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Obama’s inauguration and Sotomayor’s confirmation, the economic crisis and the unraveling of Iran. From just about every angle, 2009 was one hell of a year. Here's what our bloggers had to say about the year's biggest stories. (Additional reporting by Jenny Merkin)
Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty
The Inauguration of Barack Obama
On January 20, tens of thousands of people flocked to the Capitol to watch Barack Obama become
America’s first black president. But how was the speech?
Ta-Nehisi
Coates: I think I’ve heard too many Obama speeches. I’m unmoved. It’s
not his fault. He sounds awesome as ever. But I’ve seen this too many times, I
think.
Megan McArdle: The
second half [of Obama’s speech], on the other hand, is beautiful. The
libertarians will hate it, I predict. But voluntary embrace of duty is
the health of a small state—it’s when people won’t care for the collective
that the government starts making them do it.
Andrew
Sullivan: Emotionally, it spoke for itself. I cannot deny there are
tears in my eyes. He was arguing that we need to think again, to put aside
childish things, and that this is the mark of responsibility and adulthood.
National Portrait Gallery
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The Civil War
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