The Final Day
Resident sucker for oral histories yours truly recommends the one on Daily Beast about the inauguration changeover.
I nearly can’t believe it’s finally come: the last day of the Bush presidency. I watched his farewell remarks the other night; when he got to the part about how civilians slowly went back to their lives after September 11, but he never did, I could feel the bile rising. I didn’t believe him, because he delivered the line with that trademark vile egg-farty smirk, and even if I had believed him…but then I remembered that it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s done. It’s over at last. Whatever that guy tells himself about his own righteousness is no longer something I have to care about, and thank God.
Obama is going to screw up, and lie about it, and do all the other frustrating and human things all the guys before him did, but praise God he’s going to do it while using correct English, and here’s the other thing: as thrilled as I am to see this moment in American history, as hopeful as I am that the Obaministration can make meaningful change, as much as I look forward to seeing his portrait up on the wall at the P.O. for the first time, I think Obama’s real gift to the nation is having restored our faith in ourselves to get things done. “Yes We Can” is a clever rhetorical tool, but it became something bigger; it became true. It’s what made the post-election atmosphere in Brooklyn so friendly and fun, at least partly — because everyone felt bonded by it, had a sense of ownership in it.
I hope we can remember that feeling as we go forward, because Obama isn’t going to get inaugurated and then create a bunch of jobs the next day, or pull the trapdoor on Iraq. But the great thing he brought us is the reminder that he doesn’t have to do everything. We the people have reserves of extraordinary that we can and should spend freely.
If you have a dream, in other words…let’s hear it. Let’s do it. Why not?
All y’all in Washington, stay warm and share cabs. Everyone else: we made it. Party on this thread tomorrow.
Tags: politix
“You may hate Bush with all your heart and soul, but there was no excuse today for the jeers when he came to the podium today.” Yes, there was. In fact, they were myriad. Katrina. Abu Ghraib. “Mission accomplished.” Gitmo. No goddamn child left behind. I ain’t dressing as a tomato for fun over here (although it is pretty fun, actually). I do it because we’re all trying to keep promises that guy broke.
I tolerated his beliefs for eight years, thank you very much, and this is not about old divisions. This is about a thoroughly awful president who failed to earn the protection of respect for the office, who didn’t even show up at his own party’s nominating convention, who spent NINE HUNDRED of his days in office either in Crawford or at Camp David. That’s almost three years of vacation when the country is at war. Fuck that.
“Tolerance” does not mean “keeping silent when the president has dishonored the country, its laws, and its citizens by consistently fucking up or checking out.” I can tolerate his *beliefs*, although a lot of them ick me out. His *actions*, no. He was never accountable for a goddamn thing when he was in office, and if the price of that is some tacky booing instead of a date with the Hague, which is what he SHOULD be hearing? Well, boo hoo.
PS You’re all correct, it was Roberts who bricked it. Sorry, Barry!
Also: Who else loved Biden’s oath? He’d clearly been practicing in front of the mirror and was so psyched to be Captain Enunciator up there. Love that guy.
Oh noes! Any news on the man, the myth, the suspiciously strong swimmer Ted Kennedy?
@ Jen S – Oh my God, Aretha’s HAT! My mind immediately flashed back to an old TWoP recap that DJB did for an episode of The OC. I could not help but say that everyone else on the dais was “THE HAT ADJACENT” Absolutely nuts.
I realize this will most likely get me flamed, but I’m going to at least point out things the strong anti-Bush crowd seems to conveniently forget when discussing his record…his commitment to fighting AIDS and other epidemics in Africa, which led to the drop in price and rise in availability of anti-virals, his creation of a Medicare prescription drug benefit (for which my dad as well as millions of others are extremely grateful), and while not as successful, the No Child Left Behind initiatives. Additionally, it’s convenient to see him as a scape-goat for our economic problems while again forgetting he sounded the alarm on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over 5 years ago and was blown off by the Congress. Blame him if you must, but at least place the rest of it where it belongs…the ridiculous, do-nothing Congress. On another note, I am currently serving in my 17th year in the military, and I can say after having Clinton as my Commander in Chief for most of the first half of my career, that Bush was a welcome change. Finally, everything I have seen mentioned on the transition to include comments from Obama himself, have noted the incredible warmth and grace with which President and Mrs. Bush and their staff welcomed the Obamas to the White House (contrast that with the Clinton’s staff stealing the “w” keys off computer keyboards as a welcome to Bush and his staff). I was also ashamed of the way the crowds greeted President Bush…like him or hate him, he (was) the President and as such deserves respect. Are those that thought it was OK and in good fun going to see any similar treatment of the new President in the same light? Somehow I doubt it and it’s an interesting double-standard.
