Just back from our dry run down on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The atmosphere is electric. The scene is one of thousands upon thousands of people aimlessly milling about, waiting for tomorrow to come. We've all been desperately waiting for this particular tomorrow to come for a long time, and now that it's almost here the celebratory joy is palpable.

I have to apologize if this post is a bit disjointed, as it is closer to a stream-of-consciousness blog than I am used to writing. Can we spend all day on our feet and then come home and write it all down for you to read? Yes we can!

So while it won't be as focused and polished as usual, here are my initial impressions after spending the day scoping out the preparations for the big day tomorrow.

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Day One (Sunday, 1/18/09)

I start my day in sunny California, where we have had a recent warm spell. Yesterday the temperature hit 80 degrees, we had the windows open, and I walked outside wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

So began my journey to the frozen tundra of Washington, D.C.

Driving to the airport was uneventful, as was the first plane ride, to catch our connection in Las Vegas. Late in the afternoon in Sin City, we make our connection. People here in the desert are dressed in T-shirts and sandals, as am I. I know, having grown up near Washington, that I am going to pay for this later in the day.

As we board our plane for Baltimore, I notice the prevalence of Obama shirts and hats has increased. The bad news is that as we board, the football score is Pittsburgh 6, Baltimore 0.

We have apparently gotten a plane staffed with standup comedy wannabes. The slap-happy jokes will continue until we exit the plane, but even this is bearable, since at the beginning of the flight (every seat filled) the stewardess asks who is going to the Inauguration. Every single hand goes up. We are among friends.

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[Note: This column is a repeat. I ran it last year, but unfortunately it was the day before Thanksgiving and I felt it didn't get the attention it deserves. As the Inauguration Week of President Barack Obama kicks off this Martin Luther King Day, I thought it was most appropriate to run it again, for those who may have missed it earlier. My blogging from the Inauguration will begin later today and continue intermittently for the next three days, but I wanted to kick it off with the following.]

For only the third time in this column's two-and-a-half year history (see note below), I am turning over my soapbox to a guest columnist. As with both previous times, the author is a commenter here at Huffington Post.

Known as "LewDan," he took exception to a column I wrote, and let me know how he felt in the comments, and later through a private email exchange. While he wasn't exactly agreeing with what I had written, I found him to have a unique perspective on the issue of race in Obama's election and also found him to be an original and well-reasoned thinker. While we disagreed on some things, we did so respectfully and with the intent of making our positions clear to each other.

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A few notes on the upcoming week at the site.

First, the annoying pledge drive image is gone. Due to a last-minute donation flurry, we reached over three-fourths of our total goal. Woo hoo! For this, I am humbled and grateful to everyone who donated, as it was more than I hoped for. Thanks to all of you again.

The donation page is still up and running, but will not be updated further. If you'd like to make a donation at any time, just click on the "Donate" button on the top right of any page, and you can use a credit card or PayPal account to do so.

I will be flying tomorrow, so there will be nothing new here until Monday. Monday morning I have a pre-loaded column which is a repeat, but (I think) most appropriate. Then, later in the day Monday, I will start posting when I can, most likely in late afternoons or evenings.

I promise to report on everything I can get to while I'm in our Nation's Capital. Tune in Monday through Wednesday for our Inauguration coverage!

"I am not a number. I am a free man!"
-- Patrick McGoohan, "The Prisoner"

What a strange week it was. In the waning days of President Bush's term in office, we lost -- in one week -- talented artists from Patrick McGoohan to Ricardo Montalban to Andrew Wyeth. Planes are landing in rivers. The Associated Press put out one of the most bizarre articles I've ever seen, unearthing the "lazy black" stereotype from the grave of history, where it rightfully belongs (the article's title: "Some blacks choose Obama inauguration over work"). George Bush is still delusionally happy in his bubble. And Washington, D.C. is preparing for a siege of Obamamaniacs.

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I waited to write today's column until President Bush had given his final primetime address to the American people. You know what? It wasn't worth the wait.

I had planned on writing a critical analysis of his speech, but I have to admit I just can't do it. I've been writing about Bush for two and a half years now, and I simply cannot bring myself to do it one last time. Because it is a largely pointless exercise. Bush's view of reality is so far removed from what an average person sees that it is useless to point it out one last time. Everybody, by this point, either believes the man is deluded, or still agrees with him 100%. Think about it -- no matter how low his poll numbers got, Bush kept a core of about one person in four who approved of the job the man was doing. They're not going to change their minds, in other words, and the rest of us are simply tired of trying.

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Are you one of those people who wants to see what has been done in your name by the outgoing Bush administration? Are you frustrated by all the "we need to look forward, not backward" language from Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders? Well, now you can do something about it, by calling up your House member today and telling them to support John Conyers' H.R.104, a bill to "establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil liberties."

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Maybe I should re-think that title. After all, when Richard Nixon said "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more," it was in 1962 -- long before his stunning political comeback. But since we have the Twenty-Second Amendment and Bush has already done his time in office, I think I'll be pretty safe when I say that left-wing bloggers (and comedians and political cartoonists everywhere) are starting to feel a little... empty... looking towards a future without George Bush in it.

Bush, if nothing else, was a perpetual fount of things to both laugh at and excoriate him for. And, in some odd "Stockholm Syndrome" kind of way, my guess is that on one level (providing easy material), we're going to miss him.

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President George Bush gave his final press conference today. Lest I be accused of "Bush Derangement Syndrome," I'm reproducing some of the most interesting answers Bush gave today, with a minimum of snarky commentary. Actually, what I (and many others) have would properly be called "Bush Fatigue," as even his final week in office seems somehow endless. But I think it's worth taking one last peek inside Bush's thinking because it is so interesting to hear how his views of his term in office differ so significantly from the way others see him. If you'd like to read the entire transcript of the press release, the White House website has it up.

Bush started out by joshing around with the reporters, proving he still retains his sense of humor:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Through it all, it's been -- I have respected you. Sometimes didn't like the stories that you wrote or reported on. Sometimes you misunderestimated me. But always the relationship I have felt has been professional. And I appreciate it.

I appreciate -- I do appreciate working with you. My friends say, what is it like to deal with the press corps? I said, these are just people trying to do the best they possibly can.

And so here at the last press conference, I'm interested in answering some of your questions. But mostly I'm interested in saying thank you for the job.

Note that "misunderestimated" in there.

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What a week! With Congress back in session, with the excitement of newly-elected members being sworn in (or barred at the door, as the case may be), and with the ever-increasing anticipation of the inauguration, Washington was in a tizzy all week. Larry Flynt apparently asked Congress for a $5 billion bailout of the porn industry and it barely made the news, because there was so much else going on. That's the kind of week it was.

This week's Talking Points segment is a special one, for all the incoming Democratic members of Congress. I've called it Democratic assertiveness training, but it could also be called "how to talk like you are in power" as well. It's a new dawn, and Democrats should reflect this in how they speak of just about any issue under the sun.

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