By LISA SIMPSON STRANGE
GLASGOW — Golda Walbert has been the undisputed matriarchal leader of the local Republican Party for many years.
Prior to Tuesday’s inauguration, she was asked to give her thoughts on both the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and previous inaugurations she has attended.
Walbert told of the first inauguration she was able to witness firsthand when President Ronald Reagan took office.
“In January 1981, I went to Washington, D.C., for my first inauguration with all the young Republican leaders,” she said. “I stood in the midst of a tremendously solemn occasion, yet an occasion that was a commonplace occurrence in the history of our country.”
Americans don’t realize how lucky they are to have such a smooth transition of power every few years, she noted.
“I experienced for the first time in my life the orderly transfer of authority, as called for in our constitution, take place as it had for almost two centuries and I know now few of us ever stop to think how unique we really are,” she said. “In the eyes of the rest of the world, this every four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”
And she wanted the United States to continue to set an example for other nations.
“Again, I witnessed with the first term of each of the Bush presidents this inauguration ceremony. The world will be watching us this time and I hope they will continue to see that we are a united people pledged to maintain a political system, which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree to any other peoples in the world,” she said.
Walbert expected to see a huge crowd for the historic event and hoped everything would go smoothly.
“This will possibly be the largest assembly in Washington than ever before,” she said. “There will assuredly be more security, more revelry, more activity and the next morning the city will be amazingly quiet and everyone will have a job of their own to do.
“There will be a tremendous crowd, but we know that it lasts only until the ceremony is over. In the excitement, it will possibly be a crowd a little more difficult to control and hopefully in the end we will be proud of our ceremony and its success,” she added.
Walbert is a staunch supporter of her party, but she is also a true patriot of her country. Even though the Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain, did not win the election in November, she stands behind the choice of the American people.
“I have supported President Bush because I am a Republican,” she said. “I will support President Obama because I am an American.”
The grand lady of the Grand Old Party reflected on what inaugurations of the past have meant to different generations and what impact the next generation will have on future elections.
“It might be said that this inauguration will compare more favorably with the John F. Kennedy inauguration than any other in our lifetime,” she said. “This might be due to the involvement and excitement of a younger generation. However, it appears that it is natural for each inauguration to involve more people and younger people whose hopes and dreams are ahead of them.”
