Revolutionary Road: Obama's Inaugural
Barack Obama didn't promise a new era in his inaugural speech. He promised a new American revolution. His evocation of George Washington at the end of his address made it clear that he regards the perils that face the country as almost no less daunting than those that it confronted in battling for its independence.
Now a fresh, stubbornly independent generation, Obama suggested, must emerge to renew the promise of American life. The tone of his speech was somber, but his vision of the future was not. If America can navigate the icy rapids that threaten to submerge it and tap into the "quiet force of progress," Obama indicated, it can emerge into a sunlit harbor, united by the memory of having conquered some of the greatest dangers, domestic and foreign, that it once braved. Whether that vision will be fulfilled is another matter. But Obama's inaugural address, sober and dignified, has set the foundation for constructing a new gleaming edifice of democracy. It is up to us as much as Obama to construct it.
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Obama stood in celebration of a revolutionary act of defending the Constitution from the electoral battle field where the People took back their country with the Ballot Box that was stolen in 2000.
He spoke to the roots of this nation and the importance and foundation of its people and their government.
He stepped beyond this recent election just won and identified his confidence, his direction and his conviction. He ask the people who vote for or against, but no less partiots in this recent revolution, to continue beyond by their birth right, their father's actions and to intelligently achieve our destiny by hard work, fairness and equality of effort and share.
Could you believe how badly the Chief Justice screwed up the swearing in? Good grief, Obama had to help him. A shame given the gravity of the moment.
What a great speech., I thought. Everything he said is true, now we all must do our part to get our country going again. Anyone who wants the same old same old need to go somewhere else to live. We want none of the old policies of the last eight years.
America, love it or leave it? How ironic.
But he is a great orator, like a pastor, who talks the talk, but in actions does not walk the walk. He has not spoken of transferring the costs of the war to the Iraqis since the campaign, nor the fact that you can never win against an enemy that believes dying for their cause earns them their place in heaven. He has glamor, and appears appeals as Bush did to the beer drinking crowd - he appeals to the vapid Hollywood set, who would protect a whale but defend the criminal element and illegals if they are denied "due process" rather than simply deportation for their crimes against their fellow countrymen. The globalists won this election, and those that put a spin on Kennedy's leadership - the one who got us into that last offensive war that cost so many American lives - Viet Nam - also for the profit of the money lenders and corporate contractors at the cost of America's sons and daughters. He just mortgaged Malia and Sasha's future with that bailout, and other than a mesmerizing speaker, he is towing the Bush-Clinton-Bush world globalism agenda to a tee.
REALITY CHECK REagan & Bush folks are the ones who made this bail out necessary ! Don't you anti Obama folks get it yet ? Obama is stuck with the Reagan / Bush bad policies..trickle down economics - deregulation of banks-that led to this financial & housing crisis. Try reading a book sometime- about how we got here. Even Greenspan has now admitted that deregulation caused most of it. 20 of the last 28 years have had Repubs in power, most with a friendly congress. Bush has a Repub congress for 6 long years. What did they accomplish ? Keeping us safe ? NO ! Bush was warned that " Bin laden is determined to hit inside the US '
that was 1 month before 9 / 11. He might have prevented it if he has listened. Bill Clinton warned him as well. Repub's messed up big time -thats why Obama won states that DEms did not win in 25-30 years >They sold us all down the river- and many of us are too uninformed too even realize it.
Obama, as a Constitutional lawyer, quite obviously doesn't know a thing about it. Sorry, his comments with respect to the war and "threat" of Islamic terrorism bespeaks Bush III. He has spoken of expanding the war to Pakistan, and perhaps India. He, who should be well familiar with it, shoudl have had no problem providing the required documents to prove that he actually was legally qualified under it to be given the Office of the Presidency this next four years, the highest in the land. He has appointed six of his top eleven members from the Council on Foreign Relations, which believe in globalism and One World Government, not our Constitution or Washington and Lincoln's dream. He voted for the bailout to repay the campaign debts of the two candidates and Congressional members, at an interest rate that will put our grandchildren in debt for the international bankers. He appointed a Secretary of Homeland Security from Arizona, whose negligence have cost thousands of Arizonans their lives and property, including now their homes. A visionary he is not. Another Bush, quite definitely.
