And so…it begins.
11:23: With wind chill, it’s 14 degrees. This is ridiculous. Enough with tradition. Move elections to March and have the inauguration to May. Everyone has to be freezing their áššëš off because 200 years ago George Washington didn’t feel the cold?
11:26: Shots of the outgoing First family, walking away while trucks load up their stuff. May I say on behalf of everyone: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Rest of comments below the cut line.
11:28: Well, at least people aren’t booing Laura Bush or Lynn Cheney.
11:31: Michelle looks a bit underdressed for 14 degrees. I hope she doesn’t regret not wearing a heavier coat.
11:32: They’re running 16 minutes late, according to NBC. So since Bush’s term expires at noon, that could mean that for 16 minutes, from 12 to 12:16…what? Nancy Pelosi is in charge?
11:35: “Hail to the chief, he’s the one we all say hail to.”
11:36: Has Ðìçk Cheney ever looked more like an evil mastermind than when he’s being pushed in a wheelchair? He just needs to be stroking a white cat.
11:37: Kathleen says that if people are booing, he can be told that they’re actually just cheering, “Boooosh!”
11:41: Want to have an idea what the crowd looked like the last night of “The Adventurers Club?” Check out the crowd on TV. I don’t envy them.
11:39: I like the thumbs up from Biden. Maybe we can call him “Joe the Thumber.”
11:41: I like all the introductions. I keep waiting for him to say stuff like, “…and the Rockettes. The Muppets. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra.”
11:43: Barack H. Obama. I was wondering how they were going to finesse that.
11:46: I wonder how many people are actually there on the National Mall. Anyone have a count?
11:48: Oh definitely let us pray.
11:49: Separation of church and state. Don’t make me laugh.
11:53: The song’s name is “America.” Sheesh. Love the hat, though. Only Aretha could make that hat work. Well, her and Eddie Izzard.
11:56: Freedom’s ringing. Could somebody answer it, please? I’m watching this thing.
11:57: It’d be interesting if, out of reflex, the supreme court tried to put Bush in just out of habit.
11:58: So he used Biden’s middle name. Let’s see if he says “Barack Hussein Obama.”
11:59: It’d be cool if he kicked Cheney out of the wheelchair.
12:00: The Freedom Clock just started counting upwards. I wasn’t expecting that for some reason.
12:01: Of course Yo Yo Ma is playing. He played on “The West Wing.”
12:05: He said his middle name. Good.
12:06: I think Obama got distracted by the ambulance for a moment.
12:07: Woo hoo! Party at the Obamas tonight!
12:07: They’re shooting! Quick! Get him–oh It was planned. Never mind.
12:07: I wonder if he’s got a teleprompter or if he’s memorized it.
12:08: We’re at war with FX?
12:10: “Sapping of confidence.” That’s as apt a description I’ve heard of the last eight years.
12:11: I’d love to see them cut to Bush when Obama is talking about how out of whack our priorities have been.
12:13: We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again? There’s a song lyric to live by, from the film “Swing Time.” Perhaps we should also consider making our national anthem a silly old ant because we have High Hopes.
12:16: The country cannot prosper long when it only favors the prosperous. Good line.
12:17: even better, the line about not tossing aside our morals as a country in the interests of safety. I was waiting for him to quote Ben Franklin.
12:19: Which is an eloquent way of saying, “Osama bin Laden, you can suck it.”
12:20: “Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not on what you can destroy.” Well, they haven’t so far, but it would be a nice change of pace.
12:23: That’s the first TV angle I’ve seen where you can clearly see the bullet proof glass around him.
12:24: “The knowledge that God calls upon us to shape an uncertain destiny.” Nice.
12:24: “A man whose father, sixty years ago, might not have been served in local restaurants can now take this oath.” So true. And let us also remember that sixty years ago in many states his father would not have been allowed to marry his mother. Thank God such unreasoning restrictions against marriage don’t exist in…what? Two states? Three?
12:26: Good speech. Not too long. Hit some high points. Nothing that was “Ask not what your country can do for you,” but then JFK did set a pretty high bar.
12:33: This guy is…interesting.
12:35: I wonder if anyone on the dais–the politicians, poets, ministers, anyone–are tempted to say something to the effect of, “We live in dangerous, uncertain times, and it’s THAT GUY’S FAULT RIGHT THERE! BUSH! HE SCREWED IT UP!”
12:40: Play ball!
In the words of the greatest president ever: Okay, what’s next?
PAD
• 
Nirvana is the Sanskrit word for nothing. Therefore, it may very well be fair to refer to faithful Buddhists as non-believers.
It’s going to be fun watching Republicans try to criticize Obama without the media calling them racist.
Nonsense. Dissent id the highest form of patriotism. I’m sure they’ll remember that. 🙂
All of you who voted for Obama remember how happy you were yesterday after he gets done making this a Socialist society and you have no choices or money left.
