Obama on Top of the World: The Latest in US Foreign Policy (29 January)

16:35 President Obama's envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, will travel to Munich next Tuesday en route to the region.

16:25 The German Foreign Ministry has stated that "senior officials from major powers (United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and China) will meet in Germany next week to discuss the conflict with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program", the first such meeting since Barack Obama came into office.



15:30 Further evidence of the complications involved in shutting down Guantanamo has emerged. The EU anti-terrorism czar said that the EU will need to time to decide whether it can help the Obama Administration in its goal of shutting down the prison.

14:45 In Davos, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchechr Mottaki responded this way to news of the Obama administration's approach to his government: "We do believe that if the new administration of the United States, as Mr. Obama said, is going to change its policies, not in saying but in practice, definitely they will find the region in a cooperative approach and reaction. And Iran is not excluded from this general understanding in our region."

12:30 Ford has announced a massive loss in its fourth quarter, further evidence of the economic calamity underway and more pressure on the Obama administration to act.

11:30 a.m. The January/February issue of the The Atlantic has an exploration of the greater meaning of Obama's election under the provocative title "The End of White America?"

11:15 a.m. George Mitchell is about to meet Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

11:00 a.m. Jimmy Carter has said that Hamas must be included in any future Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

10:20 a.m. (London time) This morning's Guardian has more about the Obama administration's letter to the Iranian government.

It's Morning in America: The Day After The Inauguration

Related Post: Your Obama on Top of the World Updates
Related Post: Welcome to the World, Mr President - Afghanistan and Pakistan
Related Post: Obama Orders Suspension of Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay

5:30 p.m. Thanks for joining us today. It's a bit early for a Day 1 Assessment, as there may be developments in the next few hours while we have some downtime. As expected, Obama made the high-profile announcement of Guantanamo's closure, although the impact was limited by the 12-month timeframe (a concession to the political and legal obstacles to shifting the detainees). He made the first symbolic step of US re-entry into the Israel-Palestine arena with calls to Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas --- the expected appointment of George Mitchell as special envoy is still awaited. On the bureaucratic front, Hillary Clinton's confirmation as Secretary of State came through.

The most significant event, however, was the National Security Council meeting with top military commanders over Afghanistan and Pakistan. And, as I type this, still no news --- no spin, no leaks, no hints --- of what steps will be confirmed. Similarly, the re-affirmation of a 16-month timetable for US combat troops from Iraq still hasn't been made.

Back for Day 2 tomorrow morning....



5:05 p.m. Hillary Clinton has been confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State 94-2. The two Republican spoilsports? David Vitter of Louisiana and Jim DeMint of South Carolina.

5 p.m. The War on Terror - The Obama Legacy Begins: Taking a leaf from the America-Will-Love-Bush-One-Day crew who have been frantically spinning this week, a reader notes, "I would like to point out that there have been no terrorist attacks under President Obama."

3:15 p.m. Immunity Now, Immunity Forever. Senate Republicans have stalled the confirmation of Eric Holder, the nominee for Attorney General, for one week to get an assurance that there will be no prosecutions of anyone involved in torture.

2:05 p.m. Desperate Republican Comment of the Day (2): After the attempt to turn a Carter-Clinton non-feud into the downfall of the Democrats, GOP bloggers are going after the size of the crowd on the Mall yesterday: "An ASU journalism professor using satellite images calculated that 800,000 people attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony."

Oh, my, "only" 800,000. That's a pathetic turnout compared to, say, the massive 400,000 who showed up for George W. Bush in 2005.

(Desperate Republican Comment of the Day (1) is at 2:55 a.m.)

1:55 p.m. Reuters has now obtained a draft copy, although it does not reprint it, of Obama's order to close Camp X-Ray by January 2010. There will be an immediate review of how to deal with all remaining detainees. AP has a copy and prints a few extracts covering the main points: the closure "would further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice".

12:17 p.m. Unconfirmed reports that Obama has order closure of Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year.

12:15 p.m. Obama has called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as well as Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas.

10:55 a.m. Confirmation that Obama called the head of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday: "Obama reiterated that he and his administration will work in full partnership with President [Mahmoud] Abbas to achieve peace in the region," Saeb Erekat, the PA's chief negotiator, said.

