I watched NBC’s coverage of President Obama’s Inauguration and it was apparent that beyond the “newsey” commentary by Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw, there was a special passion in the descriptions of the moment by NBC’s Lester Holt and Rehema Ellis. The reality of the first African-American President of the United States truly moved these hardened news veterans, who happen to share the new President’s race.

It occurred to me that members of Erie’s media community who are African-American would also have special insights to share. I must say that I was pretty shocked at the lack of proportional minority representation in our local newsrooms, but that’s a story for another day.

Tuesday evening, I was able to connect with Duane Rankin, Sports Reporter for the Erie Times-News. Politics is pretty far from his normal beat of covering the Erie Bayhawks, the NBA, and local college hoops, but this was a transcendental moment that greatly affected him.

Watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama left me speechless.

Here is a man who not only represents African-Americans, but he represents all Americans. He was able to tap into so many difference demographics and sections of our nation and touch them with words of conviction and compassion.

He understands where we are as a country and seems so up to the challenge of turning this nation around.

You can’t help but admire someone who is ready to take on a task of this magnitude. Growing up in Huntington, W.Va., I was taught that anything is possible through hard work.

Seeing Barack Obama under oath with millions of people watching in Washington D.C. and billions of others watching all over the world proves once again that anything is possible.