Heels Tame Tigers

Great game by the Heels last night against Clemson.  Great doesn't really describe it.  The blow-out win inspired feelings of joy for me.  

Joy in seeing Ellington firmly back on track; he was the best player on the floor last night and played a complete game. 

Joy in seeing Ty Lawson play great defense and be aggressive on offense. 

Joy at seeing the Heels clamp down on defense, led once again by my man Danny Green (7 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks). 

Joy at the level of play from Carolina's wings, play so strong that Hansbrough's 20 and 10 were afterthoughts.

Joy at seeing Deon Thompson's scoring 15 points after a long slump.

Joy joy joy at watching some great Carolina basketball.  The Heels appear to be back in full Michigan State game form.  

Bring on whomever is next!

A Few Random Notes

• I'm not concerned about the bench scoring from the Heels.  I think in Davis, Frasor, Drew II, and Graves we have enough bench.  Graves is the best scorer on the list, and Davis good enough down low to be a threat on offense.
• Sad isn't the word, but I feel bad for Bobby Frasor.  His freshmen year he was fast and aggressive and did a great job directing a running offense.  Who can forget his play down the stretch at Duke in 2006?  But injuries have really slowed him down and instead of taking it to the hole Frasor spends a lot of time on the perimeter. I liked it when Roy gave him some minutes at the point versus Miami in the first half, but feel bad that injuries derailed a promising career at Carolina.
• One last Inauguration Day note.  Today was the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a day when DC swells with anti-choice 'activists.'  I typed 'activists' because most of the crowd, at least 60 percent, was made up of high school and middle school kids from regional Catholic schools.  It seemed more like a field trip than a rally. Coming two days after inauguration day it's hard not to make comparisons between the two groups. The two most obvious differences for me were: 1) the Obama crowd was much more diverse in terms of ethnicity and age; 2) more striking, today's crowd seemed bored and was going through the motions, whereas the crowd on Inauguration Day was joyous.

Lot of that going around.

Obama's Speech

A few more thoughts on Inauguration Day.

I liked Obama's speech.  It started out somber, an interesting juxtaposition to the jubilant mood of the crowd.  I suppose Obama was playing to the national audience - rather than the party in front of him - in laying out America's challenges.  Starting off slow may have also been a device to remind folks that he is not our savior or a celebrity but a serious man facing serious challenges, a president calm, smart and ready to deal successfully with our current national predicament(s).

But the serious opening also set up the rest of the speech, which I thought was great.  Obama followed the litany of problems with his own confidence in his and our abilities.  I thought that part was great, very Kennedy 'Ask not what your country can do you' esque.  

And the closing was great, quoting St. Paul and George Washington among others.  I love the invoking of history, a trait I think that is typical of immigrants and immigrant kids.  In my opinion, immigrant households are generally more fascinated by the incredible history of the United States, the good parts and the bad parts.  It seems the longer one's family has been in the U.S. the more they take that history for granted, at least that's one first-generation American's opinion.

But for me, the best part of the speech was not so much the words but the connection between Obama and the voters. The President seems genuinely inspired by the voters, and safe to say our fellow Americans are very inspired by the President.

A Few More Obama Opines

• I really enjoyed the crowd shots in the paper and online today.  Many have commented on how diverse it was and how it looked like America.  But the best part of the crowd was how happy and optimistic and inclusive it was.  It also struck me as the opposite of the typical Bush crowd, which is a smug and exclusive one that enjoys reminding everyone how they are more American than the liberal rabble.  Dick Cheney seems to be the typical Bush crowd member.
• Funny to think that eight years ago and today I woke up and asked the same question: how did that guy become President?  Obviously, the tone and context of the two questions are completely different.
• We went to the Western states ball last night at the Convention Center.  Though we did stick around to see Obama we did see and hear a quick speech from Biden and ran into lots of friends and colleagues.  We were entertained by Marc Anthony - with wife Jennifer Lopez for one song - and though it was a cash bar I had a good time. It was simply fun to be part of the festivities, to go downtown wearing a tux to mark getting the country back and electing a new - and good - president.  

Obama Eve

I'm incredibly excited as we approach Inauguration Eve.  Or maybe I'm excited because Wayne Ellington broke out of a season-long slump AND Bush is finally leaving office AND Obama is about to become president.  Either way, I'm excited.

I blogged in November about how much the election meant for America, Americans and our democratic institutions and culture. Two months later, I'm still exhilarated by Obama and the American electorate.  I can only add two comments to those earlier November blogs.

One, i think this election marks a shift in the American electorate.  The public gets it, whether that it is the role of government, clean energy, race relations in the U.S. - pick any topic.  The changing demographics and the increase in young voters marks a dynamic shift in our politics.  I should be cautious about making such a broad statement, especially only four years after Rove et.al. made similar ones, but we could be on the verge of a long Democratic run similar to the one brought about by the stock market crash of 1929.  Post-Katrina, post-Madoff/financial crisis people value government and conversely distrust money much in the same way Americans did in the 30s and 40s.  That shift in favor of government activism and faith in liberalism led to Democratic control of Congress - at least the House - for 40 years!  And during that run Congress passed some of the best laws in the history of laws: the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Wilderness Act, the Fair Housing Act, another Voting Rights Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, etc. etc.  

If the next 40 years were half as productive it would be a great era.  Here's hoping it comes true.

Two, the election of an African-American reaffirms the great American myths, actually moves them from myth to reality.  One of the most pernicious facets of the African-American experience - most pernicious for blacks than for the country as a whole, to be clear - is that it mocked all of the best American ideals, ideals such as 'all men are created equal' and 'work hard and you'll get ahead' and 'anyone in American can grow up to be president.'  For as long as there has been a United States those very powerful and important American ideals did not apply to African-Americans.  Worse actually, since the opposite was true about slavery; work hard and you'll get nothing. 

Though we are far from a perfect union - actually something our Founders did not think we could achieve so they set their sights on a more realistic goal of a 'more perfect' one - the election of Barack Obama means that for the first time in our nation's history the African-American experience has finally been completely woven into the full fabric of America.  

The evolving American electorate and a great candidate named Barack Obama made that happen, and that should make every American proud as we approach a very momentous Inauguration Day.  It certainly makes me feel that way.

Inaugural Notes

• Ariadne and I will head down to the Mall to watch the ceremony on one of the big screens they are setting up and to be amongst we the people.  If you're in DC let me know if you want to join us.
• The SIerra Club was able to secure two tickets for me and Alison to go to the Western States ball on Inauguration Night.  Depending on how I look in my tux I may or may not post photos from that night.
• Happy Martin Luther King Day, too.  The symbolism of that day and Inauguration Day speaks for itself.
• Despite the absence of Chicago-based Wilco from the show I enjoyed today's concert on the Mall.  I was especially impressed by the singing of all five verses of 'This Land is Your Land,' including the subversive ones (about bread lines and violating private property).  Seeing Pete Seeger - who was black balled as a Communist and banned from TV until the late 60s - at an event like that was like seeing Muhammed Ali light the torch at the 1996 Olympics - a man who less than 20 years prior to that event was imprisoned for opposing the draft and Vietnam.  Two guys who persevered and saw their country change for the better.  And Obama becomes president!  Pretty cool 'only in America' stuff.