Topanga, Calif. (6:55 p.m. EST, 3:55 p.m. PST)

My wife and I are sitting on the bed, transfixed by the TV images of Obama and the others during the swearing in. I’m getting emotional, particularly when we see random shots of everyday people in the vast audience with tears streaming. Our two housecleaners arrive. They only speak a little English, but we ask if they listened to the inauguration on the radio as they drove to our house. They both enthusiastically say, “Oh yes!” “It’s a great day,” we say, and these two young Mexican women wholeheartedly agree.