No word on whether Obama calls the leaders of Hamas. (cross-posted from The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Updates)

10:40 a.m. Obama's initial meeting today on Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to members of his National Security Council such as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, will include the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, General David Petraeus of US Central Command, and, by videoconference, General David McKiernan, the top commander in Afghanistan, and General Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq.

9:40 a.m. What's Happening inIraq: a bomb has killed four people in Baghdad. The target was a university dean who is also a member of the Sunni Islamic Party. Another bomb near Tikrit has killed five policemen and wounded three.

On the up side, US and Iraqi authorities have opened a water-treatment plant in Sadr City, a poor section of Baghdad, only 3 1/2 years after it was begun.

9:30 a.m. In case you think our earlier reference to the intense discussion of Michelle Obama's dress and designer Jason Wu was just a cultural blip in America's priorities: The Washington Post covers Page One with a story on Michelle's entire wardrobe:

For the historic moment when she became this country's first African American first lady, Obama chose a lemon-grass yellow, metallic sheath with a matching coat by the Cuban-born designer Isabel Toledo. The dress followed her curves -- paying special attention to the hips -- and announced that the era of first lady-as-rectangle had ended.

8:55 a.m. A judge has just approved Obama's order suspending military commissions at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days.

8:45 a.m. There's something disconcerting about watching four Americans discuss Obama's Inaugural Speech and politics...on Iran's Press TV. They are generally "disappointed" in the speech and are now having a detailed --- and interesting --- discussion of Obama's approach to Israel, Palestine, and Gaza.

7:25 a.m. Before flying to Washington, General David Petraeus meets Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai office issues neutral statement, "During this visit, they discussed and exchanged views on their common relations, how to effectively combat regional terrorism and the way to prevent civilian casualties and gain the trust of the people."

Karzai had told the Afghan Parliament earlier inthe day that civilian deaths at the hands of foreign troops was an important source of instability in Afghanistan. Up to 25 civilians reportedly died in an American attack on Tuesday.

7:15 a.m. Vice Premier Haim Ramon to Israel radio: "Let's not fear President Obama. I am convinced that President Obama and his team want to achieve what is essential to Israel -- two states for two peoples." (cross-posted from The Israel Invasion of Gaza: Updates)

6:15 a.m. Uh-oh, a Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkey rebuff for Obama. In advance of the President's meeting with General Petraeus (see separate post), French Defence Minister Herve Morin has ruled out any additional French troops for Afghanistan: "We have made the necessary effort. Considering additional reinforcements is out of the question for now."

5:40 a.m. Juan Cole also offers a cold shower of reality this morning, noting the killing of seven and wounding of 22, including two US soldiers, in Iraq yesterday. Cole also offers a necessary and timely analysis of the upcoming Iraqi elections on 31 January.

And, just to cast some light of hope, Cole refers to an emotional and telling Inaugural moment when "US troops in Iraq shed tears of joy for Obama" --- light years away from the narrative of the US military's rejection of the last Democratic President, Bill Clinton.

4 a.m. Press TV of Iran's top stories: 1) Iran wants Israeli leaders to stand trial for war crimes; 2) Israel withdraws from Gaza; 3) Obama promises "better relations" with Muslim world. Al Jazeera focuses on Obama's likely appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy.

3:30 a.m. But Not Quite A New Morning in China, as the BBC reports:

China has censored parts of the new US president's inauguration speech that have appeared on a number of websites. Live footage of the event on state television also cut away from Barack Obama when communism was mentioned. China's leaders appear to have been upset by references to facing down communism and silencing dissent.

3 a.m. Definitely One to Watch: General David Petraeus, the commander of the US military's Central Command with responsibility for the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, returns to Washington today to brief Obama. Yesterday Petraeus had extensive discussions with Pakistani political and military leaders.

2:55 a.m. Desperate Republican Comment of the Day. Don Irvine, the head of Accuracy in Media (accuracy as in "We Won Vietnam", "Last Eight Years Fantastic", "ABC News Flunks Race Test"), sees the downfall of the Democratic Party at the Inauguration:

As [Jimmy] Carter passed fellow Democrats Bill and Hillary Clinton, the two men did not appear to acknowledge each others presence at all. A total snub. This could be a very interesting four years indeed.

2:50 a.m. One more comparison for the record: while the Obama Inaugural celebrations ranged from Pete Seeger to Bruce Springsteen to Aretha Franklin, former President George W Bush's return to Midland, Texas was welcomed by "country music performers Rodney Atkins, the Gatlin Brothers and Lee Greenwood".

