Inaugural: Beautiful day, short speech

Former Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue became the 73rd governor of North Carolina -- and the state's first female chief executive -- at about 11:12 a.m. today on one of the prettiest inaugural days in modern state history. Her inaugural address was relative short compared to many of them, short on new ideas and initiatives, but taking note of the state's economic and education concerns. She wants more accountability and more innovation, especially in science and green technology. It was hard to tell from her remarks what she plans to do, although she has previously set forth more specifically the things she wants to work on, including strong new ethics standards, higher expectations and better performance from state government.

The honorables were introduced by Eva Clayton, who was the first black woman to become a member of Congress from North Carolina, and she amused some and horrified others with her butchery of the names of several, including Perdue's husband Bob Eaves (Evis, she first pronounced it, though later she went out of her way to correct that), Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry (she pronounced it Cherry, not Cher-ee), and Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson (Timmonson-Goodson, it sounded like).

And the poem written by Andy Griffith's wife and delivered by the beloved actor himself was not up to the standard of Andy's usual writers, though it was well received. Ol' Andy delivered it with his usual gusto.

The F-15 flyover at the end of the national anthem sung by Fayetteville's John Bellamy was impressive, as was the 440th Army National Guard Band, the 19-gun salute by Marines from the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, and Caitlin Cary's singing of "America the Beautiful.".

This was the 8th or 9th gubernatorial inauguration I've covered, and the loveliest day of any. Usually they're cold and sometimes nasty days, uncomfortable for the audience and for those being sworn in. Today was just flat gorgeous -- and perhaps a good omen for this administration.