For now, all politics and rhetoric aside, President Obama is my new Commander in Chief. I watched the historic events with my two young children and tried to explain to them how amazing it is that even in war and hard economic times, we still were able to peacefully exchange power and that other countries could only hope for that kind of government. I also told them that it was one of the main reasons I put on my uniform every day. I will salute smartly and pray that President Obama is graced with wisdom and good advisors. The day I can’t do that anymore is the day I (respectfully) hang it up and find a different job.
November 3, 2004 was probably the worst birthday of my life, and that counts my tenth when I was sick with the flu and my mom had to cancel my party. Ever since I’ve been desperately counting down the days until I could say the words “Former President George W. Bush.” And it’s finally here!!! And to whoever asked the question: no, I have *never* been so happy to see someone get on a helicopter in my entire life.
Obama’s speech made me cry, and reminded me why I love this country. He’s not a miracle worker, I know that, and I hope we as a nation are patient enough to let the new administration get to work without expecting instant results. But I am in awe of the way the country stood transfixed today as he took the (slightly bobbled) oath of office and challenged us to strive, and work, and make hard choices.
@Beth
“You may hate Bush with all your heart and soul, but there was no excuse today for the jeers when he came to the podium today.”
Amen Amen Amen! There have been, and will continue to be, denunciations of Bush himself and his actions/policies. The Inauguration of the incoming President is not the place to childlishly air your disapproval of the outgoing President.
Free speech yes. . . good manners too.
@Kris: Agreed that the blame for the economic meltdown does not rest entirely on W.; agreed on AIDS/Africa, although I’m not sure how much of that aid was premised on clinics hewing to a certain social-policy line (i.e. qualifying clinics can’t mention or recommend abortion, etc.). It was still a lot of money. And agreed that the Bushes have, from all accounts, been nothing but gracious to the Obamae.
But I don’t think it’s necessarily a double standard; Bush is getting booed for policies he did preside over and for which he is responsible. If Obama hands off the baton with a similarly poor record and shitty approval rating, he’ll probably get booed too. Them’s the breaks. You don’t want to get raspberried on the way out, you need not to let things like Katrina go so completely wrong at great cost to American lives. You need not to authorize torture and then act like the American people are too ignorant to deserve an accounting of your rationale. The Bush administration treated us like stupid children; it had no respect for US.
And this (bringing it back around to something positive) is what I think is key about the “yes we can” slogan — it invests us with responsibility, and because the Obama administration and campaign have enough respect for us to do that, it already feels totally different from the Bush regime.
re: Kennedy — I’m not hearing much, aside from that it was a seizure, and that the ambulance is apparently still in the driveway? And Senator Byrd had to leave also because he was “having trouble eating,” which God help me for chuckling a little at that, because: it’s a luncheon.
I think it was a mutual screwuppage. Here’s the transcript:
ROBERTS: I, Barack Hussein Obama…
OBAMA: I, Barack…
ROBERTS: … do solemnly swear…
OBAMA: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear…
ROBERTS: … that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully…
OBAMA: … that I will execute…
ROBERTS: … faithfully the office of president of the United States…
OBAMA: … the office of president of the United States faithfully…
ROBERTS: … and will to the best of my ability…
OBAMA: … and will to the best of my ability…
ROBERTS: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
OBAMA: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help you God?
OBAMA: So help me God.
ROBERTS: Congratulations, Mr. President.
Obama cut Roberts off. Roberts misplaced one word, Obama started to follow and paused, ostensibly to give Roberts a chance to put the word faithfully in the right place but still went past the spot in the text where faithfully is supposed to go, Roberts said it correctly, Obama repeated the original phrase as first stated incorrectly by Roberts, and the whole thing finished fine from there .
And now we can have a funeral for this horse :)
“But the great thing he brought us is the reminder that he doesn’t have to do everything. ”
Well shit, you could have fooled me from the way everyone acted for the last eight years. Abu Ghraib? BUSH’S FAULT! Smog-belching Chinese factories? BUSH’S FAULT! Russia invading Georgia? BUSH’S FAULT! New Orleans spending its federal dike-protection money on crack and whores? BUSH’S FAULT!
In a way, this is why I’m happy that Obama got elected. Because he’s going to do everything pretty much the way that Bush did it, and people are going to realize that oh shit, that was pretty much how it needed to work. And they’ll stop acting like the President is God.