2:40 a.m. Israeli officials are busily telling the press that "Barack Obama is a 'true friend of Israel' who identifies emotionally not only with the state, but also with the people of Israel". (cross-posted from The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Updates)

1:59 a.m. And just to bring out our previous point, Alive in Gaza has posted an audio interview with photojournalist Sameh Hameeb on his perceptions of what Obama's inauguration means for Gaza: "Obama neglected the Palestinians."

1:45 a.m. Global Contrasts: There has been a sharp division, as soon as Obama's image ended, in broadcast coverage between US channels and those overseas.

While US outlets such as Fox and CNN focused on the parade, the parties, and the first formal signing of documents by President Obama, the BBC and Al Jazeera have been all over the question, "What Next?" The best and most detailed analysis and questions have come from Al Jazeera, who had incisive panel discussions on Guantanamo Bay, Israel-Palestine-Gaza, Iraq, Iran, and the US Economy last evening.

This morning, while CNN concentrates on Michelle Obama's Inaugural Gown and Fox has a "presidential historian" burbling over "the peaceful transfer of power...Bush and Obama got along so well", Al Jazeera is focusing on Obama's promise of "mutual respect" for the Muslim world. This is unsurprising, of course, given Al Jazeera's core location and audience, but it still points to the immediate scrutiny that President Obama will face on his first full day in office.

Morning update (1:40 a.m. in Washington):

Even as we finally called it a night in Britain, the parties, the enthusiam, and the energy were still going strong in the United States.

I'm just watching a recording of Obama's speech to the Youth Ball, where he gave a possibly impropmptu speech which was better than his prepared one at the Inaugural:

Young people everywhere are in the process of imagining something different than what has come before. Where there is war, they imagine peace. Where there is hunger, they imagine people being able to feed themselves. Where there is disease, they imagine a public health system that can work for everybody. Where they [see] bigotry, they imagine togetherness.

And so he closed, to "Yes We Can" chanting from the crowd, "I promise you that America will get stronger and more united, more prosperous, more secure. You are going to make it happen."

So, hours after reacting to the Inaugural with a mixture of hope and concern, I'm indulging in a bit of hope with a cup of tea. Now to see what the Day After brings.

A Gut Reaction to The Obama Inaugural Speech

Related Post: And on the Eighth Day - Hopes and Fears Over the Obama Foreign Policy

It is a strange feeling watching this day, sitting amidst technology which gives access to numerous television channels, Internet streams, and Twitter.

On the one hand, no amount of detachment --- not even the challenge of writing a live blog and providing a running analysis --- could separate me from the excitement and the enthusiasm of today. I have said this as a pro forma for media interviews but today I believed it, "Growing up in Alabama in the midst of the racial issues of the 1960s and 1970s, I never dreamed that I would see an African-American become President of the United States."



And those hundreds of thousands on the Mall not only were in the midst of a realised dream but in the midst of hope. In the middle of an economic crisis, in the middle of a foreign-policy mess from Iraq to Afghanistan to the Middle East, facing the unknown extent of climate change, they took in and radiated hope. A hope for most that, after the division and destruction and turmoil of the last eight years, light would come out of darkness.

Obama's speech was not a great speech, by his standards; there were too many formulae that had to be laid out: the tributes to America's greatness but also the warnings of recent drift, the possibilities of freedom but the need to achieve it and protect it, the responsibilties of citizenship. These had to be carred across general references to the economy, social issues, America's common defense, foreign policy.

But, working to and laying out those formulae, Obama offered his flourishes: the reference that, 60 years after his father was refused service in a restaurant, he was taking "the sacred oath" of the Presidency, the tribute to both "fallen heroes" and those who served by taking in the dispossessed when the levees broke, the invocation "“This is the price and promise of our citizenship….This is the meaning of our liberty.” And I must add that it was wonderful, both for hope and a bit of retribution, that the cameras cut away to former President Bush as Obama said:

We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine drafted a charter of ideals which inspired the world...[which] assured the rule of law and the rights of man.

On the other hand....

When I go back to the keyboard, rewind the video, glance at the world via Internet feeds, I have a great concern.

