(Long Island, NY) President Obama, you won’t have time to read this. Now that you are officially sworn in, you’ve got your work cut out for you. The 43rd President really did a number on the Great Experiment, didn’t he? Just look at the state of this country; it resembles a suburban kitchen after an army of three-year-olds finished playing chef in it. Every pot and pan has been pulled from the cupboards, the place is strewn with chocolate syrup, flour, and peanut butter. Two broken glasses, some dried blood, and an overturned trash can later, it’s only a matter of time before Mom is screaming her head off in complete frustration.
That’s a pretty decent analogy for the economy and the country in general at present, wouldn’t you say?
The swearing-in was probably some kind of omen. That brief stumble over the opener certainly wasn’t anything like one of George W. Bush’s ham-handed word salads, but it had to be a bit embarrassing up there, knowing that the entire country was looking at you while trying to get it over with and get on with the most important speech of a generation. Sure, the swearing-in was a bit rough. But once you started to speak, who could focus on something so small?
President Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States and delivers the inaugural address on January 20, 2009.
When you started that speech, were you thinking about the fact that this video will be replayed again and again for the next 100 years? Probably not. But when you finished, surely you knew you’d stepped beside John F. Kennedy in the great march of American politics. Of all the men and women who have come after, you’re the only one who could manage that feat. How does THAT feel?
“My fellow citizens, I stand here today humbled…”
Brilliant. You were courteous to Bush, in spite of his utter refusal to do any decent thing at all in his entire administration except perhaps refuse to give a couple of controversial pardons that would have landed him in even more hot water. Nice one, President Obama. You have restored honor to the office of the President of the United States.
“Our healthcare is too costly, our schools fail too many.”
Indeed. Let’s not forget that Hillary tried to tilt her lance at healthcare once before…we’re hoping you can do better. The naysayers are many, but we’re hoping your team will kick them back into touch, as the Scots like to say.
“Know this America, (the challenges) will be met.”
“On this day we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances…”
“We remain a young nation.”
FINALLY, someone who gets it. We don’t have the sense of history to understand our past mistakes. It seems you bring that sense of history to the White House. Let’s end the mistakes of Nixon, Regan, Clinton, Bush I and Bush II. It’s time for a new approach. The Romans hung themselves on the same hook we’ve been trying to impale ourselves on for the past 30-plus years. It’s time to look to something new. Not the Christian Manifest Destiny crap Regan, Bush I and Bush II clung to so dearly. It’s time for a President who knows the Bible isn’t the place to look for public policy.How about representing the PEOPLE for a change instead of Mister God? We get the impression from your inaugural speech that you might actually be interested in We The People instead of the dusty old precepts of a barely readable book of stories written by committee a couple of miliennia ago.
In your inaugural speech you mentioned the nation picking ourselves up and dusting off, beginning again. Not even after 9/11 did we hear people speaking like this. It’s about time.
“There are some who question the scale of our ambitions.”
Oh, indeed. As you said, they have indeed forgotten what the nation has already done. After all, it was the American defense industry which created what eventually mutated into Internet. It was two Americans who spearheaded flight and pushed it to the forefront. It was an American company–Enron–which toppled the first dominos which helped create the mess we’re in now. It was a team of American military scientists who created the Atomic bomb. What I’m trying to say here is that we’ve got both good and bad in this legacy of ours.
“We are ready to lead once more!”
“People will judge you on what you build, not what you destroy.” Are you listening, Mister 43rd President?
Ten minutes and ten seconds later, the inaugural speech of the 44th President was over. History has been made, but more importantly–the future beckons. In the immortal words of Chubby Checker, “Let’s TWIST again!” I’m sure you know what I mean. This rambling screen has been written all during the speech, so forgive me if it’s a bit disjointed. An American poet lady is warbling on the TV now…but I’m more interested in the first of your first 100 days. Welcome to the White House, Barack Obama. Don’t stop for a sandwich, there are two wars on and every corporation in the land is waiting to get a piece of that bailout money.