Kris, I am absolutely willing to admit that the Bush administration has made positive progress in the areas you mentioned (although I have to disagree on No Child Left Behind — my friends who’ve been in the trenches in tough middle schools and high schools say that it’s extraordinarily damaging, in part because NCLB makes it near-impossible to expel even the most extreme discipline cases). But in my opinion, the good things that have come out of the Bush presidency pale in comparison to the poor choices he’s made about international relations and the management of the war in Iraq. So when I say “good riddance” to President Bush, I’m not conveniently forgetting the good things he’s done — I’ve considered his record and decided that the good is dwarfed by the bad and the disastrous.
I’m serious. It’s REALLY funny to see everyone trying to get out in front of the Obacklash. At least we’re all admitting, finally, that it really was just a personality thing. People just Hated George Bush. They couldn’t explain why, they didn’t have any justification(*) , they just knew deep down in their little hearts that they HATED that Bush fellow.
And it felt GOOD. It feels SO GOOD to hate, doesn’t it? To just unabashedly give yourself over to a wave of pure, simple, unadulterated emotion. It’s the nasty flip side of orgasm, and it was easy, even right in the middle of it, to see why everyone got so into it. This country has a weird Puritan streak that doesn’t think of things that feel good as being acceptable; so hate, like sex, has this crazy taboo thrill associated with it.
(*) no, you didn’t. NO. You DIDN’T. Bush did nothing that Presidents hadn’t done before, and nothing that won’t be done in the future. Lincoln actually DID do all the things people accused Bush of doing, and Lincoln’s face is on money.
“At least we’re all admitting, finally, that it really was just a personality thing. People just Hated George Bush.”
Thanks for the generalization, but I found W. quite likable *personally* for several years. Didn’t like his platforms or policies, most of them, but acknowledged that, if I got to talking to him at a barbecue, I would probably enjoy his company. By 2004, that was over.
And Bush et al. really made a pretty unprecedented effort to consolidate presidential power and to remove it from checks and balances. Their excuse was that it was wartime, but the war was prosecuted under false pretenses, so I don’t think a comparison to Lincoln is necessarily…
You know what, forget it. I don’t love being called a reactionary moron on my own site, but it’s my own bad for approving the comment, I guess.
Final note from me re: Katrina. I’m also from that area of Louisiana and had relatives who were OK, thank God, but lost houses. My uncle volunteered his time and his boat to help recover bodies. The response was less than perfect, and I don’t argue the FEMA director at the time was the absolute wrong guy for the job, but so were the democratically-elected N.O. mayor and LA governor (who by all accounts were/are idiots). My heart breaks for those that couldn’t get out, but my sympathy stops when it comes to those who could and chose to “ride it out”. They chose poorly. I also urge you to find the recent CNN interview with the pilot of Air Force One who flew the President down there afterward. Everyone wants to harp on why he didn’t land immediately. The pilot said, “I could not have landed that plane.” They are not lying when they talk about the amount of security/support that goes with the President on the ground (I have friends who have worked the on the ADVON teams) and how much would have been pulled away from the rescue effort. Didn’t need as much security in this situation, you might say? The Coast Guard and Army choppers were getting SHOT AT by the very people they were trying to save. Those rescue crews busted their asses getting more than 30,000 people off roofs and out of flooded areas in the first couple of days. Missing in the first days were the civilian bus drivers (the mayor’s brilliant disaster response linch-pin) who gave the city the metaphorical finger and booked town before the levees broke, crippling the evacuation effort. Can’t say I blame them really, but where was Plan B? You couldn’t force the drivers to stay any more than you could force over 1 million people to leave.
I guess my bottom line on this, or 9/11, or any major situation that any President has to face is that I’m not in his shoes. I don’t know what he knows. We can arm-chair quarterback this all day, but there’s a reason they all age exponentially while in the job.
Oh, bull. Bush freakin’ lied to get us to invade Iraq. Once we were there he didn’t have a damn clue as to what to do with it. He has made mistake after mistake, all with that damn smirk and a refusal to admit that he’d done a damn thing wrong and all the time talking to the American public like we’re a pack of morons. I haven’t always supported Obama, but when even McCain’s people were saying that Obama’s biggest strength is getting people who disagree to work together, well, that got my vote.
“Who else loved Biden’s oath? He’d clearly been practicing in front of the mirror and was so psyched to be Captain Enunciator up there. Love that guy.”
Waving hand wildly. But do you think he has only those sky blue ties? Because I can’t remember seeing anything but sky blue ties on Joe.
Okay. Weird thing. When everyone on the dais was greeting Joe I thought, “What a great name. A nice solid, I’m a good guy but serious kind of name. If I’d ever had a boy child (not that I’ve had any child), I’d want him to be Joe.” I’m sure I’ll get over it before I name another cat. (Oops. Sorry Joe!)
