20 January, 2009 | Leave a Comment
We’ve made it to the last day of the Bush presidency. Great work, George. Seriously. Two unsuccessful wars, thousands of people dead, countless more maimed physically and psychologically, the economy in ruins, human rights set back for decades. How you can sleep at night is a mystery to me, but then I guess those with the kind of narcissism, egomania and thirst for power that’s required to become president are a different species from the rest of us. He’ll probably sleep just fine.
Today is a writing day for me — it’s around noon now and I’ll be writing until midnight or so — so I don’t have much desire to write about politics, nor will I be watching the masturbatory news coverage that will, without a doubt, be yet another shameful example of how freedom of the press is squandered. My work is more important than participating in this spectacle. Those of you Obama fanatics, please enjoy your day. All I can say is that it makes me sad that people look to a politician to change their lives. We the people have the power to change things, yet we cede our power to politicians again and again. My hard-earned tax dollars are going to bail out Citibank, for god’s sake. Where are the riots in the streets? There aren’t any – we’re all just home watching television or lining the streets of Washington, D.C. to scream for Obama.
I hope Obama is a better president than Bush – it’d be difficult to do worse than Bush, but then I guess anything is possible. Regardless, Obama will prop up the system we have now. If he weren’t going to prop up the system, he wouldn’t have been elected. So while Americans pat themselves on the back today about our peaceful transfer of power, power is the operative word here. Today it changes from one CEO to the next. It worries me that so many people are willfully ignorant of this simple fact.
I think “the system” that Obama has been elected to uphold is best represented by this image:
This is the New Capitalist Pyramid. [See the old one here.]
Happy Inauguration Day.
Anglofille said @ 1:13 pm | news & politics | 18 Comments
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Nice to see a realistic opinion after an overdose of the sickly sweet news coverage in in the UK.
Obama is without a doubt a smarter man than Bush, however I don’t see how his skin colour is going to usher revolutionary American politics.
It is of course historic that an African American has become the 44th president, but it won’t mean much if there’s more of the same worse.
And I feel there’ll be more of the same. Obama isn’t really in charge. He’s just a more saleable Pied Piper who will package existing policies with a hug rather than a dunce cap.
I will salute Obama if he does make a difference, but for now I’m celebrating Bush’s departure rather than Obama’s arrival. Otherwise it’s business as usual.
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Caroline Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 12:27 amTwo million people came to the Mall. Putting in so much effort. So much excitement. A bright spot for my hometown, Washington DC, which has been the site of so much unhappiness and bad karma.
Barack Obama has a real grass-roots mandate…not a made-up spin-doctor mandate. His speech was tough, direct and realistic about what America faces. He did not pull off any cheap rock-star or “adore me” moves.
Anglo and Mo, I understand your skepticism and I agree the system is rotten, but I do wish you could see something good here.
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SpliceGirl Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 1:19 amNo rock-star moves? This 4 day orgy of celebrity, music acts, Oprah dinners, and huge price tags is disgusting.
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Ken Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 3:18 amCaroline once again nails it. This was an historic day. And frankly, why not have a little fun today? When there isn’t a place for a little old fashioned hoopla then it truly isn’t the America I know.
Anglofille, I share your distaste for the media. This is why I watched it on C-Span. I took a break after the President’s inaugural address to watch an old “Maverick” rerun. Then I went back for the parade.
In case anyone didn’t notice, Obama didn’t pull any punches in his speech. The next few years are not going to pleasant for any of us. (To parphrase Cluade Raines in Casablanca). And the president made it clear it was up to us to salvage the country.
I have to say I am getting a little tired of, by virtue of my very well thought out decision to vote for Obama, as being dismissed as a “fanatic”. I have spent my adult life among pols, unlike you Anglofille, (don’t know about you, Mo) and I come by my cynicism honestly. Therefore I judge them coldly, and I never, ever, feel sorry or any one of them.
Let’s repeat once again: It’s been clear since the fall of 2007 that whoever the Dems nominated was going to win. The top three candidates were all equally qualified or unqualified, depending upon how you viewed it. Edwards never got traction. Hillary ran an epic bad campaign. Obama outworked her and outthought her–his people knew the delegate selection rules and her people didn’t! She really handed him the nomination.
Anglofille, you are right to be outraged by the special pleading for shareholders. The government should nationalize all these failing banks and just finish the job of wiping the shareholders out. Having taken my own beating, I don’t feel sorry for them either.
I agree with Caroline. People are so scared that only the most partisan GOP nitwits are spouting their usual crap. Most people want this guy to suceed, and the new President told us today it us up to us to help him get it done. At least we’ve got a rational man in office who demands competetence.
Let’s give him a chance. We’ll always have plenty of time for recriminations.