US Presidents have to talk tough. American political culture doesn't accept Presidential weaklings (did you notice Jimmy Carter on the platform?) in either rhetoric or action. So Obama had to combine the offers of friendship with the warning that, if you oppose the US, "we will defeat you". He had to speak of common dangers to the planet but also to affirm that, in addressing those challenges, "America must lead". He directly addressed "the Muslim world" for a relationship based "on mutual trust and respect" but also chastised those who are corrupt and deceitful. He offered peace but only "if you will unclench your fist".

This speech --- in the revival of hope, the call for unity, the offer of friendship, and the warning to America's enemies --- is a descendant of John F. Kennedy's famous 1961 Inaugural. And thus it should be noted that, while the Kennedy Administration could be commemorated for its calls for global development and progress, it could also be remembered for the confrontations that included the Bay of Pigs and the escalation of the disastrous involvement in Vietnam.

Is Obama's invocation of "America", one which stemmed from and added to the hope of today, one that is going to be offered to others, both friend and foe? Or will it be delivered in the terms of "you lead, we follow"? Freedom is a wonderful concept, but in the current conflicts that always face the Obama Administration, it is an abstraction beyond political, economic, and military realities.

So part of the concern is that, on the day after the Inauguration, the rhetoric of today has to meet the reality of what has happened in Israel, Palestine, and Gaza in the last month. It is that his reference to the Muslim world with trust and respect but also with a response to the "clenched fist" must define itself with the troubled relationship with Iran. It is that Obama's warning "we will defeat you" has to confront the complexity of the unrest in Pakistan. It is that, with a broken United Nations and damage to the notion of international co-operation, "America must lead" has to address the response of others that "America must listen". It is that his promise that the United States will abide by "a Charter of law" has to negotiate through the legal and political challenges that will threaten his promise to close Guantanamo Bay (not to mention, his silence on other American detention facilities such as Camp Bagram in Afghanistan).

And, at the end of this day, I note --- very narrowly, perhaps, but I believe pertinently --- that Obama only moved beyond generalities to refer specifically to two other countries. He promised that the United States would leave Iraq to its people, an allusion to the timetable for the withdrawal of US combat troops (but not, it should be noted, all troops). And he immediately followed that with an American commitment to the "security of Afghanistan".

I hope I'm wrong. But, for all the hope of a new America, the rhetoric that precedes and underpins this America --- the rhetoric of our vigiliance, our "common defense" against enemies, our extension of freedom --- means that Barack Hussein Obama will double the US troop level in Afghanistan from 30,000 to 60,000. And when he does so, with many crowing that he is simply following Bush's War on Terror rather than rejecting it, with others declaring that our liberalism requires such interventions, he will open Pandora's Box on his own war.

I hope I'm wrong. But if that happens, it will be hard to reach back to the hope of today. Hard to reach back not because we didn't believe in the vision of this historic moment, but because we did.

The Alternative Inauguration Watch

Later post: A Gut Reaction to the Obama Speech
Later post: A New Nation

1:30 p.m. I've posted an entry, "A Gut Reaction to the Obama Speech", which incompletely, possibly incoherently summarises my mixed emotions on this day and on the day after. We've posted the transcript of the speech, which is also available via CNN.

President Barack Obama is now lunching with Congress before his motorcade to the White House and the Inaugural Parade. It is afternoon, but It is Still Morning in America.

Thank you for joining us today.

12:25 p.m. The closing set-piece as Obama invokes "the father of our Nation" George Washington huddled with his troops at Valley Forge in the midst of hardship: this is how America today "faces its common dangers".

"We carried forth that great gift of liberty and delivered it safely to future generations."



12:24 p.m. As Obama refers to himself as the child of a man who could not get served 60 years ago and who is now taking "this sacred oath", a big round of applause....

12:23 p.m. A return to the old truths of "courage and patriotism" with a new responsiblity: "This is the price and promise of our citizenship....This is the meaning of our liberty."

12:21 p.m. The tribute to America's "fallen heroes" as example of greatness for the rest of us, but also...

"The kindness of workers" who take in those when the levees break (there's the reference ot Katrina), to the firefighters who protect us, etc.

12:19 p.m. America's strength comes from its patchwork heritage: "As the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself and America must play its role."

To Muslim world: we seek way forward based on mutual trust and mutual respect --- A message sent out to those who are corrupt and deceitful, but we will extend a hand "if you will unclench your fist"

12:18 p.m. "Our security emanates from the justice of our cause."

