Inauguration of the 44th President  

Electricity was in the air this week in Washington, D.C., as people lined up all over the city to be a part of this historic Inauguration of our 44th President.

While I didn’t vote for Barack Obama for President because of his policies and what his party and agenda stand for, I was still a proud American upon his Inauguration this week. Barack Obama is breaking barriers and as an African-American elected to serve as President, he represents a long journey fulfilled. I share in the promise of America that anyone can become President of the United States.

Our national character is born out of injustice being made right. This historic Inauguration says in a meaningful way to all Americans, regardless of their social status or color, that if they work hard and prepare themselves, they too have the opportunity to become the leader of the free world.

To inaugurate our first black president the day after Martin Luther King Day, sends a powerful message to every boy and girl: If you do what is right and work hard enough, good things will follow. This is a sentiment expressed by people from all over the country this week.

Our government’s peaceful transition of power serves as a model for the world. Many other countries look at the United States with amazement because they know that we actually walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk of equality, justice and freedom that empowers the individual.

Hundreds of joyous Tennesseans endured long lines in the cold to get in to Congressional office buildings to pick up their Inauguration tickets. My office overflowed with people at an open house my wife and I hosted. It was such a pleasure to welcome so many people from home to our nation’s capital and share the moment with them on the eve of history.

But even with a new President, our country faces serious challenges with tough work ahead for Congress. The disparity between President Obama’s stratospheric approval ratings and the low rating of the Democrat Congressional leadership may create difficulties in moving his dramatic and expensive new agenda forward. While the Republican Party spent too much money in the past and lost its way on holding down the growth of government, the agenda of the Democratic leadership is an even worse approach.

We need to advance an effective agenda for our country that won’t further cripple the economy. A true stimulus bill would create new jobs in the short term instead of spending billions of taxpayer dollars on new government programs that will take years to impact the economy. That is why I support plans to stimulate the economy that include efforts to reduce energy costs, provide tax relief to working families and small businesses and stabilize the housing market.