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SpliceGirl Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 5:01 amDear Anglofille,
I think you need to start moderating comments again. Snore.SG
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Ken – I did not say anyone who voted for Obama is a fanatic. I simply referred to Obama fanatics, many of whom aren’t even American and thus cannot vote. If what you read here upsets you, you don’t have to read it. No, I have not spent my life among pols. I don’t see that as a requirement to form a judgment about Obama and the insane, baseless mania that surrounds him. Taking Obama out of the equation, seeing millions of people cheer and scream for one individual makes me extremely uncomfortable. I don’t think that’s healthy and it is not a positive sign for the future. During the 20th century there were moments when people in Europe went crazy for political leaders and the outcome was a disaster.
SG: Lol.
Check this out – too funny!
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SpliceGirl Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 5:08 pm“Some said the doodle was an intense, graphic interpretation of the concept of hope, while others said it was simply a weird looking cat in a space helmet.” Ha ha!
And whatever you do, don’t talk about this line: “…more than 75% of Americans were too chubby to applaud his inauguration speech.” I couldn’t take the retarded and bigoted comments that were sure to show up on your blog.
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Ken Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 6:07 pmJeez, this is a tough room! Anglo: Nothing here upsets me. I had my candidate for governor scream at me for 50 minutes straight onr afternoon. (try it for 10, all out banshee yelling and see how long you can keep that up) before he collapsed exhausted on my couch. Try keeping your composure there!
Anyway, I think all the little girls out there will see former Presidential candidate Hillary, Secretary of State Hillary, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and see these are realitic objectives for themselves. Not to mention Mrs. Obama who, like all wives in a decent marriage stands with her man, same as all husbands. did I forget to metion that she is one tough Chicago lawyer?
I stood by my wife ss I dutifully escorted her to the Grand Jury, and handeled the media scrum afterward for her. I gave the pleasant gay guy from the Big Station a couple of minutes and gave a reporter I had know a long time (decent man) from the 2d station a one minute interview with her. Then I stopped it and we started marching back to my office.
Anyway, I’ve read a lot about how you, Anglofille and others interpret the symbolism of the inauguaral. I don’t knock the discussion, but it doesn’t seem quite relevant with the whole country country going up in smoke.
Too bad nobody seems prepared to discuss what the new president actually said yesterday and what that means for all of us. It was not a cheerfull statement.
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Caroline Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 7:08 pmYes…Interesting contrast between the public atmosphere of joy and excitement and the sombre, dark tone of Obama’s speech. I feel he was very honest in leveling with Americans — telling us that our values have been off track and that we have not protected the things that are really important. Ideas that sound, chere Anglofille, a little like yours.
Today Obama is freezing his employees’ salaries and telling them that they must be open to ethical investigations and the Freedom of Information Act. Something Bush would never do.
Sorry Splice Girl thinks I and others are boring and that our comments should be moderated. That’s up to Anglofille.
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SpliceGirl Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 8:13 pmDo you ever wonder WHY you even mention Obama or American politics? No one actually seems to ever GET THE POINT you’re trying to make.
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Ken Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 8:25 pmAmen Caroline! If you are here in the states, as I am in our tiny state, the President’s speech was very sobering. Nice catch Caroline, to find the common ground with our mutual friend when she doesn’t seem to want to see it herself. You got a future in this racket! Finding common ground is what this business we call democracy is all about.
I never tune out the voice of common sense. And Caroline, you have a ton to spare. You get the joke. And yeah, the fact that I have spent my entire life among actual living and breathing pols does give my opinion a standing and a grounding that those of you who never stuffed and envelope, or never circulated a petition, or made a canvassing call, or a lit drop, or managed a crazy old Jew into the governorship of an American state (the most Catholic state in the country!) a credibility you can never match.
By the way, one of my most prized possessions is a photo of my boss, then the future governor, in a one on one meeting with President John F. Kennedy. We made prints for commericials 20 years ago, and I had an extra plint struck for me. Brucie actually saw it and approved–he thought that it was just fine I was admiring hin AND JFK.
No offense meant to you, Splice Girl. I am sure you are a fine human being. But Moon Unit Zappa milked all the juice out of this act by the middle of the Reagan Administration. Inaugurations, as Caroline, the hometown DC girl can tell you, have been like this forever. This is the first time 2 million people have descended on DC for the party.
They were much more behaved than the folks who came to Andrew Jackson’s inauguaral, on March 4, 1829.
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Ken Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 8:49 pmSpliceGirl: Ok, you asked for it.
1. Stop the fake handwringing about the inaugurtion’s cost. It cost a ton of dough because a couple of million people descended on DC. Ever arranged the logisctics for two million people to piss and shit? Neither have I, but that alone must have been staggering.2. Hillary ran a terrible campaign. She surrounded herself with terrible people. She had no clue what these people were doing. They didn’t even know the delegate selections rules because they thought they were above that. Although I will be the first to say she ended her campaign with dignity and class–she deserved to lose.
3. Obama is a real smart tough guy. Not a fake tough guy–the real deal. I’d like to see you in a game with five card stud poker with him, but I’d fear for the way you’d walk out of there quite dazed by the experience.
