Today at noon in Washington DC, Barack Obama was sworn in as the President of the United States.  It was hard not to get swept up in the excitement of such a historical moment, even among us hardened cynics who may be wary of impossibly high hopes.  Here we had the ultimate ceremony of democracy (even bigger than voting day), being pulled off with aplomb and the production value of the open ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.  Every television commentator seemed keen to emphasize the “transformational” setting of the event, and indeed, it would be hard to imagine hundreds of thousands braving the cold had any other candidate arrived to that podium. Obama’s inaugural speech was profoundly ideological and driven by a certain vision of America’s role in global relations. I’m not one to say whether or not the new president will be able to fulfill his promises, but if today’s objective were to generate considerable pride, conviction, and fortitude across new boundaries of the American polity, I believe he succeeded handily.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic and on the other side of Europe, the mood couldn’t be more different in Moscow.