Betsy, your concerns are legit, but I see NO resemblance between Obama and any member of the Bush clan.
Can't we give Obama at least 500 days to give us a taste of where he wants to lead this country and what he has to offer before we get all dismissive and distainful - PLEASE?!
Heck, Bush had eight years to do at least TWO decent things (the jury on Africa is still out - considering the inane/ludicrous restrictions placed on funds: only the "A" in the A-B-C's are allowed to be mentioned??? Doesn't any one of you professional GO-Pee-ers get it?)
Adding insult to injury, what does it take to realize that Bush does not give a damn about life - in any form - whether in the womb or all grown up. Just take a look at his life-long record of indifference to LIFE - in any and all forms and/or manifestations.
Everytime I'm tempted to give into the massive sponge of despair and hopelessness that were designed to make us give in and give up... I remind myself that "resignation is the worst form of betrayal." And that those who try so hard to break our hearts & spirits are falling by the wayside (finally!) and not a moment too soon.
We're lucky to have come out of the past/last eight years with even a slim hope of redemption... Please, let's not squander it like we usually (almost always) do... Sigh... Please?
Jesster- You are Correct Give the man time- at least a year. Of course- Obama is nothing like Bush- that was proven in the election. Some people are judging him harshly simply because they don't like Obama to begin with. THat poor excuse for a man- Rush Limbaugh said on tape ' He wants Obama to fail " That should shock us all, but will it ? Obama has been in office 1 full day, and has already done good ..put limits on lobbyists, and made the freedom of information act even more open & froze staff salaries over 100 K . Global one world govt ? Like Bush Sr - who called for a ' new
world order ' Or W - who tried -among other things- to give control of our ports over to a foreign govt. Its amazing the ignorance that is out there. Folks need to read books-not rely on 30 second sound bites or TV news- especially FOX's Hannity / Coulter / O'Reilly.-who used to work at Inside Edition -that gossip mag show that had no real hard news. We have to be the least well informed nation in the world- But we know all about Brad Pitt and Angelina....SAD
don't you have a flag to sew somewhere?
Change We Can Believe In! Now we can get down to business and fix our problems.
Great speech
Not his greatest hit (out of the park) but perfect for this promising yet somber moment in history. The boos and chants were nothing more than a minor distraction and if they hurt Bush's and his diehard faithful's feelings - well you reap what you sow.
And to quote that sorry old saw seen through new (amen) eyes: Today/Tomorrow (depending on your time zone) is the first day of the rest of our lives...
YES WE CAN. YES WE DID!!! Now let's get to work getting OUR Country BACK on track!!!
God Bless America!!
"His evocation of George Washington at the end of his address made it clear that he regards the perils that face the country as almost no less daunting than those that it confronted in battling for its independence."
FIrst, I don't think he was somber, he was sober, but also inspiriational. Second, you missed the point here. The point is not that our current problems just as daunting as those confronted at independence, rather the point is that even in more daunting times that these, (and those were) we did not abandon the constitution. That was his real message.
Bush has a "Vietnam" view of the consitution - we had to destroy it in order to save it.
Obama is making clear that no matter what the threat, the constitution must continue uninfringed. Tthe President is required to take an oath to protect the constitution. Bush transformed that into protecting the country - that's acutally Congress' job, which is why Congress, not the President, has the power to declare war, raise the army and navy, make rules governing the military, and organize and arm militias - none of those are Presidential powers. The President is commander in chief of the military, but Congress decides whether or not to have a miltary, how it is constituted, and whether it goes to war.
those are two different points and he made them both - the constitution needs to be adhered to....and, george washington knew at that time that no matter how bad s*hit gets, their cause would win the day. it had to....and it did.
You both missed the point of his statement. What he was pointing out was that George Washington called on people in their darkest hour of need, when things seemed most hopeless -real hopelessness, not the kind you guys have, sitting behind your computers in warm safe apartments- to draw on their hope and virtue. Interestingly, didn't talk about the virtue part much. It is at least as important as hope. The virtues that Washington was calling for were individual virtues, not collectivist virtues, asking men to take their fates into their hands with honor and courage (those were virtues back then, btw). I think George Washington would be fairly horrified by the size of the federal government were he alive today and the reliance of so many in this country on the labor of others.
