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Tag: politics

  • Obama’s Inauguration

    Three Cheers!

    I enjoyed the afternoon but was a little disappointed with Obama’s speech. I thought he said all the right things. I liked it. But I don’t think, unlike his race speech, that this was a speech for the ages. Oh well.

    [update: John Dickerson at Slate.com agrees with me.]

    I wonder when right-wing conspiracy theorists will question Obama’s legitimacy (since I guess the supposed no-birth-certificate thing is played out) because, thanks to the Chief Justice’s blunder, Obama never actually did say the oath of office with the correct words in order: “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.” But it was pretty clear from watching that Obama knew the words and was giving Roberts time to correct himself.

    [update: Here’s the Times story on the matter]

    But don’t worry; Obama is still President!

    My favorite moments?

    Obama tacking on “non-believers” after the list of religions that together make up America.

    Obama saying, “We will restore science to its rightful place.” It’s nice to move on from the Scopes Trial of 1926. It’s a shame that in 2009 we still have to.

    But really, I loved Joseph Lowery ending it all on a lighter note with a retro 1960’s cadence:

    “We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.” Amen.

    (McCain supporters can click here.)

  • Inauguration Day

    Here’s to the peaceful transition of power and a belated thanks to George Washington. Washington started a great tradition more than 200 years ago: he voluntarily stepping down from power rather than become a power-hungry dictator. Thanks, George.

    Here’s just a sampling of reports from elsewhere. One from Kenya and another from Turkey.

  • OBAMA!

    OBAMA!

    I won’t rub it in to all my Republican friends, but the real America has spoken (and just once, for the record, I did tell you so).

    While it may not be related to the Cubs, yet again, not winning the World Series, it does give me very good reason to fly the Cubs ‘W’ flag of victory from my front porch. Here’s to America and what is for very good reason, the envy of much of the world: a democratic and peaceful transition of power.

    And if you’re still feeling shitty (I remember how I felt 4 and 8 years ago), there’s always The Onion and this Onionstory,too.

  • I was talking to Charles Rangel

    I was. Last night. On the night train coming back from Boston. I met Charles Rangel in the cafe car. I was chatting with the cafe man and drinking a beer.

    Here is one of the most powerful men in America. Taking the night train. Tired. No entourage. Willing to talk. We did. He knew my father a little bit. They were both proud draftees. Rangel was sad to hear of my father’s death. “But he was young… well, younger than me!”

    “I know,” I said as I gripped his arm sympathetically.

    Rangel got a cheeseburger. I offered to pay for it. I insisted because I knew my father would have loved any story that involved me paying for the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s cheeseburger.

    So there we are, Charles and I, each trying to get the cafe man to take our money. Because I already had an in with the cafe man, I won (it helped, as I later found out, that the cafe man didn’t know who Rangel was). Rangel thanked me, said a few nice things, and returned to his seat.

    At Penn Station I watched Rangel get off the train. There he was, gentleman, congressman, 78-years-old, carrying his own bags. I offered to carry them for him. But he politely declined. I figure in this day and age you could get in trouble for grabbing a congressman’s suitcase, so all I could do was offer again. He declined again. We went up the escalator and said goodbye. I told him to keep up his good work. There he went, Charles Rangel, walking off alone into the night at 3am.

    It made me proud to be an American.

    It bothers me when people (politicians included) blame politicians and “Washington” for our nation’s woes. Or when politicians encourage cynicism and promote the idea that running our country doesn’t take any special skill set or intelligence.

    Our system ain’t perfect, but it’s the best we got. And if we throw all the experienced bums out, we’ll have mediocre bums leading a mediocre country. Churchill said democracy is the worst system except all other. And I wouldn’t swap it for any other system in the world.

    Two weeks ago I met Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes. He, a good and honorable man, told me not to be too cynical about politics. I’ll try not to be.

  • Republican fiscal mismanagement

    You mean ending government regulation, raising spending, cutting taxes, and helping the rich doesn’t make the economy strong? Wow. Who would have thought?

    You do realize that $700 billion is more than $2,000 for every man woman and child in the United States. That is, as they say, “real money.”

    I’m no economist. And I don’t understand what’s really going on any better than you do. But something is very obvious: companies should not be allowed to get too big to fail. Duh! That’s why we regulate.

    And while I generally prefer my socialism for the poor and working class rather than the rich, I’d feel better if we could get as much of this $700 billion as possible to come from people who profited from this mess.

    Now I wonder how Republicans are going to blame Democrats for all this. Oh, that’s right. Now we have to rise “above politics.” Easy to say when you’re the ones that f*cked everything up. Fine mess you rich bastards have gotten us into. If only capital gain taxes were lower, I’m sure everything would be better.

    Of course a lot of Republicans are also pissed because they don’t like Republican fiscal mismanagement either. Why, I’m old enough to remember when fiscal mismanagement was a Democratic issue. Those were the days!

    Meanwhile, poor Americans are being kicked out of their crappy formaldehyde-infested trailers in New Orleans. Years after the flood. It’s just not right. It just don’t make sense.

  • For the record…

    John McCain will lose. Obama will win. Sarah Palin is a horrible choice for running mate. She is not fit to be president. On the plus side I’m sure she knows how many homes she has and that rich is a less than $5 million a year.

    Is it too much to ask for candidates to respect the responsibilities of vice president by actually picking people who are smarter and moreexperienced than average? No doubt, unlike McCain, she is “real.” Keep on keeping it real, sister!

    And by the way, if your chief qualifications for office are moral righteousness and being a good mom (and being governor of state with a huge problem of sexual abuse, particularly incestuous sexual abuse), your teenage kid getting knocked up is kind of an issue. I’m not opposed to 17-year-olds having consensual sex (and they wouldn’t stop, even if I were). I just don’t want them having kids. Not in Baltimore. Not in Alaska.