Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Quickie Inauguration Thoughts
Why, no, I'm not working today. How'd you guess?
Obama the Great Orator fumbled the hell out of his swearing in recitation. [Yes, yes, it wasn't his fault.] How soon before the fanatical right-wing blogosphere posits that since Obama didn't exactly repeat the oath of office word for word, he should lose the presidency by DQ? Keep fighting the good fight, ya kooks.
Lots of on-location shots from around the country, including Times Square, Los Angeles and Chicago. There were also images from Harlem and Memphis. A few questions: (1) Didn't Harlem deservedly lose their unofficial title as the capital of Black America 20 years ago? (2) Or was it when Booker T "relocated" to Houston? (3) Memphis? Over Detroit? Over Atlanta? I trust Ebony Magazine is investigating this gross oversight.
Hard to believe that poet Elizabeth Alexander had to follow Obama's speech. The shots of the crowd dispersing at the mall during the poem didn't help the imagery of the moment, nor did the awkward pause between the end of Alexander's poem and the crowd's realization that it was time to applaud.
What was with all the "peaceful transfer of power" comments from the media? Has there ever been any other kind in American presidential history?
Aretha Franklin could roll out of bed and hit every note before brushing her teeth. Here's hoping, before she dies, she's invited back to sing at another inauguration. Or, at least, another Wrestlemania.
Hey, it's the evolution of Dianne Feinstein!
Mrs. Bootleg and I vehemently disagree on Michelle Obama's guacamole ensemble. The wife thinks she pulled it off, I…respectfully disagree.
Jill Biden's boots, on the other hand…
"What was with all the "peaceful transfer of power" comments from the media? Has there ever been any other kind in American presidential history?"
ReplyDeleteHonestly! The newsfolk kept trying to give GWB credit for handing over the reins of the government willingly. Like, thanks for not staging a coup and barricading yourself inside the oval office? Uh...good job?
You've missed a fun little day here at the unnamed defense contractor, Cam. LOTS of unsolicited commentary from the vast conservative majority.
ReplyDelete"Can you believe how much money they're spending even though we're in a recession?"
Peaceful transfer of power: I saw it as the media's last final jabs at Bush before he left office. A hated president ceding power to a well-liked successor without bloodshed.
ReplyDeleteCost: I kind of agree that it was too much money to spend on an inauguration... but I thought that when they spent $150M on W's second inauguration, too.
Oath: The twentieth amendment actually addresses the instance in which the new president can't take the oath of office. Obama's term, even if he hadn't recited the oath of office, started at noon yesterday: Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January [...] of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Yeah, the oath/20th amendment thing was constantly scrawled on the bottom of CNN's screen yesterday. I was mostly tweaking all the hubbub over the "Obama's birth certificate non-story", among other non-stories from the election...
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's my sincere hope that someone else saw/heard Quincy Jones' embarrassing interview on CNN where he went all Joe Namath/Suzy Kolber on that Soledad chick from CNN.
Ah, I didn't even know it had turned in to a story at all. If you can imagine, I'm hiding in the basement clinging to my guns and religion.
ReplyDeletePfft. You can't fool me, Tom. That was Pennsylvania our Messiah was referring to with that guns n' religion crack.
ReplyDeleteYou're New York - and currently in mourning over the end of Caroline Kennedy's senate bid. Stiff upper lip, Tom. Stiff upper lip.