Jan. 20: Two Miles, Three Men

By Sylvia Gurinsky

It's just a two-mile distance from one concrete structure to the other.

But in those two miles, three men - Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Barack Obama - are now permanently linked.

Yesterday, the memories were of 1963, of King at the memorial created in memory of the slain President Lincoln.

Today, Jan. 20, 2009, Obama made new memories two miles away, at the U.S. Capitol, as he was sworn in as this country's 44th president.

Yesterday, the vision was of King at the Lincoln Memorial, saying, "We've come to our nation's capital to cash a check."

Today, when Obama raised his hand at the U.S. Capitol, it was paid in full.

Two short miles. But what a distance this country has traveled.