The goal we were always aiming for

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker was moved yesterday.

It is the curse of the journalist always to be present, but never really There.

The job requires that we stand slightly apart, seeing but not believing; hearing without being seduced. …

Then comes the rare instance that penetrates the armor, when something causes you to put down the pad, turn off the camera in your head, and become part of the moment. The short list in recent history includes the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the signal marches on Washington, the terrorist attacks of 9/11. To those we may now add Inauguration Day 2009. …

We knew it was coming. … And yet, when the hour finally arrived and Obama raised his right hand, his presidency was somehow not quite imaginable.

Sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, extremities numb despite layers of wool, and seeing so many gathered to witness this thing they called "change" was, dare I say it, awesome. That most-annoying hipster term for anything remotely acceptable is suddenly useful for its intended purpose.

For awe is the truest word to describe what transpired and what was inspired. …

It is awe for what is, in fact, not change, but the natural, if difficult, progression of an ideal that is true and good and transcendent through time. Barack Obama's presidency isn't a change from, but a continuation of the American experiment toward its hoped-for destination.

Obama hinted at this in his speech by invoking American values of hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism. In honoring all those who came before, who fought and died from Concord and Gettysburg to Normandy and Khe Sanh, he reminded us that change is not a single event on Election Day, but an evolutionary process.

The change we've been waiting for? No, the goal we were always aiming for. …

It is now the day after. Work awaits, bills remain, wars persist. The afterglow is hard to sustain as the promise of yesterday becomes tomorrow's challenges. Armor on, cameras whirring, pens poised. The march toward a more perfect union continues.

Good luck, Mr. President.

Kathleen, I know you haven't always been a fan of Mr. Obama but I salute you for this column which captures so well the awe and essence of what occurred yesterday.

Thank you.