Inauguration Day

[tomalak301]

I'm sure most of you either saw or heard the Inauguration coverage for President Obama, but I'm a little surprised there hasn't been a thread on it yet. Simple question, what did you think. Today was a historic day, a day to be remembered in history text books for generations to come and I am glad that I am apart of it.

As for the coverage today, maybe I was expecting a lot more. I mean the speech was great, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I was expecting something Kennedy-esque and that might have been expecting too much. I did like what he had to say and I will say while I'll wait a year until I judge him, I give him an A for public speaking. Damn this guy is going to be great to listen to. It's so cool to go from someone who couldn't speak publically if his life depended on it, to probably one of the best speaking presidents ever.

I also got a chuckle from Chief Roberts messing up the oath. I know it's the heat of the moment, but hopefully in 4 years, our Chief Judge of the Supreme Court will know how to read.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I also got a chuckle from Chief Roberts messing up the oath.

How did he do that?

 

[tomalak301]

I also got a chuckle from Chief Roberts messing up the oath.

How did he do that?

The oath is written like this:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Chief Roberts put "faithfully" at the end of the phrase "President of the United States" and that caused President Obama to hesitate. It was quite amusing.

 

[KevasTrader]

Have any of the media hailed Obama's election as the "Re-Birth of a Nation"?

Considering the controversy of D. W. Griffith's film "Birth of a Nation", this would seem an appropriate headline for the occasion.

As you can imagine, their has been a lot of coverage over here in Britain.

I remember the elation of electing Tony Blair and the disappointment of how he turned out in the end.

I truly hope that Obama will be successful and act as a unifying force, not just in America but in the World as a whole.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I took the day off of work (partly so I could stay home and watch this and partly for other reasons) and I watched the coverage on a variety of networks for most of the day. It was interesting and you could almost feel the excitement of the people there through the screen. It had the feel of a graduation ceremony or something similar, but more exciting. I also got a lot of housework done while it was on in the background later in the day, so that was nice. I'm glad I stayed home from work, I enjoyed watching this.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the day off, but I watched the oath and the speech on my tape. I got a kick out of the flub-- a little reminder not to take pomp and circumstance too seriously-- and I found the speech refreshingly optimistic and inspiring.

Congratulations, President Obama, and good luck. You'll need it.

 

[Lindley]

You know how I got the day off?

I just didn't show up for work. I'm sure they figured it out.

I've got the PTO to burn anyway.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Eh, I just started a new job. I can't get away with stuff like that yet. Give me a couple of months or so.

 

[JiNX-01]

I work at a newspaper and fortunately we have TVs around the newsroom.

I loved watching Obama heading out to the portico... He looked so utterly calm and collected... I would HATE to be in a poker game with him!

It was funny when Roberts flubbed the oath and Obama just stood there looking at him...

I loved watching the Obama girls waiting for the ceremony to begin. They are so beautiful and appear to be very nice kids...

And I'm glad they dropped the idea of using his middle initial and said his full name Barack Hussein Obama.

I'm also glad that in his speech he reached out to the Muslims... It's wasn't the best speech he ever gave (that was election night!), but it got his message across.

 

[rtc61]

Obama stumbled on the oath as well -- he didn't wait for Roberts to feed him his entire first line. So they both flubbed. I guess that evens it out.

While I'm one of those who hasn't jumped on the Barack Obama bandwagon, I certainly salute our new President and offer my prayers that he will lead our nation wisely and humbly, that he'll be kept safe, and that our nation will indeed move in the right direction.

 

[John Picard]

A lot of video feeds are blocked where I work, but I was determined to watch this inauguration and found a news feed.

I think the Bush bashers need to STFU, because he greatly assisted Mr Obama during the transition, and it was great the Mr Obama thanked the outgoing President.

The Benediction was lame. Talk about a stretch and completely unoriginal.

Mr Obama's Inaugural Address, IMHO, was great. He was positive, he has laid out that there are challenges ahead, and (hopefully), he'll reign in all of this money we send overseas for everyone else's infrastructure and concentrate on our own. For those who think he's a wuss, I thought it was great that he pointed out that if anyone attacks us, it will be met with force. His address was spirited, and perhaps letting "the youngsters" lead will be a refreshing change. The Baby Boomers have had their chance (both in the White House and the Congress), so the next step is to start cleaning out the House and the Senate of all of the old, dead wood.

I did not vote for Mr Obama, and I think a lot of people have hyped him up too much; however, I am watching his Presidency with cautious optimism. He seems to constantly convey to the American people that *they* need to get into action and fix their community. I hope he pushes that and never relinquishes.

