America is back.

[seafan]

He is gone.

But we will never forget these last eight catastrophic years.




Former President George W. Bush looks out over the U.S. Capitol as his helicopter departs Washington, D.C. January 20, 2009, for Andrews Air Force Base following the inauguration ceremonies for President Barack Obama. (ERIC DRAPER/AFP/Getty Images)



In this Oct. 10, 2007 file photo, reviewed by the U.S. Military, an American flag flies behind the barbed and razor-wire at the Camp Delta detention facility, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. Late on Jan. 20, 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense says it will seek a 120-halt to the war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay pending a review by President Barack Obama..
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)



In this Dec. 4, 2006 file photo, reviewed by the U.S. Military, a detainee peers out from his cell, inside Camp Delta detention facility, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. Late on Jan. 20, 2009, the Department of Defense issued an order requesting a 120-day halt to Guantanamo Bay trials pending review.
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)



In this Dec. 4, 2006 file photo, reviewed by the U.S. Military, a detainee sits on his prayer rug and holds a string of prayer beads in Camp Delta detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. President Barack Obama began overhauling U.S. treatment of terror suspects, signing orders on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)




U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta replaces an official picture of outgoing President George W. Bush with that of newly-sworn-in U.S. President Barack Obama, in the lobby of the headquarters of the U.S. Naval Base January 20, 2009 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Brennan Linsley-Pool/Getty Images)






President Barack Obama rests his hand on President Lincoln's Inaugural Bible as his wife Michelle Obama holds it as he takes the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)


Barack H. Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States as his wife Michelle Obama holds the Bible and their daughters Malia Obama and Sasha Obama look on, on the West Front of the Capitol January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Chuck Kennedy-Pool/Getty Images)




Keith Hart, center, a Vietnam Army veteran, cheers as he watches Barack Obama be inaugurated as president, on television with other patrons of the Oxford Bar in Missoula, Mt., one of the oldest bars in Montana, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Albans)



US Army Command Sgt. Maj. Julia Kelley, left, of the 229th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, weeps as she watches the inauguration of US President Barack Obama at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.



A US soldier observes a moment of silence during the inauguration of Barack Obama, as the 44th president of the United States at the US camp Phoenix base in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday Jan. 20, 2009.
(AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)


US soldiers celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama, as the 44th president of the United States at the US camp Phoenix base in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday Jan. 20, 2009.
(AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)



US soldiers applaud as they watch live a television transmission of Barack Obama at Camp Phoenix, a mainly US base on the outskirts of Kabul. There were cheers, whoops of joy and loud applause at US military bases in Afghanistan Tuesday as soldiers welcomed in their new commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama.
(AFP/Massoud Hossaini)



A US soldier cries as he watches the live televised inauguration ceremony for US President Barack Obama in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
T(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)



U.S. Army Sgt. James Bishop, center, and other soldiers from the 229th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. 'My mother always wanted to be here,' said Bishop, 39, an African-American from Washington, D.C., who wiped away tears as he watched. 'She always wanted this to happen, and she said it was going to happen one day,' he said. 'Unfortunately, she passed before this time came.' Across Iraq, many of the 140,000 U.S. service members here watched the inaugural ceremony on television sets in dining halls and break rooms or on the Web at large installations with Internet service.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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U.S. Army Sgt. James Bishop from the 229th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, wipes away tears as he watches the inauguration of President Barack Obama at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.'My mother always wanted to be here,' said Bishop, 39, an African-American from Washington, D.C. 'She always wanted this to happen, and she said it was going to happen one day,' he said. 'Unfortunately, she passed before this time came.' Across Iraq, many of the 140,000 U.S. service members here watched the inaugural ceremony on television sets in dining halls and break rooms or on the Web at large installations with Internet service.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)



U.S. Army Maj. Charles Gatling from the 229th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, watches the inauguration of President Barack Obama at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. Maj. Gatling, 38, from New York, N.Y., said 'I am proud of how far our nation has come.' Across Iraq, many of the 140,000 U.S. service members here watched the inaugural ceremony on television sets in dining halls and break rooms or on the Web at large installations with Internet service.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)



Barack Obama, the newly sworn in 44th president of the United States, dances with U.S. Army Sgt. Margaret H. Herrera at the Commander-In-Chief Ball in Washington January 20, 2009. Obama took power as the first black U.S. president on Tuesday and quickly turned the page on the Bush years, urging Americans to rally to end the worst economic crisis in generations and repair the U.S. image abroad.
REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (UNITED STATES)



U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd R), the newly sworn-in 44th President of the United States, waves with U.S. Army Sgt. Margaret H. Herrera (L), first lady Michelle Obama (2nd L) and U.S. Marine Corp. Sgt. Elidio Guillen at the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball in Washington January 20, 2009. Obama took power as the first black U.S. president on Tuesday and quickly turned the page on the Bush years, urging Americans to rally to end the worst economic crisis in generations and repair the U.S. image abroad.
REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (UNITED STATES)



I'm crying again.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Too bad the '04 election wasn't important enough for folks to turn out to vote...

like they did this time.

[EraOfResponsibility]

2. Everything happens for a reason, man

if 2004 had happened another way, we might not have gotten Obama. :)

[Captain Hilts]

4. Yes, true.

I have volunteered at Bethesda Naval and am a platelet donor at Walter Reed and I take the war deaths very personally.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Perhaps said folks were not inspired or compeled to get off their asses

in 2004!

[Captain Hilts]

5. If they spent time at Bethesda Naval and Walter Reed, as I do, they would be. nt

[politicasista]

8. Please don't

bring that up. People will come into this thread with lots of revisionist history from 04. (Hope that doesn't sound harsh). People were not ready for change then like they are now.

I really, really want to turn the page and look ahead. We now have Democrat in the WH and a President Obama.

[skeewee08]

6. Thank you, I am crying with you:-)

[jazzjunkysue]

7. What are the little chotchkies tucked into the table? "lift?" Lift what?

this would make a great Du scavenger hunt project.

What are those things? One looks like a box of matches: Might be tissues. Is the little pink thing breath mints?

This is the kind of detail that captivates me.

[seafan]

9. It looks like "Life" on my screen, along with a picture of what looks like a doughnut on the side.

There's also another one of those canlike items to the right of the two boxes. Interesting, yes.

Wait, is it a can of lifesavers? LOL.