Manzullo reflects on 5th inauguration and America’s new era

January 20th, 2009 at 05:27pm Chuck Sweeny

This was the fifth inaugural ceremony that U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan has attended. Tuesday, he was only about 50 feet from President Obama, so he witnessed the swearing in up close.

It doesn’ t matter what party the president is from, Manzullo said, the thing that always moves him to tears is the symbolism of the day.

‘Looking down the National Mall, 2.5 miles long, and seeing a mass of people, and you think that in some countries the only way they change power is people massing together for riots. In this country, we have an election and people have the opportunity to change leaders, and the guy who loses the election calls the guy who won and says congratulations, how can I be of help, and that is the genius of America,” Manzullo said.

“I started thinking back, what was it like when Lincoln did this, or FDR, and Ike, the supreme allied commander who became president,” Manzullo mused.

“That started flashing through my mind, and then you see somebody like Obama, and I turned to (Iowa congressman) Steve King and said that never in my lifetime did I think an African American could become president. Even if you don’t agree with his agenda, it’s significant because America has moved into a new era,” Manzullo said.

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