And specifics --- leave Iraq to its people and ensure security of Afghanistan. To the terrorists: "we will defeat you". (round of applause)

12:17 p.m. "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine drafted a charter of ideals which inspired the world" (cutaway to shot of former President George W. Bush) and "assured the rule of law and the rights of man. That Charter inspired the world and we will not give it up for expedient's sake."

"America is a friend of each nation, and we are ready to lead once more."

12:16 p.m. "The question is not whether Government is too big or too small, but whether it works." (Compare that to Ronald Reagan's dismissal of "Government" in 1980.) Nor is it a question of free market right or wrong, but the fact that it is "surest route to our common good".

12:14 p.m. "Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and rebuild America." We will rebuild our economy, raise up science and technology, harness energy, and transform schools and universities.

"There are some who question the scale of our ambitions" (take that Congressional opponents of my economic plan) "but they have forgotten what this nation has done."

12:11 p.m. "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit." --- "All are equal, all are free."

Call to reaffirm greatness of nation but "we" have always known this must be earned. So hail to the risk-takers and the brave, who crossed oceans, toiled sweatshops, went to the West, endured the lash of the whip, fought and died "for us".

"America is bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions."

12:10 p.m. Decline measured in statistics but also in confidence. However, now, "know this, America, these challenges will be met....We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over discord." There is an end to "petty grievances" that plague our politics.

12:09 p.m. Obama: "We are in the midst of crisis. Our country is at war" against a far-flung enemy, economy in troube. "Our collective failure to make decisions" has strengthened our adversaries and threatened our planet.

12:07 p.m. To chants of "Obama!", the 44th President begins his Inaugural Speech.

Polite applause when Obama thanks George W Bush, who is no longer the President of the United States of America.

12:06 p.m. GEORGE W BUSH IS NO LONGER THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

12:06 p.m. Barack Hussein Obama is now President of the United States of America.

12:05 p.m. Well, Obama just fluffed his lines taking the oath, but I don't think it matters. "Congratulations, Mr President."

12:04 p.m. Chief Justice John Roberts introduced to give the oath and the crowd is already screaming.

12:01 p.m. The alternative post for 11:57 a.m.: "Biden sworn in. Dick Cheney no longer vice president, instead just a creepy old guy (in a wheelchair) who shoots his friends in the face."

11:59 a.m. Pause for a John Williams song performed by Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, etc.

I'm sorry but, if I'm in that crowd in sub-freezing temps, I'm thinking, "Can we just put this on 78 rpm?"

11:57 a.m. Joe Biden takes the oath to become the Vice President of the United States. Must be the shortest speech he's ever given.

Good round of applause but you know that folks are holding back a bit for what's to come.

11:53 a.m. Sing It, Aretha. In the service of a new Anglo-American relationship, Ms Franklin has just started on the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", also known as "My Country 'Tis of Thee".

11:48 a.m. Pastor Rick Warren, a controversial choice, delivers the invocation. Respectful but muted applause except for a couple of boos.

Not sure "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God" is the most politically sensitive choice of Scripture, given current events.

11:43 a.m. I do have chills up my arms as I type this: Barack H. Obama has been introduced as the next President of the United States. I cannot capture how loud that cheer sounded.

If only this moment can be carried forward over the next months and the years....

11:43 a.m. Via Twitter: "Standing O for the O-man at the Paramount [cinema]. Sustained whooping and hollering."

11:40 a.m. Fox's Juan Carlos Williams is worried about the "tightness" in Obama's jaw. Chris Wallace adds, "We're in a severe economic crisis, we're in a continuing War on Terror, we're in two wars...."

C'mon guys, lighten up.

11:39 a.m. Vice President-elect Joe Biden comes out to a massive roar. Meanwhile, shots of Obama coming down the Capitol stairs. No smile, very measured.

11:36 a.m. President Bush, Vice President Bush, and Cabinet walk onto platform (a reader notes: "DEFINITELY not handcuffed"). Bush shakes a few hands, makes small talk, "How you doin'?" (And somebody replies, "Keep up the good work.")

Bush is going through the motions, so looking forward to getting onto the helicopter for the airport.

11:34 a.m. Fact check (for 16th, 17th, and 18th times this morning): The Capitol was built by slaves.