@ Joe Mama,
It makes absolutely no sense to compare Bush, Lincoln and President Obama in the way you’ve just done. It’s not like they had identical issues and time periods during their respective Presidencies. I for one have no time for the Obama/Lincoln comparisons either, even if you leave Bush out of the equation entirely. That aside, the American people as well as non-Americans like myself have myriad reasons to be very, very displeased with Bush. It’s not the kind of irrational hate that carries an illicit frisson that we’re feeling, thank you. There are many concrete reasons for it, which others have already enumerated. And he’s not the only man responsible, nor was his administration soleley responsible for all the things he gets blamed for, but a large percentage of those things can be traced to him and his government.
And it wasn’t a personality thing. To me, and to a lot of people, Bush’s personality very rarely asserted itself enough to be more than mildly aggravating on its own. It was his actions, and even more so, I think, his refusal to be accountable for the outcomes that inspires contempt for him. Perhaps some people just had a gut negative reaction to him, but the vast majority of us who dislike him do so completely rationally.
Bush and Cheney tick me off for their actions (or inaction) with Katrina, Iraq, Gitmo, etc, and I have zero respect for them. BUT, Bush did some good re: AIDS/Africa and saving some marine areas in the Pacific.
But for me, the cons outweigh the pros. I believe Bush and Cheny lied to me, to this country when it came to the “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq, and I will not forgive them for that. Too many lives have been lost, and while I was never a fan of Saddam Hussein, Iraq is now a country in ruins.
Here’s the thing… you hire a guy for $400,000 a year to act as your own representative, to keep your interests at heart and to provide for your security.
In the first few years, he makes a few blunders and you say, at this time quite politely, “Hey, we’re not happy with that, you need to make some changes.” And he doesn’t, and in fact, goes on to make more and worse blunders.
And you say, “Hey, we’re actually feeling LESS safe, and you seem to be doing more than you are actually allowed BY LAW to do… you need to stop that.” And he says, “I’m not stopping anything. You just don’t get it.” And we say, “Then help us get it, we’re paying your salary.” And he replies, “No, I don’t have to, so suck it.”
That guy? Totally lost my repsect. 100% lost it. And I feel in no way that I have to be “polite” or have “good manners” on the day we finally get rid of him. He laughs in my face for years – gets away with it (because I totally agree his helicopter flight should have been to the Hague) – he deserves to be booed and jeered at.
Being polite to the incoming president was about the only gracious thing he did in his presidency.
They couldn’t explain why, they didn’t have any justification(*) , they just knew deep down in their little hearts that they HATED that Bush fellow.
His actions killed a friend of mine. You’re goddamned right I hate him.
In 2000 I thought he was simply the backlash from the Clinton hate, and he would be like his father- not very effective or memorable. By 2003 I thought he was dangerously incompetent. In 2004 my ex boyfriend died in a desert he had no business being in, and family members told me I was a traitor to his memory for questioning him.
So yeah, I hate him. I hate him because when Senator Obama said “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America”, that was a revolutionary statement instead of an obvious one.
I hate him because Kris has a more dangerous job because of him. Not just because of the war, but because if you’re caught and tortured, there’s not a lot we can do about it. We’ve given up the moral high ground.
A “personality thing”? Oh, my dear, no. It was not.
It was a war thing, a constitution thing, an environmental thing, a civil rights thing, a respect-for-the-law thing, an honesty thing, a disaster-response thing, an wealth-disparity thing, a respect-for-science thing, a reproductive freedom thing, a civic structure thing, and an international-bullying thing. Along with some other things.
But it was not a personality thing. I grew to detest his voice because of what I HEARD IT SAYING. I grew to detest his smirk because of what he smirked at, and his sense of humor because of the things he chose to make jokes about. It’s the same distaste people had for Clinton by the time he left office, and that many have for him now. You can overcome a lot by being right about a lot of things. I’m not sure I’d find Joe Biden all that charming, but he’s been right about most (though not all) things for about the last 30 years of my life, so I cut him some slack on the fact that I think he’s pretty much a blustery windbag. If I liked Bush’s policies more, his personality would really not concern me.
lareigna: “Perhaps some people just had a gut negative reaction to him, but the vast majority of us who dislike him do so completely rationally.”
I don’t think that generalization will fly. Perhaps amongst your social network/colleagues this is true, and I don’t doubt it. It seems, however, that “the vast majority” simply follows whatever is fed to them from the loudest voice, with no actual thought or consideration into how true that voice is, or why that voice is talking so damn loudly in the first place.
See also: the unadulterated lovefest for Obama, when “the vast majority” of Americans couldn’t tell you one thing about his policies, plans, or beliefs. “I just like him!” is not a valid reason to elect someone president, much like “I just *don’t* like him!” is not an automatic reflection on how well someone does a given job.
