Washington isn’t often a city completely filled with joy, laughter, and crowded streets of smiles. Today, I watched the Lincoln Memorial Inauguration Concert on HBO. If you didn’t get to see it – you missed the most amazing sight (see the video and a great slideshow on HBO's Web site). What I saw today walking the streets toward the national mall and on television was a true picture of the American family. I saw faces of all colors and people all ages and realized again that we are made up of so many strands, each of us so different, each celebrating our unique identity and each others’ contribution to our rich national tapestry.

Just as importantly, what I and every other television viewer, and each of the half-million people who attended today saw was a gathering of people with a renewed pride in each other and their country.

And no matter how many times we read or see on the news commentary that this Inauguration represents a culmination of something started long, long ago – the narrative never gets old to me. There is a significance to the ceremony today on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial than you can only appreciate after reflecting on the huge span of time between the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 (and its follow-up in 1863) and the election of Senator Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. This image in particular sent a shiver down my spine.

In the morning I’m off to pick up my tickets from Senator Udall’s office. Tonight, off to see old friends and join in the celebratory mood. Pictures in the morning, I hope!

Of course, I couldn’t leave without my favorite quote of the day:

In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now….

I won't pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our fundamental resolve as a nation. But despite all of this - despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead - I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure - that the dream of our founders will live on in our time….

There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help me reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today.

See a wonderful slideshow of the city's happenings on Flickr.