I do solemnly swear...

I do solemnly swear to be an Independent who voted for McCain. I never wore an Obama pin on my backpack around campus. I never took cheap shots at Bush in my political science classes. I believed hope to be hype. I believed Democrats held double standards in a vacuum devoid of any historical perspective. I believed Republicans were stuck in a time warp, still viewing the America as the “Leave it to Beaver” suburban middle-class. I believed a plumber had a point. I watch equal amounts of CNN and Fox News. I believe in Iraq. I also just arrived in Washington, D.C. after a 10-hour Greyhound bus ride a day before the inauguration of my President.

This is why…

I do solemnly swear to always be a participant, not a spectator. I have never been one to settle for third person accounts, tangled up in perceived (and real) network agendas.

This zest of mine is usually limited to sporting events, not political milestones, thus adding to the obvious and not-so-obvious allure of the 20th day of this year.

With no prior intention on coming to Washington D.C., I grabbed the first mode of transportation I could get, a 30-row bus with a dog painted on either side. I decided all this 16 hours ago. My fascination of the inauguration first hit me a few nights ago.

C-SPAN was airing the inauguration day of Bill Clinton’s first term, succeeding George H.W. Bush. According to tradition, the outgoing presidential family receives the incoming family at the White House. Inaudible but visible, watching this interaction fascinated me so intensely that I muttered “wow” under my breath, repeatedly.

The concept of what this one man has seen and done, and what the other will see and do, is the very essence of what dragged me out to the nation’s capital to be a firsthand witness of this transition.

This is my account of the inaugural days…