think she has me confused with someone who is witty and humorous. Nonetheless, I do think that having Twitter will make this blog better, and that’s something I hadn’t counted on.
And so we await Tuesday, and the inauguration of Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president. The time that has elapsed since election day in November hasn’t made it any less astonishing or inspiring. He’s given some pretty amazing speeches in his time, but my guess is that he’s reserved something special for this occasion. Let’s see.