Please note I am not defending Bush, nor harboring ill will toward Obama. I hope we can, OK? I am commenting on my own dissillusionment with American politics being decided by people who would rather vote on who’s the better-looking candidate than on actual issues.
OR the people who eat up all the “but what is Michelle going to WEAR tonight?!” “news” coverage. I bet we’ll know tomorrow!
“I guess my bottom line on this, or 9/11, or any major situation that any President has to face is that I’m not in his shoes. I don’t know what he knows. We can arm-chair quarterback this all day, but there’s a reason they all age exponentially while in the job.”
I agree with this and I don’t. I sympathize with the president(s), up to a point, and I do not envy them this aspect of it (or most of the others), but honestly, this is the job. You take on the fears and worries and problems and safety of the populace. A lot of that is an unfair burden, and a lot of people do expect something for nothing from their government whether they’ll admit that to themselves or not…but that’s the job. Katrina needed a decisive, effective response. None was forthcoming. Is this the president’s fault? Not necessarily. But the people trust a president to respond, to TRY to fix it. Nobody was asking the guy to physically land in N.O. and pull people out of houses. What we wanted was some evidence that he gave a shit. And we didn’t get it.
Not everyone agrees that the federal government should be Plan B. I don’t, usually, but the fact is that, when shit hits the fan, people look to the president, even people who say we shouldn’t. And whether or not that’s fair or realistic, the president has to be ready for that, has to accept that, and really just does not get to be like, “Well, the mayor should have handled that.” Yeah, he should have. In the event that he doesn’t, the buck has to stop somewhere, and guess what.
It’s not really about what could have been done differently, even. It’s that how Bush reacted in the case of Katrina was the SAME as every other time — that he didn’t seem engaged with the problem, that he didn’t seem troubled by the issue or by the negative reaction to his choices. That it all seemed like a big power play to him, and not about people’s lives.
He consistently thought so little of us, on every level. I don’t understand why you’d even WANT the job if you don’t give two shits about the citizens you represent.
Kris, w/r/t Katrina I know that the failure was on the state, local and personal level, as well as the federal level.
But that wasn’t my governor, or my mayor, or my senators. That WAS however, my president. The guy who created an entire *Department of Homeland Security* to protect me from disaster.
Before Katrina I thought, “This guy sucks, but if a terrorist sets off a bomb on the subway in Boston, he has a plan”. I figured that’s ALL he had.
And then I realized that he didn’t have a plan for a hurricane he had 5 days warning for, in a city that that weather people have been warning would be destroyed by a hurricane for as long as I can remember, then if someone set off a bomb on the Red Line, he would need three days and a box of crayons to figure out where Boston was.
Sars: I don’t understand why you’d even WANT the job if you don’t give two shits about the citizens you represent.
Because he’s a small, petty man who holds a grudge endlessly, who wants to one-up Daddy, who thinks God wanted him to be President, and who looked at this as an opportunity to enrich his buddies.
I loathe Bush, and I have a laundry list of facts to back up WHY I loathe him. As do most of the people here, I suspect. And as do the people I know who have lost family members to a war based on lies, jobs due to an economy that had any kind of watchdog organizations stripped bare, and a thousand other losses that will probably only become clear over time.
Obama has a huge job ahead. He is not perfect– not by a long shot. But for the first time in eight years I feel like we have a fighting chance as a country.
Dick Cheney summarized what I find so distasteful about the whole Bush/Cheney regime recently in an interview. The interviewer said something about how unpopular the Iraq war was and Cheney said, “So?” He literally couldn’t care less about what the people want.
I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind/opinion…bring it on. I’ve spent 17+ years doing my miniscule part to defend the right to openly disagree. I guess where I differ most is in my perception of Bush’s “give-a-shit” factor. The majority of the posts here are from people who seem to have the hard-core belief that he didn’t…at all. To me it’s not so black and white. I think he did care and that his actions were based on what he believed was the right thing to do. What he clearly didn’t give a shit about were the media spin and the popularity polls, which (IMHO) were what Clinton used to make daily decisions. Again, I wish nothing but the best for Mr. Obama and hope that he has the strength to do what he believes is the right thing even when it’s unpopular. In President Bush’s case, as it is with all Presidents, history will have the final word.
Getting back to the actual inauguration ceremony: I was truly impressed with the speeches and the performances, almost without exception. I’d been a little bit apprehensive about what Rick Warren might say, and athough I wasn’t impressed, really, I think he did a good job and kept things positive. The instrumental performance was awesome – did anyone else flash back to Yo-Yo Ma playing in season 2 of the the West Wing (in ‘Noel,’ an all-around great episode)? And, you know, there was almost no way Aretha was going to be anything other than incredible.