4. He’s our president. He’s got a huge mess. We (and by that I mean me, most of family, and about 53% of the rest of the country voted for him) He gave us about as close to no bullshit speech I think and incoming president can give . Give the SOB a chance please. If you are from this country and care about about our collective future, you owe it to us to give him his chance.
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I think the “handwringing” over the cost of the inauguration is perfectly justified. Ken, you told me that my comments regarding sexism weren’t important right now because the whole country is going up in smoke. Yes, it is going up in smoke, which makes these extravagant parties for Obama even more grotesque. He didn’t need all these parties and parades. He could have taken the oath and given his speech in private, with television cameras rolling. That would have been enough.
Obama does have a huge mess on his hands, I agree. I hope he succeeds. Of course I do. But he desperately wanted this job and now he’s got it. So work your magic, Obama. He doesn’t need a pat on the back from me. I don’t have to give him a chance. I don’t have to give him one damn thing besides my tax dollars. That’s enough.
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Ken Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 10:28 pmAnglofille:
With all due respect this argument is at odds with real American history. Presidents taking office at the regular time have always been sworn in in public and given their speeches right after. The parties and all the other hoopla are traditional. And how do you propose to tell 2 million people they can’t come to DC for the inaugural? And do you propose to pretend they aren’t there, with their bowels and bladders on the verge of bursting once they are there. Not to mention keeping things orderly and moving?
I prefer to spend my outage at sexism at the kinds of real life abuse and opression of girls and women (and boys and men for that matter) I’ve really seen for myself. Can’t get worked up about silly commmentary about Mrs. Obama’s clothing choices. She’s an experienced member of the bar who is probably calculating every effect she is making.
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Caroline Says:
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:52 amWe have the world as it is and the way we would like it to be. It is so hard in our lives to reconcile the two, especially for idealistic people. (A sentimental note here: Anglofille, you remind me of my sister. A wonderful woman who wants a fair shake for everyone and fights for it. That’s why I keep coming back.)
I would like for the world to be different. But considering the way the world really is, having Barack Obama leading the nation looks pretty good for now. It could have turned out much worse — John McCain elected and that very attractive Hooters waitress (Ken’s term) around whom courses an ever-rolling stream of violence and lies. Think the commentary on Michelle Obama is trivializing and unpleasant? The coverage for Sarah Palin would have been so much worse: Slavering family photo-ops, condescension, and right-wing “She’s the real America!” nonsense. Coverage of Michelle O has been more neutral. After six months, we’ll see.
Since we are talking about appearances…did anyone notice that Bill Clinton walked through the Inauguration ceremony as though he were being escorted to the gallows? I think in the end he was a liability to his wife. People look at him and sense trouble. Everyone likes Bill, they just don’t want him back in the White House. He projected his desire to return there too nakedly and made HIllary’s aspirations come second to that need. Not very encouraging for a woman/feminist candidate — and something to be assessed in her noble failure to land the presidency.
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Gregory Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 12:31 am“He’ll probably sleep just fine.”
Clinton was too slow and Bush was too quick, I kind of liked it when Clinton cruise missile’d an aspirin factory, in the Sudan, if you are going to send a message, making it understandable is not strictly necessary.
In Bosnia, Clinton had a ’self-help’ message for the Bosnian Muslims, it was hugely embarrassing, it cost a billion to send anti-tank aviation to the region only to move it back, because there were fears the technology might be crap.
My solution for Saddam Hussein was to kill Saddam Hussein,
it was illegal, as a concept, but no more so than the sectarian tableau of his eventual execution.
My advice for Ciscaucasia or Transcaucasia in Asia, Anatolia, or Mesopotamia, is don’t lose,
the USA has a reputation for extravagant dabbling, over a century, which has alienated everybody.
US citizens, intoxicated by their splendid fleets, may find it difficult to accept,
that the USA was widely viewed as a ‘loser’ in the regions I refer to, and long before Vietnam.
The French are also viewed as a bit weak-kneed, it takes visions that are delivered, and which last, to impress.
(the Brits are non-entities)
Let Russia do what Russia does, and if in doubt, don’t do it.
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Ken Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 1:19 amCaroline:
A red neck friend of mine, in a bar in far southern Ohio, on the night Jimmy Carter wraped up the nomination said to me, apropos of nothing: “The World doesn’t want to be saved.” Then his boob friend
Steve, a nice guy actually, but dumb as a box of rocks asked why there was no Confederate Flag over the bar?My redneck friend looks at him and says, because you are in Ohio.
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Ken Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 1:24 amGregory:
I promised Anglofille I would stop the pepper games. But as to Saddam: In the states we call this a lynching. Our little state had a judically aproved lynching in 1845. When the people came to their senses they abolished the death penalty. I think we were the first state to do so, but don’t hold me to that.
If in doubt, don’t do it. Great advice. In the right time and the right place it will win you the Nobel Peace Prize.