11:30 a.m. And here comes, in his last 30 minutes as President, George W. Bush. Forgive me, but he looks fidgety, biting his lips and eyes darting about. He's struggling to pull it together for the cameras.

11:28 a.m. But, if Fox can't quite accept Clinton, our readers can accept George H.W. Bush: "I kinda liked Bush 41's purple scarf. Aptly Imperial."

11:25 a.m. Michelle Obama's mother and the Obamas' children walk onto the platform.

11:22 a.m. After Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush are introduced with their wives, Bill and Hillary Clinton are introduced to a huge cheer from the crowd.

Fox commentators are taken aback: "Just sends a thrill up your spine." Juan Carlos Williams, "Wow, the American people. Just reminds me --- we are a country who celebrates our leaders."

C'mon, gentlemen: say it. That crowd was celebrating a leader who happened to be Bill Clinton. Yep, the President that Fox trashed for eight years.

Chris Wallace: "Some people are happy about the events, some people not so happy, look...." And then, let's talk about the Lincoln Bible.

11:16 a.m. Former Presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton arriving on the platform.

11:13 a.m. Simple but essential reminder from a reader: "People need to see this happen. Hope is powerful."

11:06 a.m. CNN's Blitzer: This Inauguration could have a larger US television audience than the final episode of MASH (which, by the way, was a comedy series about the US embroiled in a never-ending war --- so no relevance there).

11:04 a.m. Useless Graphics Moment: Fox cuts away to animated shot of route that Obama will take through the Capitol to the platform. Thank goodness, they figured out that Michelle Obama's brother is on the platform so they could trash thousands of dollars of computer eyewash.

11:02 a.m. Supreme Court Justices walking onto the platform.

11 a.m. Kudos to Steven Spielberg: "I couldn't afford to do this shot in a movie."

10:55 a.m. What can you say over the footage of a motorcade going from White House to Capitol Hill?

1. Talk about previous rides that didn't go well --- Hoover and Roosevelt (1933), Truman and Eisenhower (1953)
2. Mention that manhole covers are welded shut and all postboxes removed
3. Wow, it's really cold.

10:48 a.m. Bush and Obama emerge from the White House to go to Capitol Hill. High-pitched screams of excitement. For Obama or for Bush?

10:45 a.m. Dick Cheney emerges in a wheelchair to go to the Inauguration.

Let's repeat that. Ted Kennedy is walking about on the Inauguration Platform, despite a brain tumour. Dick Cheney is in a wheelchair.

10:43 a.m. More CNN insight into Bush-Obama chats: "Do you think they talk substance? (Bush: "What do you say to going out a bang --- bomb Iran?" Obama: "Step aside, Dubya.") Or is light chit-chat?"

10:40 a.m. Senator Edward Kennedy, looking pretty well despite his battle with a brain tumour, arrives on the platform.

10:35 a.m. No News Moment: Chris Wallace on Fox, "See that motorcade. It doesn't include President Bush or President Obama."

10:25 a.m. Highlight for Fox reporter: crowd bouncing about and bobbing to giant-screen replay of Inaugural Concert. "You think about the inter-racial harmony of this day: Garth Brooks doing the Isley Brothers and moving hundreds of thousands of people."

Thus, one man's glorious harmony becomes another's vision of musical hell.

10:24 a.m. Fox reporter on the Mall: "I haven't seen a single individal misbehave....We have a table with coffee and doughnuts, and I haven't even seen a single person attack that table."

Hmmm....is the moral that Americans are angelic or that your coffee and doughnuts suck?

10:20 a.m. Fox's Jim Angle has just referred to the "3 Vs" of this day: "Validation, Vindiction, and Victory."

Yep, Vindiction.

10:19 a.m. VIPs arriving for the ceremony. Well, not that many VIPs and not that quickly. Fox has to settle for former Governor of California Jerry Brown.

10:17 a.m. OK, I Won't Forget: For the 15th time this morning, "Don't forget, the US Capitol was built by slaves."

10:15 a.m. The first suggestion for the Bush letter to Obama (see 9:58 am.) comes from "Rattal007" : "I want to be US Ambassador to Iraq."

If only. I think Dubya is settling for city life in Texas and whatever he can make from his memoirs (no doubt written all by himself).

10:10 a.m. Over on Fox, Carl Cameron is standing in the Capitol Rotunda. It (see 6:38 a.m.) is still empty.