The most pleasant surprise for me was Dr. Joseph Lowery: I. LOVED. every minute of his speech. I agree with what someone up there has already said – the poignancy of this particular individual being up there combined with his wonderful voice and the speech itself being superb was truly affecting to watch. Some wonderful soul has already uploaded the clip to YouTube, and it’s even better on repeat viewing: you see Obama start to smile when Dr. Lowery talks about brown sticking around and the red man getting ahead, man! – which becomes a full-on beaming grin at the last ‘Amen’ before everyone stands and the two of them embrace. Awesome.
I lived in Texas when Bush was governor. He does not, in fact, give a shit. He’s an entitled kid who was given various jobs (oil companies, baseball teams) through the machinations of his father (who, all in all, is not a bad guy) in the hopes that he would find his place in the world and proved himself a mediocre leader at best. He ran for president based on his “success” as a Texas governor, despite the fact he was reaping the benefit of unpopular work done by his predecessor (Ann Richards.) The other fact conveniently left out is that the Texas Governorship is probably the least power office in all 50 states (the Lieutenant Gov and Comptroller make the budget decisions and cut the checks, respectively.) Saying that being Governor of Texas prepares you to be President is like saying the fact that I drive everyday prepared me to be a Formula I driver.
So, frankly, implying we all dislike George W. Bush because its “a personality thing” is insulting. A few of us have been toiling away under his incompetence since 1992…
I didn’t think I could love Obama any more than I already did, but after he and Roberts screwed up the oath, I did. Obama just took it so well and kept going the best he could. It made him relatable, at least to me – that’s totally something I would do. I love that he was able to laugh at himself during what’s usually such a serious moment.
I’ve always thought Laura Bush came across as a very nice woman, but I’ve never gotten to see much of her personality. I’ve seen more of Michelle Obama’s personality just today than I did of Laura’s in eight years. She was just so happy for her husband and her family. Even during the parade, a good 12 hours after she got up this morning (assuming she even slept at all last night), she was rocking out and having a blast.
I’m sad about Kennedy – he looked so good earlier today – but it sounds like he’ll be all right.
On a lighter note… Internet access at work is severely limited, so we tried to watch on the tv they use to view surveillance videos (don’t ask, long story). This tv has no cable or antenna, so hopes were not high, but amazingly enough one station did come in – The Home Shopping Network. I still don’t know what was funnier – that HSN was actually carrying it, or that it cut away in the middle of Obama’s speech to hawk commemorative Obama coins!
My head tells me not to do this, but my heart must speak:
I don’t hate Bush personally, in that he personally has not done anything to me. He hasn’t punched me in the face, kicked my shins, stolen my bike, or done anything one individual can do to another individual directly that would make me hate them.
But, the thing is, you give up your individuality when you take this job. I don’t know how much you can realistcally do as a human to prepare for it–how could I or anyone mentally prepare for Katrina or 9/11 or any of that? But the fact is, underlining this is the cold hard fact that you not only chose this job, you actively sought it out. You spent two years campaigning, minimum, spending untoward sums telling all of America and the world that you can pull off one of the most impossible jobs in the universe.
There’s no pretending you didn’t want it. You weren’t kidnapped. You weren’t blackmailed. No one’s holding your family at gunpoint. You aren’t the inbred, hemophiliac son of some outgoing despot with as little choice to rule, regardless of talent, ability, or calling as the lowliest peasant in the land. The entire thing was set up in reaction to all that, to make sure the whole damn thing is as freely chosen and transparent and meritocratic as our greedy, damned species can possibly make it. NOBODY can make you run, accept the nomination, run some more, and swear on the book of your choosing on the Nation’s Capitol steps to take on this job. You have to do it because you want to.
And I don’t care if Bush was working through Daddy issues or was born in a political family or was groomed from the womb or how nice he is personally. None of that matters. What matters is that an adult man said he could do a job and proceeded to biff that job so epically in so many ways, no matter how noble his intentions, that the most we can hope for from our incoming President is he can limit the damage to a few generations instead of deep and irreversable scars being the only thing we have to hand down.
And that’s what I think.
@ Kris:
The “Clinton staffers stole all the ‘w’s from the White House keyboards” story? Nice recycling of something that was debunked some time ago: http://tiny.cc/yZTLe
But nice try!
(Also: Congratulations to the rest of you!)
First of all, congratulations, America! Damn, but that was a good speech. It was so refreshing to hear someone talk about responsiblity, and belt-tightening, and picking up after oneself, instead of the “I encourage you to go shopping” mentality that formed so much of the engagement with the public for the last 7.5 years. Wish I’d stayed to see the second benediction, but I had to get back to work.
