Now it's Obama's time to shine

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By Christina Bellantoni

As he asked Americans to channel their hopes into his candidacy, Barack Obama declared, "This is our moment, this is our time."

Now it's his moment.

Mr. Obama spent more than 21 months with that message, insisting in a booming voice from Seattle to St. Petersburg that the election was not about him: "It's not about me; it's about you."

He won the presidency in part by fulfilling that promise, to make everyday citizens feel like they were a part of a movement bound by hope and technology. His coalition of young people, suburban liberals, black voters and disenfranchised Republicans put their boots to the ground to help him become the nation's first black president.

Those groups converge on Washington on Tuesday to witness history as the Democrat becomes president and gets to work tackling the nation's challenges.

Geneva Clark, whose passion for her candidate was so fervent that a video of her jumping up and down at an Ohio rally was used by Republicans to portray Mr. Obama as nothing more than a celebrity, will be on hand for the inauguration.

"You never know what's in a person's heart, but the heart of the people was revealed November the 4th," she told The Washington Times.

Many coming to the inauguration, especially those invited by Mr. Obama, were on board from the beginning, opting to gamble on his candidacy when it was the long shot.

They say nothing could keep them from witnessing the culmination of this journey, which spanned 54 primary season contests and more than a dozen battleground states, and captivated the world.

Mr. Obama characterized his win as "the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day."