10:05 a.m. CNN is offering both sublime and ridiculous.

Ridiculous from Wolf Blitzer as the Bushes greets the Obamas: "I wonder if the microphones on the scene caught any of the chit-chat. Every word now is historic." (Like Bush to Obama: "How are you?" Obama to Bush: "Step aside, Dubya. There's a new sheriff in town.")

"They call it a coffee. I don't know if they're drinking or what they're drinking, maybe hot chocolate, maybe tea, but they call it a coffee."

Sublime from David Gergen: "There was a time when it was brandy. We had a Vice President in 1865, Andrew Johnson, who got totally drunk. They almost had to kick him out of the Inaugural."

9:58 a.m. CNN reporters reveal: "When Barack Obama goes into the Oval Office, there on the desk will be a letter written to him from George W. Bush. Nobody knows what is in it." Any suggestions?

9:55 a.m. The crucial question (and answer) flashes across my computer screen: "Is Michelle Obama taller than George Bush? I think she is, at least in shoes."

9:54 a.m. And now He is entering the White House.

9:40 a.m. You Have Been Warned: Security agencies say once 350,000 people are on the Mall, the gates will be shut.

9:20 a.m. Don't Bring Me Down: Fox is speaking with Obama's political strategist, David Axelrod, and decided to focus on the "realities of the office": less than half of $30 billion of highway construction funds will be released into economy in next four years.

Sorta like the guy at your New Year's Party who wants to talk about the virtues of central heating systems.

9:10 a.m. Hope and Big Brother: After raving about the enthusiasm of the crowd, CNN spends a few minutes panning across the sniper teams on the roofs of buildings: "Anybody who has any intention of causing harm here knows they're under the watchful fire of the United States SecretService or the FBI or any other of the 58 agencies enlisted to provide security for this event."

9 p.m. CNN's coverage has just been lost in how impressive this is --- "We have never seen anything like this on the Mall." And, you know what? Even on a 25-inch TV (without High Definition), it is.

8:55 a.m. Who's the Heckler at the Back? Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily:

I want Obama to fail because his agenda is 100 percent at odds with God's....Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to obey evil rulers.

8:45 a.m. We see Him! We see Him! Barack and Michelle Obama emerge from Blair House to go to private church service. Apparently the Bidens are also there.

8:40 a.m. Advice of the Day: An 85-year-old suspected war criminal, a Mr H Kissinger, has emerged to tell Barack Obama the secret to US foreign policy ---- Use a Lot of Jargon:

The complexity of the emerging world requires from America a more historical approach than the insistence that every problem has a final solution expressible in programmes with specific time limits not infrequently geared to our political process. We must learn to operate within the attainable and be prepared to pursue ultimate ends by the accumulation of nuance. An international order can be permanent only if its participants have a share not only in building but also in securing it. In this manner, America and its potential partners have a unique opportunity to transform a moment of crisis into a vision of hope.

8:10 a.m. Fox is in feel-good mode, talking to American football legend Jim Brown, who is now with Amer-I-Can. Brown on Obama: "This is a great man."

7:50 a.m. One-Liner of the Day: as Dick Cheney attends the Inauguration in a wheelchair, either because he has strained his back or because he doesn't want to stand up for Obama: "His transformation to Bond villain is complete."

7:40 a.m. Culture of Fear alert: Newt Gingrich "There are some really bad people who wouldn't mind randomly causing damage on a day like this."

7:30 a.m. Obama's incoming Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has appeared both on CNN and Fox. He seems a lovely fellow, but the chat was so bland I can't remember a word of significance.

7:25 a.m. Fox is worried that Pastor Rick Warren, delivering the Inaugural Prayer, will not be allowed to mention "Jesus".

7:20 a.m. US commentary has descended from discussion of the weather to discussion of "how tough is it to get to the Mall?" Which is fortunate, since it is preventing Laura Ingraham on Fox from launching her standard rants about liberals.

7:03 a.m. Fox: apparently the crowds on the Mall moving towards the light of the Jumbo-Trons "is something akin to an alien landing".

6:53 a.m. That's more like it: Sky News in Britain is concentrating on Obama speech by talking to a bookmaker who's quoting odds on a mention of Hillary Clinton (6-5 on), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (33/1), and hero pilot Chelsey Sullenberger (4/1). Oh, yes, you can also bet on whether Obama's tie will be red or blue.

