Yes, We Can

After months of transition planning, today marks Transition with a capital T, the inauguration of Barack Obama as the United States' 44th President. (Here's the inauguration day schedule, courtesy of Newsday.)

Many articles have been written about how Obama has inspired hope in many people. See, for example, the front page of today's NYT, "For the Jobless, Hope and Fear for a New Day," and CNNPolitics.com's "Obama Praises McCain, Calls For Bipartisan Cooperation," which quotes Washington resident Nancy Wigal saying, "The energy on the streets is something I've never seen before. People are walking lighter, standing taller and are reaching out to one another. It feels like hope. It feels like shared happiness." She adds, "It's all because of Obama -- we dare to feel positive that we may have actually elected a leader, not just a politician."

More than just wishful thinking, Obama has in the past (through his work as a community organizer and his theme of 'change') - and is expected to continue - to call for action, as noted in the front page article in today's WSJ, "Obama to Call for a New Era of Responsibility." A hint at this theme was reiterated in Obama's recent actions and statements, as shown in yesterday's Associated Press article "Obama Honors King, Prods Nation to Service."

Also on the theme of personal responsibility, various articles have noted Obama's comments after he spoke with Capt. Chelsea "Sully" Sullenberger, the hero pilot who, with his crew's assistance, was responsible for safe landing of troubled U.S. Airways Flight 1549 last week on the Hudson River, saving all 155 aboard.

The AP article cited above carries this quote by Obama, referencing what Sullenberger told him: "He said, 'Me and my crew, we were just doing our job.' And it made me think, if everybody did their job - whatever that job was - as well as that pilot did his job, we'd be in pretty good shape."

With many challenges ahead for his administration, it seems like the public is rallying to be supportive of Obama in his efforts to turn around the economy and on other key initiatives.

As we have previously noted, Financial Executives International (FEI) issued a statement shortly after the election in November, saying, “We look forward to working with our Nation’s new leadership and representatives to develop sound finance and taxation policies for American companies... FEI has worked closely with both Democratic and Republican Administrations and Congresses for more than 75 years, and is eager to continue to do so with the new Administration.”

Yes, We Can
Various blogs have chosen to post various videos in honor of this historic day. I have picked Yes, We Can, a song written by then-13 (now 14) year old Nat Wolff, which he performs with Natasha Bedingfield. The song title reflects one of the central messages Obama has communicated, that of "Yes, We Can" (in addition to another of Obama's themes, that of "change"); see Tween TV Star Inspired by Obama, by AP's Mespin Fekadu, as carried on HuffingtonPost.com .

[Note: The HuffPost will be among those venues 'live blogging' from the inauguration today; I'm also looking forward to seeing my BBF (best blogger friend) Francine McKenna of Re: TheAuditors at the 92nd St. Y program this week in NYC on: "The Year Ahead with Arianna Huffington and Bloggers from The Huffington Post." Francine and I don't always see eye to eye but we have a shared interest in following and writing about current developments on the financial scene, particularly as relate to accounting and auditing; I've told her I sometimes feel like we're the James Carville and Mary Matalin of our niche of bloggers -- she quickly claimed to be Carville; I won't comment, except to say we have qualities of each sometimes (just not always at the same time).

Back to today's events and the Yes, We Can video linked in our blog today, if you haven't heard of Nat Wolff, he and his younger brother Alex are major stars among the tween set (and adults whose TV, movie and concert habits tend to be tied to those of the kids in their family); starring in Nickelodeon's Naked Brothers Band (NBB). Don't worry, like the tagline to the show says, "Real Music. Real Brothers. Not Really Naked," and the Wolff brothers are genuine musician/singer/songwriters, with their own website, Nat'nAlex.com. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, their mom is actress/director/executive producer Polly Draper, and their dad is actor/jazz musician Michael Wolff. You may also know their uncle is Venture Capitalist Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Draper, Fisher Jurvetson . He is also the founder and chairman of the BizWorld Foundation, and author of The Riskmaster blog; kids will recognize him as Principal Schmoke on the NBB TV show. The lyrics to the Wolff's song, Yes We Can, and the images in the video are pretty powerful.

Like many others who will be watching the inauguration today, I am hopeful for the success of our incoming President, Vice President, all of our leaders and our country, and in our leaders' efforts, together with their international counterparts, to strive for peace and economic stability around the globe.

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