I wanted, just for a moment, to pick up on the “and then people will stop thinking the President is God” remark, though. Because, to an outsider, that seems to have been a huge problem for the States for a long time (far, far pre-dating Bush). Mocking the man is obviously kosher, but the office is held in such awe, regarded with such reverence, that it’s hard to believe sometimes that this is the same country that stood up and said “We have a right to question our leaders! Suck it, King George!”
And that reverence leads to all kinds of weirdness, on both ends of the political spectrum. Like: the people who (supposedly) blame Bush for everything that’s gone wrong because he’s the president, and the people who (apparently) still think he did a great job up until the end, because who are they to question the president? Or: Obama, before he was even the nominee, getting a goddamn halo on the cover of Rolling Stone (because he’s going to save America) and the Dixie Chicks getting death threats (because they had the temerity to say something critical about Bush at the outset of war).
And that respect for the office was seized upon and an attempt was made to consolidate it into law by a man who’d been trying to do the same since Nixon. It was disseminated by the Oval Office (or, rather, the Vice President’s office), swallowed by the Congress, and ignored by the media and hence by much of the public. There are a lot of things that suck about my country’s system of government, but our irreverence about the PMO and the man occupying it can be healthy sometimes, I think. That’s not to say there aren’t reasons to be respectful of the presidency, it’s just that sometimes it feels like it’s taken a bit far, you know?
As an outsider, I was afraid of Bush before he was ever “elected” because he came into the campaign with a terrible record on the environment – which he went on to justify by weakening all kinds of environmental laws before the moving vans had left the White House driveway. I think without Sept 11, 2001 and even without Katrina this would have been a so-so presidency at best, but the aftermath of those two events definitely push the balance onto the negative side of the ledger.
I don’t think Obama will be able to fix everything – he may not be able to fix much at all. But a policy wonk without Bill Clinton’s “pathological indiscipline,” as the New Yorker once put it, is not a bad guy to have on the job at a time like this.
Did anyone notice that for the first time since the Kennedy’s, we have a good looking family in the white house? And the VP and his family.
Sure, Reagen was a sort of handsome man, But President and Mrs. Obama are both really good looking people, and their girls seem happy and friendly. Great choice America. And they can dance.
I watched the inauguration in our staff cafe yesterday, with 150 of my colleagues, and although we are the most conservative of British law firms, people were applauding after the oath and you could have heard a pin drop during Obama’s speech. We LOVE this guy and are so grateful to all of you for electing him. His foreign policy references and realistic attitude towards the current financial chaos (which is crippling us in the UK) was great to hear. As somebody who organises volunteering and charitable giving for a living, it was magnificent to hear Obama make it clear that it is EVERYBODY’S responsibility to help people, do good things and improve the world.
And as for Bush – well, he just wasn’t smart enough for that job, but the US public should have known that after four years and shouldn’t have elected him twice. But it’s water under the bridge now – you’ve got a president who is intelligent, compassionate, principled and engaged, and he’s given an entire nation (and a big chunk of the world) optimism and hope at a time when war and financial meltdown threaten a lot of us. We can’t wait to see what happens next!
Just a few notes:
I have to applaud the poise of both Roberts and Obama during the oath-taking. After repeatedly screwing up the wording, neither of them did what I would have done–dissolve into laughter.
On a personal note, I watched the inaugeration in the lobby of the office where I work. The Building Manager switched the flat-screen TV to MSNBC rather then City TV (local station). People came out of the elevators–and didn’t move. We had a large portion of workers in the building simply standing there, looking up at the screen, and watching silently. although there was a ripple of laughter everytime the cameras cut to Bush. It was odd as well, seeing all of these people, probably none of whom are Americans, enraptured and clapping, and some of them sniffling (the prayer seemed to spark that).
Finally, how gleeful was Yo Yo Ma, playing Lord of the Dance on his Cello!
Re: the booing of W: IMHO, if the president rightfully elected in 2000 had been allowed to take office in 2001, the handover from Mr. Gore to Mr. Obama (or whoever would have won the the next election, 2004 or 2008) would have looked a bit different. I still have great respect and love for Al Gore; never had any respect and now have revulsion for W.
I’m thrilled to see Obama in, and I hope that Hillary (my first choice BTW) gets confirmed today for the Cabinet. And, eager to see who Gov. Paterson will send to the Senate in her place if/when she is confirmed.
Congratulations, America! We are all delighted for you and your wonderful new First Family. Great day, great speech and especially great first dance.
(And Kris, leaving all the Bush stuff aside – please note that only some, not all other countries “could only hope for that kind of government.” There are a lot of us who are very happy with our parliamentary systems, thank you, and would not change them for your republican deal, notwithstanding how handsome, charming and intelligent your leader certainly is.)