6:48 a.m. Culture of Fear reminder: Thanks, CNN, for not letting go of this today. Ten minutes spent with "former Bush security advisor" on possibility of Obama being assassinated, people sneaking through security cordons, etc.

6:40 a.m. Shameless Self-Advertisement of the Day: Fox reporter now waxing lyrical about an empty museum, possibly because it's the "News History Museum" of News Corporation (owned by Rupert Murdoch, who just might have some connection with Fox)

6:38 a.m. Fox's intrepid reporters are breaking news by talking about the empty Inauguration Platform and the empty Capitol Rotunda.

6:30 a.m. Leaving a Man Behind: No Presidential pardon for the only Administration official to take a fall for Iraq, illegal surveillance, detention, torture, etc. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former fixer and part-time novelist, will remain the Poster Jailbird.

6:25 a.m. Fox is now in its pattern for the day: pundits are shouting beyond comprehension at each other about "Obama's First 100 Hours", so they switch to a profile of actor Lorenzo Lamas (who?).

CNN's scheme at the moment is just to talk to "common people" and avoid shivering.

It's Morning in America (6 a.m. Washington time): CNN International is giving this the big festival/parade treatment, with on-the-ground reporters shouting, "It's insane!" (or possibly, "I'm insane!"), and constant temperature checks (20 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment --- not-insane anchorman yelling, "Remember in The March of the Penguins where the crowd huddles for warmth?"). Access to the mall wasn't supposed to start until 7 a.m. but thousands are sneaking in, apparently via some magic passage near the Washington Monument.

Fox News is preferring immediate political scrutiny, both to big up the outgoing President ("Is Obama Trying to Rehab Bush's Image?") and to jab at the incoming one with irrelevancies ("Did Jill Biden Spill the Beans on Her Husband as Possible Secretary of State?")

Gaza: Ummmm...."Israel Rejected Hamas Ceasefire Offer In December"

This story, provided it made it beyond the admirable Inter Press Service, might just upset the established one-way narrative of Hamas walking away from peace with Israel. Gareth Porter writes:

Contrary to Israel's argument that it was forced to launch its air and ground offensive against Gaza in order to stop the firing of rockets into its territory, Hamas proposed in mid-December to return to the original Hamas-Israel ceasefire arrangement, according to a U.S.-based source who has been briefed on the proposal.

The proposal to renew the ceasefire was presented by a high-level Hamas delegation to Egyptian Minister of Intelligence Omar Suleiman at a meeting in Cairo Dec. 14. The delegation, said to have included Moussa Abu Marzouk, the second-ranking official in the Hamas political bureau in Damascus, told Suleiman that Hamas was prepared to stop all rocket attacks against Israel if the Israelis would open up the Gaza border crossings and pledge not to launch attacks in Gaza.

The Hamas officials insisted that Israel not be allowed to close or reduce commercial traffic through border crossings for political purposes, as it had done during the six-month lull, according to the source. They asked Suleiman, who had served as mediator between Israel and Hamas in negotiating the original six-month Gaza ceasefire last spring, to "put pressure" on Israel to take that the ceasefire proposal seriously.

Suleiman said he could not pressure Israel but could only make the suggestion to Israeli officials. It could not be learned, however, whether Israel explicitly rejected the Hamas proposal or simply refused to respond to Egypt.

The readiness of Hamas to return to the ceasefire conditionally in mid-December was confirmed by Dr. Robert Pastor, a professor at American University and senior adviser to the Carter Centre, who met with Khaled Meshal, chairman of the Hamas political bureau in Damascus on Dec. 14, along with former President Jimmy Carter. Pastor told IPS that Meshal indicated Hamas was willing to go back to the ceasefire that had been in effect up to early November "if there was a sign that Israel would lift the siege on Gaza".

Pastor said he passed Meshal's statement on to a "senior official" in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) the day after the meeting with Meshal. According to Pastor, the Israeli official said he would get back to him, but did not....

The interest of Hamas in a ceasefire agreement that would actually open the border crossings was acknowledged at a Dec. 21 Israeli cabinet meeting -- five days before the beginning of the Israeli military offensive -- by Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet. "Make no mistake, Hamas is interested in maintaining the truce," Diskin was quoted by Y-net News agency as saying