Inaguration
Jan. 20th, 2009 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walbournI did not plan to watch the inauguration live. I can't recall every having watched one live in my entire life. I got up to watch a few shuttle launches when I was younger, but really with a TiVO it can watch it for me. So I got up and started to watch a bit of it thinking I'd fast-forward through it. I ended up watching the entire speech, and I'm glad I did.
The past eight years I've been diving for the remote to mute or fast-forward any time Bush Jr. came on TV. I'd sometimes watch Prime Minister's questions with Tony Blair just to hear someone talking about the Iraq war and "War on Terror" articulately instead of like a monkey with a sock stuffed in its mouth. I've never been a fan of the Bush dynasty. They 'qualified' for the President by sitting on their hands doing absolutely nothing as Governor of Texas, an executive position that involves not using their only two governmental powers as Republican Governors: clemency, calling special sessions of the already part-time legislature. Oh, and they aren't even Texan! The family spends their time hanging out in Kennebunkport, Maine for a reason. Bush Jr. is probably more Texan than anyone else in his family, mostly because he spends all his time cutting brush in 100+ degree weather. Bush Jr has failed at every job he's ever had, propelled mostly by his need to live up to Daddy's legacy, and he's made a mess of things in the process. As Jon Stewart has said, "I think he's drinking again". At least he had the decency to make it easier for Obama's team to start picking up the pieces.
Needless to say, I was glad to see the helicopter leave for Andrew's AFB. Mostly I'm happy to see the back-sides of the last of the Nixon fossils who felt the need to screw up the 43rd President's administration like they did the 37th. Bush did manage to be a "Uniter" in the end, making the contrast with Obama so sharp that the entire world celebrated today's US Inauguration. They mentioned that Cheny was in a wheelchair because he hurt his back packing up to move out. My thought was perhaps it was from trying to move all those bodies from the undisclosed location he spent the last seven years. Realistically he's packing up all his records he refuses to give to the national archives based to his status as Magic Fairy Shadow President/Dark Prince.
I don't think Obama is going to make everyone happy. My personal belief is that if he does his job correctly, Democrats and Republicans will be generally unhappy. The positions staked out by both political parties have been too polarizing, and the centrist way is focused on getting things done not making people happy. At least with Obama, I feel like we actually have a leader: someone who can communicate and inspire. Granted Regan could give a speech, but he was more often wandering off into memories of movies he was in during the 50s instead of reality. Clinton was charming but always felt a bit like a used car salesmen.
My hope is that Obama's election will restore some sanity to the political process. If the Congress and Senate will actually step up and do their jobs addressing major issues of the day, perhaps we won't need to wait for the "activist" Judiciary to muddle through and the Executive Branch having to usurp power to take up the slack.
The past eight years I've been diving for the remote to mute or fast-forward any time Bush Jr. came on TV. I'd sometimes watch Prime Minister's questions with Tony Blair just to hear someone talking about the Iraq war and "War on Terror" articulately instead of like a monkey with a sock stuffed in its mouth. I've never been a fan of the Bush dynasty. They 'qualified' for the President by sitting on their hands doing absolutely nothing as Governor of Texas, an executive position that involves not using their only two governmental powers as Republican Governors: clemency, calling special sessions of the already part-time legislature. Oh, and they aren't even Texan! The family spends their time hanging out in Kennebunkport, Maine for a reason. Bush Jr. is probably more Texan than anyone else in his family, mostly because he spends all his time cutting brush in 100+ degree weather. Bush Jr has failed at every job he's ever had, propelled mostly by his need to live up to Daddy's legacy, and he's made a mess of things in the process. As Jon Stewart has said, "I think he's drinking again". At least he had the decency to make it easier for Obama's team to start picking up the pieces.
Needless to say, I was glad to see the helicopter leave for Andrew's AFB. Mostly I'm happy to see the back-sides of the last of the Nixon fossils who felt the need to screw up the 43rd President's administration like they did the 37th. Bush did manage to be a "Uniter" in the end, making the contrast with Obama so sharp that the entire world celebrated today's US Inauguration. They mentioned that Cheny was in a wheelchair because he hurt his back packing up to move out. My thought was perhaps it was from trying to move all those bodies from the undisclosed location he spent the last seven years. Realistically he's packing up all his records he refuses to give to the national archives based to his status as Magic Fairy Shadow President/Dark Prince.
I don't think Obama is going to make everyone happy. My personal belief is that if he does his job correctly, Democrats and Republicans will be generally unhappy. The positions staked out by both political parties have been too polarizing, and the centrist way is focused on getting things done not making people happy. At least with Obama, I feel like we actually have a leader: someone who can communicate and inspire. Granted Regan could give a speech, but he was more often wandering off into memories of movies he was in during the 50s instead of reality. Clinton was charming but always felt a bit like a used car salesmen.
My hope is that Obama's election will restore some sanity to the political process. If the Congress and Senate will actually step up and do their jobs addressing major issues of the day, perhaps we won't need to wait for the "activist" Judiciary to muddle through and the Executive Branch having to usurp power to take up the slack.
