Local reaction: Obama speech inspires

Many people were inspired by the comments of President Barack Obama following the swearing in ceremony.

Several said Obama's speech was what the country needed and what other nations needed to hear.

"He called us all to service" and "he said that American was the friend of all men, women and children of other nations," said Sharron Fitzner of Tucumcari.

"I thought it filled the heart," Fitzner said. "It was inspirational. Some people may have thought he should have outlined – one, two and three – what he was going to do, but I thought it should have been inspirational."

And even though it was inspirational, it was also strong because Obama said America would not tolerate adversaries who want to tear things down and create fear, Fitzner said.

Reviewing what she heard of Tuesday morning's speeches, Fitzner also said she was moved by the The Reverend Joseph Lowry's benediction.

"I liked what he said about 'yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right,'" Fitzner said.

"I thought that it was great and I have enjoyed it all day," said Travis Nelson of Nara Visa.

Nelson said that she has seen many televised presidential inaugurations. Nelson was living in Illinois in 1961, when John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural speech.

"There were so many young people out there today," Nelson said. "I think it has a lot to do with him being such a young president, with a youthful following."

"I was in awe and excited about the inauguration today," said Sue Moore of Tucumcari. "The fact that we have elected an African American president is amazing. We are growing as a nation and this is going to bring our country together and unite us."

"His speech was promising," said Nadine Angel of Tucumcari who is the secretary for the Quay County Lady Democrats. "It was very impressive. It was exciting to see all the people and it looked like there was a lot of good morale."

"We need to keep him and all our leaders in prayer. It's going to take God's guidance and direction ... I hope our leaders will have that faith."

Mike Burns attended a inauguration party Tuesday held at the Santa Fe Convention Center. He joined more than 750 people who watched the ceremony on a huge television screen.

"I was absolutely amazed at the diversity there, American Indian, Spanish, Mexican, Indians. I met a lady from South Africa. The mood was so upbeat," said Burns who returned to Tucumcari Tuesday afternoon.

"At first, I wasn't an Obama supporter. I was a Hillary Clinton supporter. I liked his speech, it was very, very positive.

"Obama's got the toughest job any president has had in many years.

"He has a very positive air as you watch him move through the crowd. He's so presidential. The late night comics are going to have a tough time without the Bushisms," Burns said.

Staff writer Thomas Garcia contributed to this report.