 

[Pingfah]

I just got back, had a spot behind the reflecting pool, not the best view but not the worst by a long shot.

I'm way too knackered to offer any more information than that at this stage however.

 

[TheBrew]

I think the Bush bashers need to STFU, because he greatly assisted Mr Obama during the transition, and it was great the Mr Obama thanked the outgoing President.

This sounds a bit lame, but one of few things I think that Bush has done very well has been the transition. Much better than the embarrassment the previous guy left with the missing 'W's and whatnot.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think the Bush bashers need to STFU, because he greatly assisted Mr Obama during the transition...

Yeah. Bush fucked this country up royally. Oversaw the worst attack on it ever, ran us 10 TRILLION dollars into debt, sent 4000 of our troops to their deaths in a meaningless war, and plunged us into pretty much another great depression.

But, hey! He helped Obama's transition so I guess he's not so bad and I need to STFU.

 

[Pingfah]

What you may not have heard on the news was a couple of hundred thousand people booing when Bush was introduced...

 

[Samurai8472]

I finished my cisco 2 class at 10:50 central time. I viewed the inauguration on a 32 inch flat screen on the wall with others in the hallway.

It was funny because the volume was low and a professor who was like 5'1 tried to reach up to raise the volume because people were going about their day.

Whether it was hand dryers in the bathroom or people stomping the snow out of their shoes she kept raising the volume.

 

[John Picard]

I think the Bush bashers need to STFU, because he greatly assisted Mr Obama during the transition...

Yeah. Bush fucked this country up royally. Oversaw the worst attack on it ever, ran us 10 TRILLION dollars into debt, sent 4000 of our troops to their deaths in a meaningless war, and plunged us into pretty much another great depression.

But, hey! He helped Obama's transition so I guess he's not so bad and I need to STFU.

Rather than espouse your political blathering, perhaps you should STAY ON TOPIC.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

It was a good speech, and in general one of those things that gave me the patriotic warm fuzzies. I appreciated a lot of little touches, including a few semi-subtle slap aways of the Bush Administration way of thinking.

the one thing I'm most excited about though that not many people talk about, is how technological Obama is... at work, i work with websites and online design... at home, I spend my days on the internet, or playing online games or even watching TV on the internet, keep in touch with friends via social networking sites and email, my whole life in some way or another is built around it, so its' exciting to have a president who is 'plugged in'. the "I want to keep my Blackberry" stuff is not only light and amusing, but to me it speaks to something in me. The way they have used the internet in the campaign, a story i read the other day about how Obama staffers were irritated they couldn't use IM for communication in the white house, all sorts of other little stories, it's just exciting from a technology standpoint.

I never really thought about how ancient and archaic Washington is in this respect until I read a few stories about the Obama transition, and it's great to finally have a president who feels like he actually LIVES in MY world. I finally get it, when those people in middle america liked Bush even as he f'd up everything around him, they felt like he was one of them. Obama feels like he's in my world, and i like that.

 

[Brolan]

I think the Bush bashers need to STFU, because he greatly assisted Mr Obama during the transition, and it was great the Mr Obama thanked the outgoing President.

This sounds a bit lame, but one of few things I think that Bush has done very well has been the transition. Much better than the embarrassment the previous guy left with the missing 'W's and whatnot.

You know that missing 'W' stuff is an urban legend, right?

 

[Captain Ice]

^Edit - To Stone_Cold_Sisko...Almost everything that is done in the inauguration is a tradition and has been done for decades. Obama did the right thing by embracing the traditions involved instead of rejecting them. He's embracing the fact that the office, and some of the pomp and circumstance associated with it is bigger than the man who holds the office.

I think the Bush bashers need to STFU, because he greatly assisted Mr Obama during the transition...

Yeah. Bush fucked this country up royally. Oversaw the worst attack on it ever, ran us 10 TRILLION dollars into debt, sent 4000 of our troops to their deaths in a meaningless war, and plunged us into pretty much another great depression.

But, hey! He helped Obama's transition so I guess he's not so bad and I need to STFU.

Being a class act during the transition and going out of his way to make it as smooth as possible is about the only thing Bush has done a decent job of. The local talk show host who was broadcasting the inauguration here reminded us of the state in which Clinton left the White House when he left and how he seemed to try to throw roadblocks out during the transition in 2000.

Guys, both of you need to chill a little bit and breathe. Dial back the hatred a little bit and talk to each other instead of trying to out shout the other.