The Inauguration of President Barack H. Obama

[ICantSpellDawg]

Yesterday was an rather important day in American history and I congratulate the first African American to become President - BUT - I'm a bit suprised by the comments on his speech so far.

I thought It wasn't that great - that it was a bit hackneyed and jumbled, pulling in as many heart warming jibblets as it could in order to satisfy the huddled masses. To be honest, I was expecting more.

I've heard speeches by Obama that I was the first to say were talented beyond contemporary measure - this was nowhere near one of them. It was Ok, better than many speeches that I've heard, but a bit stale.

Anyway, here is a heretical brit's take on it.

link

[Idaho]

Your prediction leads to my biggest fear for Mr. O: the teeming masses he mobilized during his campaign, who (wrongly) think he's gonna pay their mortgage and car-payment, and all they gotta do is point to the "I Voted for Obama" pin on their shirt - are gonna be severely disappointed when those payments don't arrive in the next 24 months.

He never explicitly promised that stuff, but many expect it anyway. How hard will they turn on him?

He's gonna have to continue 'selling' his slow-moving programs (whatever they are) to an impatient public.

Yeah those people should just accept that in the richest country in the world, large swathes should have 3rd world levels of poverty, violence and infant mortality

[Hosakawa Tito]

Your prediction leads to my biggest fear for Mr. O: the teeming masses he mobilized during his campaign, who (wrongly) think he's gonna pay their mortgage and car-payment, and all they gotta do is point to the "I Voted for Obama" pin on their shirt - are gonna be severely disappointed when those payments don't arrive in the next 24 months.

He never explicitly promised that stuff, but many expect it anyway. How hard will they turn on him?

He's gonna have to continue 'selling' his slow-moving programs (whatever they are) to an impatient public.

I agree with Idaho & Kukri. Peoples expectations may be unrealistically high, though it's understandable considering recent events. Presidents can do nothing without the cooperation of the Legislature, and financially, this administration is limited in manuever room.

I'll take positive, open and fairminded action & policies to flowery speeches any day.

[Banquo's Ghost]

It's odd. I heard a speech talking about sacrifice, hard work and community spirit, invoking the best of the US values of self-reliance. A speech that highlighted the recent "gimme" culture as being spoilt and oh-so-over.

I'd have called it a sober and conservative speech. He talked about taking a pay-cut to save your neighbour's job. He talked about recognising that a good life doesn't come easy, and never should have done (or appear to have done so). He talked about the best of America being her "never say die", never give up optimism. He offered peace with enemies as long as they unclench their fists and unbending enmity if they choose not to.

Apart from the fiscal bail-outs that pretty much every politician in the Western world seems to be bent on providing, I didn't catch much about hand-outs - but a lot about fixing things by hard work and personal responsibility. He eschewed the false partisanship about big/little government in favour of government that works.

Now all this is just a speech, but it struck me as a very conservative speech that if it had been given by a "Conservative" politician, might well have had that grouping swooning. But then US conservatism has me constantly baffled.



It had inspirational imagery, but lots of practicality too. A good speech for the times.

[Husar]

I agree banquo, at the beginning of his speech he already said something along the lines that it's not a leaser who can drag a country out of the mud, but the people through their hard work and dedication. He didn't get a lot of applause for that though.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

It's odd. I heard a speech talking about sacrifice, hard work and community spirit, invoking the best of the US values of self-reliance. A speech that highlighted the recent "gimme" culture as being spoilt and oh-so-over.

I'd have called it a sober and conservative speech. He talked about taking a pay-cut to save your neighbour's job. He talked about recognising that a good life doesn't come easy, and never should have done (or appear to have done so). He talked about the best of America being her "never say die", never give up optimism. He offered peace with enemies as long as they unclench their fists and unbending enmity if they choose not to.

Apart from the fiscal bail-outs that pretty much every politician in the Western world seems to be bent on providing, I didn't catch much about hand-outs - but a lot about fixing things by hard work and personal responsibility. He eschewed the false partisanship about big/little government in favour of government that works.

Now all this is just a speech, but it struck me as a very conservative speech that if it had been given by a "Conservative" politician, might well have had that grouping swooning. But then US conservatism has me constantly baffled.



It had inspirational imagery, but lots of practicality too. A good speech for the times.

Yes, it did have that tone at several points. In fact, you could argue with some effect that only Obama's implicit emphasis on the Federal government as the focus of these efforts runs counter to conservative ideas. Kukri' is suggesting, of course, that while Obama outlined a more reasonable agenda in the tone and issues he addressed, that "restraint" may not play well to a good portion of his voters. There are more than a few who are likely to think (unrealistically) that change delayed past June 2009 is not change at all.