You DO know that the President can’t just wave his hands and change the makeup of the country, right? If, in 2 years, we have no money or choices a majority of the voters will vote for anyone running on the “let’s undo everything done in the last 2 years” pledge.
The people who swore that they KNEW that Bush would institute a nazi/Christian/creationist regime where all dissent against the inevitable invasion of Iran would be jailed with the full support of the all Republican congress swept into office by the evil machinations of the evil Diebold machines…well, it all looks rather silly now. So too will any hysterical overkill on how “terrible” Obama’s 4 or 8 year term will be.
The chances of Obama making the US a socialist society are about the same as the chances of Bush making the US a theocracy. These possibilities only exist in the minds of paranoid extremists on both sides of the political debate.
The US has solid enough institutions, any President would find difficulty in changing the system too much, either way.
As usual, Rene, you say what I wanted to, only better.
> Are we finally achieving that IDIC ideal –
> infinite diversity in infinite combinations?
> Majel lived to see the election, but how I wish
> Gene had lived to see this day.
I do, too, but we can be consoled in there being no doubt that Gene helped us all to get to this day, and that he had no doubt that this day would eventually come.
There was some of Gene on that podium yesterday, have no doubt of that, too.
> Are we finally achieving that IDIC ideal –
> infinite diversity in infinite combinations?
> Majel lived to see the election, but how I wish
> Gene had lived to see this day.
I do, too, but we can be consoled in there being no doubt that Gene helped us all to get to this day, and that he had no doubt that this day would eventually come.
There was some of Gene on that podium, have no doubt of that, too.
John Lyons: Welcome to the first steps in becoming a Socialist nation
John, if you want to scare people, you’ll need a scarier image than Canada and Sweden.
I don’t know, I couldn’t deal with having that kind of weather in our country. It’s a pretty scary image.
John, if you want to scare people, you’ll need a scarier image than Canada and Sweden.
How about Germany? Some of the toughest unions in the world. ANd there’s all that past history…
Posted by JosephW:
also I would remind everyone that he’s only HALF-black
WOW! That certainly didnt take long to rear its ugly head did it?
Look, as some here know, I’m not what you would call a President Obama fan but……The dude won!
They had this little election, more people voted for Obama than McCain. Get over it man.
“They had this little election, more people voted for Obama than McCain. Get over it man.”
Just like all you sad, pathetic libs got over Bush? Expect Nobama to get as much respect from us as the last President did from you. And if ya don’t like it? Oh well, ya shouldn’t have supported all the Hitler Bush and Kill Bush sloganing! You made your bed…
Oh, and PD? Thanks for making your BS politics clear – I’ve bought my last book by you! Bet I can get a good trade for my Imzadi novels for a good Clancy novel at my local used bookstore.
For those right-wingers who were making such a fuss over President Obama having the oath given to him wrong by Roberts, he actually did a do-over today.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090122/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_oath_do_over
Since it was *Roberts* who gave it wrong to Obama in the first place, they just decided to play it safe.
You don’t hang out here much, do you?
Only a troll or an idiot would call Pat Nolan a lib….
And accepting the ‘Idiot of the Night’ award…
(Rips open envelope and pulls out small card.)
NotMyPres!!! NotMyPres, come on up here and get your trophy.
(NotMyPres tries to stand up but forgets to first remove both feet from his mouth. Audience roars with laughter as he falls flat on his bloated and over sized áššumptions.)
Just like all you sad, pathetic libs got over Bush? Expect Nobama to get as much respect from us as the last President did from you. And if ya don’t like it? Oh well, ya shouldn’t have supported all the Hitler Bush and Kill Bush sloganing! You made your bed…
So you’re determined to be just as pathetic?
In the unlikely event that you’re open to improving yourself, here’s a good link:http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/alevy/2009/01/20/my-to-dont-list-for-the-right/
It’s pretty good advise for people on both sides of the political divide, though it’s likely that that an awful lot of people won’t be smart enough to take it.
(Anyone else see Joe Biden take a shot at John Roberts? Obama did not look pleased. It becomes clearer with every passing day that Biden is going to be comedy gold.)
.
Richard at January 21, 2009 03:27 AM said:
“…but the masses of Kool-Aid drinking worshippers and media droids…”
Yeah, and we are going to petition to change the saying on our currency to say:
“In Obama We Trust.”
.
.
.
Just like all you sad, pathetic libs got over Bush?
Well, considering Bush just left office yesterday, it’s going to take a little time to get over him and the mess he left behind.
But hey, I’d really like to forget all about him. It would be so much easier…
It becomes clearer with every passing day that Biden is going to be comedy gold.
I’d rather it be Biden than Obama.
When it comes to the comedy department, I don’t think Bush would’ve had it nearly as bad had he been the VP to Cheney as President. 🙂
NotMyPres whined:
“Oh, and PD? Thanks for making your BS politics clear -…”
Ðámņ, NMP, you sure are slow on the uptake. PAD’s politics generally have been the same since he started writing comic books and novels. And he hasn’t been shy about stating them.