We all took something slighty different from Obama's speech. He asks us all to pull together for the sake of the country. To help our fellow man, to volunteer,to mentor a young person. That came thru loud and clear. It was similar to JFK's speech. We all needed to be reminded of that. Rampant Greed -Wall St self serving CEO's and deregulation of banks etc- got us into this mess. Our country has been on the wrong path for a long time- Something has to change. Call me corny- but I feel hopeful.
No I don't expect any miracles-just a start in a better direction.
"Our founding fathers ... faced with perils we can scarcely imagine"(from President Barack Obama's inaugural address) This kind of makes the statement that he "made it clear that he regards the perils that face the country as almost no less daunting" at least a bit of an exageration of what he said.
Could you imagine if those words came from W?
People at work were saying that it felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Just knowing that we won't have to see or hear GWB represent our nation is in itself reason to celebrate.
President Obama..in it's simplicity it's all that needs to be said today. nuff sed
I know there is much to do and I am at the forefront here locally BUT
among the many other things we must do, is restore the rule of law.
That means investigating and convicting, on the crimes they admit to.
Okay, all of you who are young! I am old and, if you screw this opportunity up this time, don't blame those of us from the '60s! It seems to be a favorite hobby for the young to blame the generations before you. This time, this one time, you have the opportunity to change that and, if you do it right, your children wll thank you, not blame you. President Obama has called you to a revolutionary change here in America. It's up to you now! Will you volunteer to help those more unfortunate than yourselves, volunteer to help this nation get on its footing again? Will you? We'll see... Today, you are ecstatic but tomorrow, when the bloom is off the Obama rose, will you still be there for him and his revolution? I sure hope so!
I agree with BlueZoo. I am 80, and what I see is the "good old boys" who have taken over politics, while the youth (some, not all) have become oblivious to the carnage this has produced. We need to weed out those entrenched and beholden to one reelection after another. We need to have a turnover such as we do with soil to enrich, and bring in new nutrients to grow this most wonderful country with the potential for all that our forefathers gave us as a legacy. But it is truly up to the youth to accept the flame and keep it burning in a way to light the way to our future and that of other nations who need a role model. Does this sound Pollyanna? I suppose to some, but what is the alternative?
Bluezoo I'm 65, I lived thru the cold war with Russia -and the 60's- the assinations of MLK-JFK-RFK. all on TV before our eyes. It was scary. We are again in serious trouble- but we will get past this- with, as you said, people pulling together. Don't let hope die- it needs to be a life long commitment. We each can serve in our own way. Mentor a child, teach a grand child the 'old fashioned ways ' of honor & integrity. Volunteer, all ages can be involved. And we will feel better for it.
I heard a different message. To me, Obama seemed to be saying that other generations have faced even more dire storms and perils than we face. Our ancestors, despite their perils, overcame them through their resolve, optimism, unity, values and hard work. If they could overcome their perils, we can too by remembering our ancestors old values - That's the message I heard Obama say.
Well Done , Barack. A great speech.
Wonderful speech! I'd rank it right up there with Kennedy, FDR and Lincoln. My office lunch room was filled as we watched the Inauguration: old, young, Caucasian, African-American, Asian, Indian...this is America today...and we have a President who recognizes this, and symbolizes the diversity of America working toward a common goal of betterment for all.
Not close to any of them. A new American revolution? Not really from what I heard Get up, dust ourselves off and get back to business. I was actually surprised at the tenor of "Don't Tread on Me", which did favorably surprise me. And those seven references to God..........I'm surprised to see no criticism of that here. All in all a good speech, showing an appreciation of the current national and international challenges.
great speech,
what the first few minutes at fox news after the speech and got annoyed and changed the channel to local news
i really am sick and tired of them and the negative twist they put on stuff, i didn't want to bummed out, i wanted to be happy for America
which i am now at this point,
i am very glad Obama is the President
Fox was negative? If anything they were quite positive and respectful throughout the entire program. I don't know what "negative twist" you saw. I was looking for something like, oh, I don't know, maybe switching to funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq during the President's remarks. Fox covered the entire proceedings with no negative comments. Oh well.......
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