Day Two

Our 44th President was in the oval office by 8:30am on day two. Does he need sleep?

The final inaugural event is National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral. On "The West Wing", President Bartlett reflects on the irony of such a practice in a country that prides itself on the separation of church of state. Of course, the word "separation" appears nowhere in the First Amendment. The scholar Margaret R. Miles believes the phrase "independence of church and state" is more accurate. Religion and government coexist but operate independently.

On day one, I attended a late afternoon yoga class taught by a wonderful yogi who also teaches first grade (qualifying her as a saint, in my book). She said the children were so excited that anyone can now be President.

Almost. Just as people are born into their skin and sex, they are also born into the religion of their family. Who will break out of the glass cathedral? When will a viable presidential candidate be a non-Christian? When can we elect a Jew, or a Muslim, or heaven forbid, one who finds no evidence for the God hypothesis.

To clear up any possible constitutional issues, President Obama took the oath again in the map room of the White House, administered by the Chief Justice. There was no bible this time, as the Constitution does not require one and they had probably already returned Lincoln's book to the Smithsonian.