Is it just me or................

That's a hard one Dory. We probably did need to see much of it. This man will influence how the West thinks and acts for the next few years. He is being given almost saint like adulation which is a mistake because the minute the poor chap messes up he will be kicked hard by the same media that are feting him now. However, his election does herald a sea change in US politics, this isn't just another Democrat in the White House, there are some firsts that are important to people the world over, starting with what appears to be an acceptance that a man from non white ethnic background can reach the highest office in the USA and wield more power than probably any other world leader. Remember, when the US tells the UK to jump, we say "how high?" But do it anyway.

I am an American. I am not an Obama supporter, and I'm actually someone scared about what will happen in the next four years. However, it is a big occasion and I think coverage was well deserved. I'm not sure how well it was covered overseas though, and that is something that I wouldn't be able to answer. As for the drastic cost, I'm sure there were more efficient ways to use some of the money. I expected to see a higher cost than normal, but not as big of a jump as there was. Protecting the president is a huge priority. Especially with the world watching. With the economic crisis the way it is, I would have hoped that less spending would have occured on the event. I've got a feeling that in the next four years overspending will be a recurring theme. I am trying to accept it, but it is hard for me as a young person to watch our national debt continue to rise to levels that are almost impossible to pay back. There is no way to tell how many plots to kill the president were stoped yesterday. With that being said, I hope the money was used efficiently. But the final dollar figure suggests that there could have been better ways to protect Obama and have a nice ceremony.

I went out and managed to miss it all, after all it was my birthday and I'm not American. I don't understand why our news coverage has to show so much American political stuff. Maybe it's to cover up what a mess our government are making and hide the real news of our country from us. I won't comment on the money spent. It's good to see a young American president but I hope he's no too good or they'll assinate him. Any Americans who are offended please keep it to yourselves.

yes I think that money could have been spent on something far more important. They didn't need to have him on tv AL DAY!! maybe half the day for him to do his speech and what not. I had missed some of my shows because he had to be on tv all day. I like barack obama and all but did he really have to be a tv hog yesterday?

Im not an American and I dont live anywhere near America.But I think the coverage for Obama inauguration is tremendous and probably the occasion deserves it.The turn out to the event was something like I have never seen before and to see a nation cheer its leader and tears of joys that were rolling down,when he was taking the oath simply tell the story.And I think Obama was composed and his first speech as Persident was crisp,to the point and as a whole I would say its an event that shouldnt be missed..and deservingly got the attention it received.

I think one of the things the world learned as the Bush Administration imploded is how critical U.S. leadership is in the world. The world was hungry to NOT have Bush anymore. I think the inauguration would have received wide coverage regardless of who got elected partly for this reason. Also, Obama is an extraordinarily eloquent, intelligent, well-educated, idealistic, charismatic visionary - such a profound contrast to Bush's gaff-prone huckster, frat-boy image. And of course there's the fact Obama's got such a diverse personal background: part black, part white, christian but influenced by a Muslim step-father - everyone feels he belongs to them. It's the first time in the history of any of the major Western governments that a black man (or half black) became President. It doesn't seem like a big deal to you or me, which is what makes it such a HUGE deal to minorities and the disaffected the world over. It's history in many senses of the word. No news outlet could afford NOT to cover it as widely as possible. In terms of funding, Obama raised most of the money himself. Probably only the security forces were government-funded and that wouldn't have changed enormously regardless of who's president. Is all this spending appropriate in today's economic climate? I'd say gathering money from donors and spending it in the public sector is perhaps the perfect thing to do in a capitalist system.

I live in America and I think all inaugurations should be held in a pasture somewhere with a bonfire and picnic style foods. This sure would save the country some money and possibly keep us out of debt. It is ridiculous that so much money can be spent so foolishly. And we wonder why we are in the shape we are in???? I sure hope I get some money back on my taxes this year. Or have we already spent it all? Helping other countries? Paying for a huge party? We sure need to learn to spend our money a little more wisely.

I am not an American, I am an India residing in India. Even then I don’t think the coverage was way too much for two reasons. Firstly, it was definitely history being made and we all wanted to watch it being made, live, on our TV sets. Secondly, it was not like the entire episode was all that we could watch in each and every channel. No, our local channels were very much there with their own daily programmes, only it was being interrupted from time to time for some snippets of news. Only some international channel covered the inauguration live. I watched it live on BBC, so for those who did not want to watch it, they had their regular options open.

I am an American and I don't care if it took a billion to set up the inauguration it was worth it. I haven't seen so many Americans standing together as one in my lifetime. The only other two times I believe was in 1933 when FDR was elected and in 1961 when Kennedy was elected.Black , white , young , old were all one on one of the coldest days. Why not celebrate that? This doesn't happen every day. Would there be a question of money if McCain won? Would we be as together? I don't know but there Should be a celebration when a new president is elected.There was a change of power and no had to be killed for it to happen.

I'm American and I thought there was WAY too much coverage of the inauguration - every single channel was a bit much. I did not turn on my TV at all that day, I already knew what to expect. To answer your second question - yes, I think spending $150 million to have 10 balls and a few dinners was a bit much considering the state of our country at the moment and how this man banked on making people think he cared about the average Joe who was losing his home and his job and couldn't keep food on the table - and yet this same man had not problem taking tax dollars and blowing it on a couple of nights of celebrations. One dinner and one ball wasn't enough for him because he is NOT like the average American and he has no clue what it feels like to go to bed hungry and not know where you are going to be laying your head or tucking your children into bed the next night. If he cared about his country and his fellow countrymen, he would NOT have spent that money in that way. As I said in another discussion, any bit of respect I had for this man was lost when I found out how much he was spending on "making history". I didn't realize making history would cost so much.

I am not American and it doesn't affect me much. It all depends on the importance to the person and the people who put alot of work into it. I know that when i will graduate from University, my mom will probably make a huge party to celebrate this occasion even if we are tight on budget. It's to give ourselves a boost confidence, a positive hope, and give that reward for the achievement. So i guess they were really happy so the preparations for yesterday was worth for them. SO if it's important for them, it's not a waste.