In Today's News

Also online, a wonderful family picture from First Sister Maya's 2003 wedding.

On Day 2 in the ObamaNation, as reported by the New York Times:

* At the White House, the President was sworn in again by the Chief Justice "out of an abundance of caution" following yesterday's tongue-twister on the steps of the Capitol. White House legal counsel thought the re-do was unneccesary, but this should silence the mad-dog rightwing nuts, who've been foaming at the mouth about it.

* Ted Kennedy was released from hospital with apparently no ill effects from the seizure he suffered yesterday at the Capitol during the Inaugural luncheon.

* His niece, Caroline Kennedy, announced she was withdrawing herself from consideration for being appointed to Hillary Clinton's vacated Senate seat, citing concerns about her uncle's health.

* Hillary was confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State, and resigned her Senate seat (D-NY), which she has held for the past 8 years.

* The President ordered a halt to prosecutions at Gitmo while the new administration reviews the system of war-crimes trials held there.

* The stock market bounced back up after about a 4 percent dip on Inauguration Day.

* The Obamas, Bidens, and Clintons maintained post-Inaugural tradition by attending a morning prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, with 20 interfaith ministers, including women leaders of the Muslim and Hindu faiths, and featuring a sermon by a woman, the president of the Disciples of Christ church. "The service featured a gospel choir of African-American children in crisp white shirts and black pants and dresses, many of whom broke into smiles as they glimpsed the new president when they filed in. They sang a rocking rendition of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” as if giving a commentary not only on the Almighty, but on the new president’s job description. Mr. Obama sang along, and the First Lady clapped. "

* And the NYT had a feature article on the extended First Family:

For well over two centuries, the United States has been vastly more diverse than its ruling families. Now the Obama family has flipped that around, with a Technicolor cast that looks almost nothing like their overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly Protestant predecessors in the role. The family that produced Barack and Michelle Obama is black and white and Asian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish. They speak English; Indonesian; French; Cantonese; German; Hebrew; African languages including Swahili, Luo and Igbo; and even a few phrases of Gullah, the Creole dialect of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Very few are wealthy, and some — like Sarah Obama, the stepgrandmother who only recently got electricity and running water in her metal-roofed shack — are quite poor.

“Our family is new in terms of the White House, but I don’t think it’s new in terms of the country,” Maya Soetoro-Ng, the president’s younger half-sister, said last week. “I don’t think the White House has always reflected the textures and flavors of this country.”

It does now. All in all, a very good day in America. I'm so glad we finally got here.