Washington, DC. - I am trying to do memory to see if I remember some moment in which something similar should have lived to the capture of possession of the president number 44 of the United States. It has had me to cover four swearing-ins in the American capital and they all had his good dose of patriotism, celebration, protocol and formality, but the capture of possession of the President Barack Obama was another thing.

Across the years I have informed on an events variety that they have attracted to the masses, provoked opposing feelings and up to changed the course of the history. Between them, disturbances, immigrants' marches, Olympic games and world cups of soccer, natural disasters, summits of super potency, wars, terrorist attacks, the end of dictatorships and the death of a princess.

The streets of Washington were replete with the people who traveled from different points of the country round plane, round train or handling without any guarantee to be able to find a place to happen the night. Many might not aspire to see even out of the corner of the eye the flaming chief since few ones had the privilege of having obtained tickets for the event, but nothing of that was mattering.

There was not congestionamiento of traffic or multitudes that they were banishing to those who were coming arranged to be witnesses of the most fascinating transference of power of our times. The majority would have to be content to see the ceremonies on gigantic screens after being stopped during long hours under icy temperatures in the national raised area between the staircases of the Acropolis and the monument to the responsible man of having leveled the way so that a black man could turn into president of the United States. It was not a coincidence that Obama was choosing the monument to Abraham Lincoln for the concert that would give beginning to the swearing-in ceremonies.

I was stopped there, shoulder with shoulder in this cold Sunday evening with the people of different races, young and aged, rich and poor, families with small children, the incapacitated people. A multitude of half a million persons that he sang, danced, laughed and cried while they saw wonderingly famous artists and singers producing homage to the first African American president in the history of our country.
For the day of the swearing-in the multitude had exceeded two millions, a human wave that was flooding one of the maximum symbols with the American patriotism. The images have turned round him to the world, the people waving flags, looking incredulous with tears in the eyes at the moment in which Obama was putting his hand on the Bible and was swearing allegiance to his country. But I wonder if the lens of a camera can receive what feels to be there, this sense of hope and pride that it was impeding to those who were present. Really very often a figure comes, especially a politician, at this level of power of call waking up passions in a multitude.

I not if I am suffering from amnesia, but for the time being I do not remember any other event that could approach in comparison the capture of possession of Obama, simply because there will never be the equal one. Clear that there will be other swearing-ins, after all the power transfer is one of the props of our democracy. There will be even other swearing-ins of African Americans, Hispanics, women and other minorities, but Barack Obama will always be the first one. Obama will always be the one that managed to knock down the barriers of racism and discrimination that have stained the history of the United States during so much time.

It is still for be seen if the honeymoon with Obama will last beyond his first 100 days. There is no safety that will be able to fulfill not even half of his promises of campaign. It is our duty in the press to question the leaders to as of place. But I have left something clear, this was not one more allocation, it was one of these events that happen only once in the life, and I was lucky to be there to count it.

(c) 2008 by Maria Helen Salinas.