Even with face masks and social distancing, Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony emitted a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Where allowed, couples hugged and kissed. Family members gathered in group hugs.
The day provided a reunion for former presidents and their spouses. The affection was evident. Fist bumps between Barack Obama and George W. Bush, Michelle and Laura. As Obama’s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and he could be seen leaning in.
Co-chair of the inauguration, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri could frequently be seen with his arm around his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
Their familial gestures made us forget that many were reportedly wearing body armor and bullet-proof vests, the grounds turned into a military fortress.
That’s OK.
If anything, their determination to carry on showed they would not be denied the celebration nor cowed by the insurrectionists of Jan. 6.
And as for the ongoing pandemic, they gave it due deference.
FAMOUS for his personal warmth and rock-solid values, President Joe Biden also made clear the days of Shakespearean back-stabbing and loyalty tests are over.
This is a man, after all, who as a young U.S. Senator commuted daily to Washington from his home in Wilmington, Del., in order to see his toddler sons after his first wife, Neilia, and daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car crash in 1972.
The 90-minute commute meant “Amtrak Joe” was never an “insider” to Washington politics at a time when many lawmakers hobnobbed at upscale hangouts or attended fancy dinner parties. As a teetotaler, Biden also stood apart from his peers.
THE AFTERNOON of his inauguration, Biden oversaw a virtual swearing-in of White House staff where he reminded them of their obligations as federal employees.