Idaho:

The number of US citizens and residents living in "3rd world" poverty conditions is so small as to be inconsequential. "Poverty" in the USA often carries a standard of living that would be envied by the truly poor in Soweto, Sao Paolo, or Djakarta.

Infant Mortality is very low, and our statistics so scrupulously gathered that it may well be that our actual infant mortality rate is as low or lower than many places that claim to be better but may not be claiming so on equally scrupulous data. Other than those infants who are purposefully killed prior to birth, it is very rare for an infant to die here.

Violence we have, truly, but at "Third World" levels? I suspect not. If we'd change our strategy on stopping drug abuse and addiction, a large portion of that violence may well disappear.

[Vladimir]

Much as I love you Dave, I am deeply relieved that your lot of neo-con religio-corporate *&%$s have been consigned, with the contempt that only history can muster, to the political dustbin.

I still think that Obama will be a company man within a year or two and will largely dissapoint.

That's a good observation. It's commonly remarked that after two years a "leader" surrounds himself in a transparent bubble. All the yes-men and aids he trusts the most tell him what he wants to hear and he becomes the led.

[Lemur]

For some strange reason, CNN took this headline down pretty quickly:

[drone]

I wonder if he passed on this one.

[Lemur]

This is pretty cool — a satellite image of the crowd at the inauguration.

[Vladimir]

It's odd. I heard a speech talking about sacrifice, hard work and community spirit, invoking the best of the US values of self-reliance. A speech that highlighted the recent "gimme" culture as being spoilt and oh-so-over.

I'd have called it a sober and conservative speech. He talked about taking a pay-cut to save your neighbour's job. He talked about recognising that a good life doesn't come easy, and never should have done (or appear to have done so). He talked about the best of America being her "never say die", never give up optimism. He offered peace with enemies as long as they unclench their fists and unbending enmity if they choose not to.

Apart from the fiscal bail-outs that pretty much every politician in the Western world seems to be bent on providing, I didn't catch much about hand-outs - but a lot about fixing things by hard work and personal responsibility. He eschewed the false partisanship about big/little government in favour of government that works.

Now all this is just a speech, but it struck me as a very conservative speech that if it had been given by a "Conservative" politician, might well have had that grouping swooning. But then US conservatism has me constantly baffled.



It had inspirational imagery, but lots of practicality too. A good speech for the times.

You see, that’s the point. All through out the campaign his vague rhetoric encourages people to pick out portions they like and use their mind to fill in the gaps. Barack Obama, the man, the president, teaches us a valuable lesson in cognitive biases.

Listen to his inaugural address! The man tried to cover the entire spectrum. Compare it to his statements on the stimulus package. Look at his nominees. Finally, look at how .org members are reacting in this thread. Think about their biases and make the determination yourself.

Perhaps some psychologist can explain it better than I but that is the essence of the man.

[Lemur]

It's okay, Vladimir, according to Fox News he might not even be President.

[Vladimir]

It's okay, Vladimir, according to Fox News he might not even be President.

I heard that on my right wing radio too (back to those biases). Technically it's true, but he can take the oath in private to make it "official" if too many people object. Hey, if a technicality will get you off murder charges...but that means Biden is president. No thank you.

[Strike For The South]

It's okay, Vladimir, according to Fox News he might not even be President.

That either the funniest or saddest thing I've ever seen. That man is a genius of comedy (I hope)

[CountArach]

That either the funniest or saddest thing I've ever seen. That man is a genius of comedy (I hope)

Yeah, what a bizarre claim...

So America is a Parliamentary system now, right?

[Strike For The South]

No the Western hemisphere is all presidential. (Excluding Canada and Cuba but in all reality, who cares?)

[Xiahou]

It's okay, Vladimir, according to Fox News he might not even be President.

Well, academically, it's an interesting question. I believe Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur both retook their oaths for similar reasons.

Any challenges to Obama's presidency would likely be heard by the Supreme Court, and it's hard to imagine Robert's would find against Obama since he gave the oath. But nonetheless, constitutional scholars have said that Obama should retake the oath- if nothing else, it would give the conspiracy nuts one less thing to worry about.

[Goofball]

I've never been prouder to be an American than I am right now. He's not the leader I chose, but he is my leader none the less, and I am honored to have him as my president. I wish him the best of luck, and I will do all I can to respond to his call, to continue down the path, despite the hardships, and pass our legacy of freedom and propserity to the generations that follow.

