Sometimes great expectations are fulfilled. Whether this will be said of Barack Obama’s presidency of course lies ahead of us. But without fear of contradiction it can be said of his inauguration.

It was a remarkable event. A vast multitude of Americans, ordinary citizens from every corner of the country, had gathered in the great space between the Capitol and the Washington Monument to hear their new president take the oath of office and make his first address. The mood was one of delighted celebration, yet it was also attentive and respectful. This was an enormous assembly not of fans but of citizens. The spirit of the occasion, as much as its awesome scale, was a soaring affirmation of democracy.