Zuckermann on Obama's Inauguration

Here he is, correctly spelled and in Washington:

The most excited, for obvious reasons, are the black men, women, and children who came here to see something that they thought was impossible in their lifetime. I speak with several of them. I ask how they feel. Excited, overwhelmed, content, hopeful, are the answers I receive most often. I ask them if they feel proud of their country. They all tell me they do. One tells me that he is especially satisfied with the whites who finally voted for a black man for president. Until not long ago, this group of African-Americans felt, with good reason, discriminated. They were second-class citizens. Not today. This is their day. Today they feel that their political redemption finally arrived. Today, for that reason, their are many African-American tears.

It's possible that he did and I missed it, but I think Zuckermann is one of the few analysts who wrote regularly about the campaign and never expressed any doubt that being African-American wouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle to the presidency. That's probably because he has lived there and has a better grasp of the nuance of the US's racial stew.

Also, this passage appeared before the speech itself, so extra points for prognostication:

...I don't think we should expect any memorable phrases that remind us of Roosevelt, Kennedy, or Clinton.