They say that being a good leader is about the ability to inspire people to do that which their better selves already know that they should do. I would say in that regard, we have an excellent leader. Lemur, you're got to fine a loop of the speech. Maybe it's the emotion of the moment, but it's one of the best, one of the most inspiring, I've ever seen or heard.

As an aside, did anybody else notice CNN's cameras zoom in on Bush when Obama uttered the line about "not sacraficing our principles for our security"? Bush looked like he had swallowed a bug.

hehe.

I watched the speech on KIRO 7 (Crazed Rabbit, you're probably familiar with that station) on the big-screen in the lobby of my office. The close captioning was turned on, and man, somebody should definitely be fired over that particular piece of . I actually broke out laughing a few times because the spelling and contextual errors they made were so comical. I wish I could get a transcript of it. It really bugs me, because it ruined for me what should have been a fairly inspiring moment.

[Spino]

Your prediction leads to my biggest fear for Mr. O: the teeming masses he mobilized during his campaign, who (wrongly) think he's gonna pay their mortgage and car-payment, and all they gotta do is point to the "I Voted for Obama" pin on their shirt - are gonna be severely disappointed when those payments don't arrive in the next 24 months.

He never explicitly promised that stuff, but many expect it anyway. How hard will they turn on him?

He's gonna have to continue 'selling' his slow-moving programs (whatever they are) to an impatient public.

Anyone fool enough to get the mob worked up in such a state simply so he/she can get elected deserves whatever fate they have in store for him. Live by the mob, die by the mob.

Yeah those people should just accept that in the richest country in the world, large swathes should have 3rd world levels of poverty, violence and infant mortality

Shots fired from the ideological bell tower! The sniper returns! SAVE YOURSELVES!

[Vladimir]

Civil war averted.

[CountArach]

I lol'ed with Biden.

[Idaho]

But then US conservatism has me constantly baffled.

It's just the same as UK Conservatism. £100 billion given to banks, arms manufacturers or road builders is sound investment. £1billion given to stop children living in poverty is money wasted on scroungers. £1billion given to improve public transport is empty subsidy. £1billion given so that pensioners who have paid a lifetime of tax can afford to stave off hyperthermia this winter is money down the drain.

[KukriKhan]

Watching the new Head Press Flak Gibbs give his first briefing and Q&A to the DC press corps: a whole lotta "we've begun the process", "we've initiated a study", etc coming out, and the journo's aren't liking it much. They fire back with:

"How is it 'transparancy, when..."
"How is it leadership by example, if..."
"How is it 'no lobbiests here', when the DoD #2 guy..."

Pretty short "honeymoon" - at least for the Press Sec'ty.

[Xiahou]

This article was too good not to share. It turns out that the media doesn't know much about Obama and they have a series of questions they'd like him to answer. Usually, this is done before the election, but better late than never i guess.

What we don't know about Obama
Here are the questions (read the full article for more detail):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

DOES HE REALLY THINK AFGHANISTAN IS WINNABLE?
DO DEFICITS MATTER?
HOW FAST IS TOO FAST IN IRAQ?
WHAT’S IN THE FILES?
DO UNIONS WEAR WHITE HATS?
CAN U.S. POWER SAVE DARFUR?
HOW MUCH DOES HE HAVE TO PLACATE THE LEFT?

[Hooahguy]

the music wasnt live?

[seireikhaan]

My guess is that string instruments may not perform the best in frigid temperatures.

[KukriKhan]

the music wasnt live?

Not a huge surprise, right? "Politics is show business for ugly people", as the wonks observe.

[drone]

My guess is that string instruments may not perform the best in frigid temperatures.

From what I heard this was one reason. The top-class instruments wouldn't play well in the cold (maybe even get damaged), the tone would be off and the reed instruments might freeze with breath condensation. Another reason was the inability to play properly with frozen, numb fingers.

[Lemur]

I just read maybe the creepiest thing I've read in months. It's in an article about Rick Warren's invocation at the inauguration:

We’re a nation not just where you are free to believe or not to believe; we’re a nation founded for Him — so we could praise Him, so we could do His will.

Um, no. Just no. Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Franklin would slap you silly for saying such a thing.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I just read maybe the creepiest thing I've read in months. It's in an article about Rick Warren's invocation at the inauguration:

We’re a nation not just where you are free to believe or not to believe; we’re a nation founded for Him — so we could praise Him, so we could do His will.

Um, no. Just no. Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Franklin would slap you silly for saying such a thing.

Yup, I noticed a few bits like that which made me very uncomfortable at the inauguration. I just have to hope the speech primarily represents that one nuts view and not Obamas. Unfortunately the majority of Americans seem to buy into this idea that we're a Christian nation, which I'd say we most definitely are not.