SKOWHEGAN, Maine — For many celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s 44th president Tuesday night it was like finding the silver lining, discovering the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and winning the lottery all rolled into one.
At the same time, however, many of the dozens gathered in a bowling alley’s banquet room in Skowhegan were realistic about how much work is ahead of President Obama as he takes the country’s reins.
“I’m glad to be alive to see this, the biggest moment of my life, but I’m also just afraid there is too much on his back,” Garry Cupples of North New Portland said. “He is just a man, albeit an inspirational man.”
Cupples organized the impromptu party at Skowhegan, which was not sponsored by any particular group. “We needed a place to gather, to be together to celebrate,” he said.
The partygoers were diverse: doctors, farmers, a disc jockey, a community organizer, a state legislator, county activists, mothers with babes in their arms. Several men and women dressed in pink tutus, pink wigs, feather boas and jewels danced the “Yes We Can-Can for Peace.”
Many of those attending said they hoped Obama could achieve a peaceful withdrawal from the war in Iraq, resolve the country’s health care situation and turn around the current economic crisis. But the most common denominator expressed was hope.
Joseph Scozzafava of Cornville said, “To me, today is the dawning of a new age for America. With Barack Obama, we have new hopes for ourselves, for our children and for the world. America can reclaim its reputation in the world. The country is so much more full of promise.”
“This is a turning point between dull despair and hope,” said Dina Jeannotte of Cornville.
Trudy Ferland of Pittsfield said she spent much of the day in tears, overwhelmed by the significance of the inauguration.
“It’s like finding the idealism of my youth again,” Ferland said. “I couldn’t breathe this morning until after he took the oath. I was so afraid it wouldn’t happen. His speech was so inclusive, so inspiring. He reached across the world and asked people to give America another chance.”
Jeff McCabe, a Democratic freshman legislator from Skowhegan, said that although these are turbulent times, he is very hopeful. “It’s a new chapter for everyone. All of us are going into this together,” he said. “Finally that feels pretty good.”