By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
An air of change was palpable in the Princeton Public Library Tuesday morning, where a crowd of 200 persons cheered and applauded their way through the inauguration of Barack Obama, America’s first African-American president.
President Obama took over the nation’s highest office at noon, as stipulated in the U.S. Constitution, before an estimated two million persons gathered at the U.S. Capitol and National Mall in Washington D.C.
An even larger nationwide audience watched TV coverage of the event from afar, some gathered in groups like the one gathered in front of the big screen in the library community room in Princeton, a town that voted heavily for Mr. Obama last November.
The library audience reacted as though at a live event, with some people gently swaying to Aretha Franklin’s rendition of “My Country Tis of Thee,” one woman even waving a small American flag to the music. The introduction of a performance by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero, drew a round of anticipatory oohs and ahs.
When CNN’s Wolf Blitzer spoke over the classical ensemble to point out that the noon hour had arrived, making Barack Obama president even before he had been sworn in, there was a loud burst of applause in the room.The library audience stood and cheered when the president-elect was formally introduced and again when he stepped forward to take the oath of office. There was scattered laughter when Chief Justice John Roberts misplaced the word “faithfully” as he administered the oath, drawing a smile and some hesitation from Mr. Obama.
The applause lines greeting the new president’s Inaugural Address conformed to those drawing cheers in Washington D.C. One notable exception in this university town was the ovation from the library audience when Mr. Obama vowed to restore science “to its rightful place” in the national agenda.
When the new president addressed constitutional rights pressured by security concerns by saying, “We will not give them up for expedience sake,” the applause in the room vigorous. It was equally robust for his warning to terrorist enemies: “You cannot outlast us and we will defeat you.”Mr. Obama’s speech — which closed with a quote from George Washington during a bleak period of the American Revolution, seemed to satisfy many in a community surrounded by key battle sites of the nation’s war for independence.Dwight and Rachel Brown, a biracial couple living in Princeton, watched the ceremony with their sleeping three-month-old daughter in their arms. Mr. Brown expressed confidence in the new president’s ability to fix what ails America.
”The people he surrounds himself with, his standing in law school, and his ability to speak and motivate people are things that point to his capacity to deal with problems,” said Mr. Brown, a stay-at-home father originally from St. Kitts, an island nation in the Atlantic.
Mrs. Brown, a Princeton University post-doctorate oceanographer, said she hoped that the nation would give Mr. Obama a proper chance to make a dent in national issues.
”He deserves more time to meet them,” Ms. Brown said.
She said Mr. Obama had inspired hope in many Americans, an emotion that would end up being a valuable ally to the new president.
”Hope is a wonderful thing, it will inspire people to try harder themselves,” Ms. Brown said.
Peter Jeffrey, a Princeton University music professor in his mid-50s, said that Mr. Obama’s speech was reassuring.
”I’ve been wondering what kind of honeymoon he’s going to have,” said Mr. Jeffrey. “But I think we are going to see some movement (on these issues).”
The address was more substantive than he expected, and forceful, and not “mild blather”, according to Mr. Jeffrey.
Margot Fassler, a Yale University professor also teaching at Princeton, said that Mr. Obama’s public speaking style and skill, which she likened to that of a clergyman delivering an effective sermon, would be a valuable asset in motivating a nation facing many pressing issues. “There was a pivotal hinge in the speech,” said Ms. Fassler, Mr. Jeffrey’s wife.
Mary Ellen Marino, a Princeton resident who worked on the Obama campaign said: “He hit every note you wanted him to hit.” Ms. Marino said she didn’t believe that the “glow” and favorable mood accompanying Mr. Obama’s election victory and inauguration would fade quickly.
”Mine hasn’t worn off since Election Day,” Ms. Marino said.