Here’s the dirty little secret about NCLB, given to me by my social justice prof who sat in on some meetings with the big wigs. NCLB was developed by the government and business CEOs. The goals set forward by NCLB were the goals of buisness who wanted a prepared workforce to drive our economy. Not necessarily prepared in the go-to-college-and-change-the-world sense, mind you. Prepared in the graduate-from-high-school-and-be-competent-at-mid-level-jobs sense. This prof heard the people behind NCLB literally admit that they wanted workers and, no joke, consumers. I wish to God I was lying.
Sit through a few graduate education courses with current teachers, and you’ll have a whole new outlook on NCLB. Good gravy, what a joke.
Dead right, Tina. The idea held by some Americans that the USA has the ‘best’ version of democracy is something that has long puzzled many of us living elsewhere in the Western world, particularly in light of the great stolen election of 2000!
I was at the inauguration, very blessed with tickets seat on the Capitol lawn with a view of the podium. I could mention at length the feeling of pride from being there and the historic nature of the event. But really what overwhelmed me was with 1.4 or so million people just how nice everyone was. Strangers gave me handwarmers, we made friends with all the folks around us in line. When we realized our line had become broken and was sort of floundering my husband went back and helped our line buddies move to the correct places. A few people tried to unsuccessfully cram themselves onto overcrowded metro cars, but by and large it was incredible to see such a large group of people so well behaved. I don’t think you can credit a president for that change in behavior, but I do think it’s a sign of a change in the attitude the country may be taking. I least I hope so.
Oh and the ‘na,na,na,nas’ cheer started early. Our metro car was singing this the whole way in.
I stayed home from work to watch all the livelong day on teevee. I squealed often. I waved my hands in the air like I just di’nt care. I cried when CJ Roberts said “Congratulations, Mr. President.” (And teared up just then typing it.) I kept having to remind myself that ‘he’s president NOW! W’s done NOW!’ I gasped with surprise and glee at the inclusion of ‘non-believers’ in the IA. I kvelled through all the exchanged glances between Barry and the missus, Barry and the kids. And all the ladies’ coats were so nice! I even liked Re-re’s giant sparkle-bow hat. (That bow had to make it all the way to the Washington Monument, yo. It’s gotta be big.)
It was our inauguration too. Which means if we want to send off the outgoing guy with derisive singing and cheers, well, yes, we can. But I’m a NY sportsfan, who is used to booing the hometeam — but only when they suck.
And even this atheist was on board with responding to Rev. Lowery: Let all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.
@Tina and Jacq: No offense was meant and I apologize if any was taken. I did not state “all” countries wanted to be like America…I know they don’t. Lest you think I’m coming at my statement from ignorance, I’m on my third overseas assignment and have spent time an a lot of different places and have made friends of many nationalities. I recognize that there is a clear delineation between the countries of, for instance, the European Union, and those nations which are ruled by the guy who just shot and killed the previous ruler. My comments were not aimed at “G8” types or their peers. I broad-brushed what obviously requires a more nuanced approach, but the original conversation was between me and a 10 and 8 year old. Baby steps… But I also keep remembering a quote from the late comedian, Richard Jeni, who said, “America: 20 million illegal aliens can’t be wrong.”
I too live in Texas and Bush was messing up this state long befor he got to the White House…which is why I was so incredulous when he actually won the election.
I will forever continue to be puzzled by people who vote for someone because “he sounds like a regular guy, he sounds like me”. No, NO, NO people! I want the MOST competent, most intelligent, most articulate man or woman running my country.
As a teacher, I don’t preach politics to my students because the classroom is not the place for that. The only thing I told them is:
Listen, I don’t care who you vote for as far as party lines. But at the very least, please make sure the person you’re voting for is SMARTER than you.
*long before* not *long befor*. Stupid sticky keys!
@FloridaErin: And John Taylor Gatto pretty much saw that coming in 1991.
http://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling/dp/086571231X
I probably wouldn’t have booed Bush. I display my disregard for people that underperform by remaining silent.
Regardless, he’s back in Tejas, and we shockingly have someone in the WH who doesn’t function by acting(?) purposefully stoopid. Let’s try that approach for a few years. Also, Barry’s from Chicago:)
Also, did anyone see the funny bit on the Daily Show where they ran video of FOX’s “continuous” coverage of Bush boarding the helicopter, Bush boarding the 747, Bush landing in Midland. All during the Inauguration festivities. Probably taken out of context, but still some funny shit.
OK, I’m a little late to the game because I went to Washington for the inauguration. It was amazing. Everyone was SO happy. Just wanted to join in and say how wonderful it feels to hear the words “President Obama.”