this week marks the second anniversary of barack obama's inauguration to the american presidency. i recall that blustery day in january 2008, standing in the freezing cold waiting to be let into the gates on the national mall in washington dc. i was excited and expectant, invested, having helped vote him into office. seven hours later, i was turned back with no luck. and i questioned, on that day, whether a government that could not control a crowd of millions could possibly govern them effectively either. nevertheless, in honor of the occasion, thought i'd repost a couple of my favorite blogs on the matter.

i wrote 'an open letter to michelle obama' 60 days after the inauguration. it's about my hopes and dreams, what it means for all of us to have a black first lady. oddly enough, it's still the most-read post i've ever written--largely by those googling 'michelle obama's legs,' a fact that has alternately amused and horrified me. given the nature of the post, however, it could be an apt subtitle.

and then there's 'climbing uphill' about my pre-election angst over whether or not to join the campaign effort. to be frank, over the past couple of years i've largely distanced myself from the whole thing. hope and change were basic, good ideas that i was all too eager to eat up. the reality on ground has been far more complicated, and has left me feeling horribly naive. though having been in naija almost four months now, during election season, i'm glad that america is a true democracy. the alternatives are far more distressing. --AL.