T minus 1 hour: Inauguration day is upon us. Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Change is upon us. Barack Obama is on the cusp of being sworn into the Oval Office, but it just all seems too good to be true.

Video courtesy of Amnesty International

Cantankerous Frank ¦ Mark Roberts

Call me cynical if you will, but I just can’t allow myself to be swept away by the whole occassion. In 1997 Tony Blair came to power with as much pomp and ceremony as the British Electoral Commission allows. Fair enough, I don’t think that John Major was unpopular as George Bush has become, but don’t forget how the Thatcher Government ended just a few years before. It was a time of hope, the ousting of an outdated system and an official embrace of the promise of something new.

But then what happened? 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, 7/7 and Recession. Change was upon us, but the hopes of many came to nothing. So as much as this day is historic, and should be celebrated as such, it is only the wedding day – the marriage is still to come.

Since his election in November his every move has been watched by people all over the world – such is the power of the Oval Office. Questions have been raised over Guantanamo, Climate Change and the War on Terror, but the President-elect has been noticibly silent on key occasions since the polls closed.

So as I sit and watch the inaugral address being broadcast live accross the world it worries me that so much expectation has been put onto Obama’s presidency. One man can’t change the world, whatever his position.