Today was designated a “day of service” in honor of Martin Luther King. The inspiration, King’s son and namesake told us on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial yesterday, comes from the Reverend King’s admonition that “everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” To commemorate King's birthday, President-elect Obama went around Washington paying homage to people who serve others regularly. This is the kind of photo-op that goes with modern presidential politics; and because the residents of the nation’s capital are predominately black, there are thousands of pictures of U.S. presidents at such events surrounded by a sea of African American faces. Invariably someone will thrust a small black child into the (white) presidents’ arms, and the leader of the free world will dutifully accept the gift, temporarily, while the camera shutters fire away.

This happened today, too, except that man Americans have chosen as their 44th president is African American, and, as Providence would have it, the smiling babe thrust in his arms was white. This can be a wonderful world we live in. And no one seemed to think anything of it. [If you want to see the scene for yourself, click on this C-SPAN link, and fast-forward until you are about 23 minutes and change into the tape.]

My point is that, whatever your politics, this is an exciting time in Washington. A new administration invariably brings with it hopes that the government and its people will get right some of the things that have gone wrong in the previous four or eight years—no matter whose fault it might be or which political party is in power. And this particular inauguration is fraught with all kinds of additional emotion beyond the passing of the torch from Republican to Democrat. An African American man will take the oath of office tomorrow. Let’s not lose sight of how profound a development we are privileged to witness.

We’re often told that we live in polarized political times, and we do, but it’s important to keep things in perspective. Although the recently concluded political campaign was remarkable for its duration, cost, and the sheer volume of its verbiage, no blood was shed to install this man in the White House. No bullets were fired in anger. That’s progress. For those of us who lived through the civil rights movement, it’s more than that. It’s a minor miracle.

Speaking of a time when much blood was shed, and the skies of America were veritably filled with bullets and artillery shells, Abraham Lincoln spoke with simple and sad insight in his second inaugural address about the anguish that must be felt in heaven when people who read the same bible and pray to the same God go to war against each other, and  invoke His name each against the other. This is still a lesson that those of us who participate in politics must remind ourselves daily. We are Democrats, or we are Independents, or we are Republicans, but we remain Americans.

We live, as Denzel Washington reminded us on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial yesterday, not in Republican “red” states or Democratic “blue” states, but in the United States. That was Barack Obama’s promise to us four and a half years ago when he burst on the national stage with an electrifying speech at the Democratic convention in Boston. It is his promise to us now, as he prepares to take the oath of office as our 44^th president.

On a personal note, I will be attending the inauguration tomorrow, sitting with the media as I do every four years. Attending the swearing-in ceremony of a new president is one of the remaining perks of a profession that is experiencing hard times of its own, and I don’t take the opportunity lightly—I am spending the night in my office so that I will be sure to get there on time. I’ll blog tomorrow, as well, and am scheduled to make a 1:30 p.m. (Eastern time) appearance on C-SPAN to discuss Obama’s inaugural address, and the memorable inaugural addresses of past presidents. Incidentally, for those who read this blog faithfully: Remember in late summer at the Democrats’ convention in Denver when I predicted that Bruce Springsteen would make a surprise appearance? Okay, “the Boss” didn’t show then. But he’s here now, and he played his music for the Obama family (along with U2 and several other amazing performers) on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial yesterday. It was worth the wait.