Check with your local Junior College. They are sure to offer Remedial Reading Comprehension classes.
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Socializm has failed in every country that it has been tried. Canada waiting mounths for simple proceedures. Sweeden tax rates that are approching 70%. Hawaii that started universal heath care for children and in seven months backrupted the state.By the way the current mortgage crisis was started by a goverment loan companys that gave loans to people who could not afford them.
John, your definition of “failed” needs work. The months of wait time in Canada is a heavily exaggerated statistic. That happens sometimes, but it’s not the universal thing some people make it out to be. Yes, Sweden has high taxes, but with their standard of living being as high as it is, it’s obviously not turning all its citizens into vagrants.
Meanwhile, many people in our country don’t just wait months for health care, they never get it at all. They don’t pay as high taxes, but they also don’t get as much pay, since their emplyer is spending so much money on health care.
Here’s a simple fact: the citizens of almost every socialized medicine country rate their health care higher than we rate ours. Yes, there are some specific problems you can cite with their systems, but people can also cite specific problems with the US system. On the whole, those socialized medicine countries do pretty well.
If you want to intelligently debate which system is best, that’s fine. There’s a good argument to be made against socialized medicine. However, as I said before, the thought of a living like the people in most European countries doesn’t particularly frighten me. If you want me to be terrified of Obama, you’ll have to find some other boogeyman.
Posted by: Nick
Just catch up with the modern world. Have the inagugration on the day after the first Tuesday in November. You don’t need to wait for men on horseback to bring the votes across the country any more.
No – but we have to wait for the Supreme Court to make sure that the right candidate (politically speaking) wins, some times…
Posted by: John Lyons
Socializm has failed in every country that it has been tried. Canada waiting mounths for simple proceedures. Sweeden tax rates that are approching 70%. Hawaii that started universal heath care for children and in seven months backrupted the state.By the way the current mortgage crisis was started by a goverment loan companys that gave loans to people who could not afford them.
I might be more impressed with your diatribe here if you (a) used (complete) sentences that actually said what you apparently believe they do – and grammatically correctl7 – and (b) learnt to spell the names of thngs you are denouncing, which makes it more likely that people will believe you’re not just paroting things you heard Sean, Rush and Ann say.
“Socialism [note – “s”, not “z”] has failed in every country in which it has been tried,” for instance. “Canadians having to wait months [not “mounths”] for simple procedures.” (Which, as has been pointed out, is not true in the vast majority of cases – and even those who have to wait are luckier than those here in the US who can’t get those procedures at all.)
“…a government loan companys…” – spelt wrong [“companies”] and ungrammatical. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didn’t actually make loans – it bought paper from other institutions which made the loans … as it was required by law to od; the reason that the loans were sour is that the companies actually writing them were making loans to people who, realistically, has no hope of paying them.
Also, you might want to consider that, in the relevant sentence fragment, you implied that Hawaii is not part of the US.
And it’s “Sweden”, not “Sweeden”, BTW.
Oh – and i take out my private parts and wave them at your aunties.
Now go away or i shall taunt you some more.
Jason M. Bryant wrote:
“On the other hand Richard, you just called a couple million people “Kool-Aid drinking worshippers”, so you don’t exactly have a lot of standing as a level headed guy who only says reasonable things.”
Sorry, but I think my Kool-Aid drinking description was spot on and I’m being very level-headed (and don’t worry, I don’t expect an Obama supporter to agree with me–no one likes their balloon being popped). Lets be honest here… don’t you think the expectations placed on Obama have been a bit too much? Even before Obama won the presidency, or took the oath of office, people (in the millions) were practically making him to be the Second Coming — someone who could cure the country of all its ills overnight and literally save the world single handily (and no, I do not think this is an exaggeration one bit). And do I need to bring up the comparisons to Lincoln that were being made? Again, even before this man has served one day in office, he’s being compared to Lincoln? Oy. Doesn’t this sort of wild and incredibly unrealistic expectations smack you as being a bit out of touch with reality? Again, my Kool-Aid drinking remark is a perfect way to describe the Obama hysteria that has been displayed by the of herd of Obama worshippers. President Obama is a man plain and simple (seems to be a smart one though — yet incredibly inexperienced). He is not some sort of Messiah or a Superman. The quicker this is realized by the loyal Obama fanatics the better off we’ll all be. Lets wait until his 4 years are up (or eight)–heck 100 days–until we start reaping any sort of high praise on the man. Actions speak louder than words and that’s what I am waiting for. Are you? Or you simply contempt to live your life by taking what could very well be just a placebo of hope and change?
Bill Mulligan wrote:
“In fairness, several bloggers said a few harsh things about Michelle Obama’s outfit, “Who shot the drapes?” being the one that sticks in my mind.”
Just as I thought Suasan O’s comments (and just about anything she posts) was petty, I think the criticism of Michelle Obama’s outfits is just as petty.
[Although any criticism of the hat Aretha Franklin was wearing is well deserved! 😉 ]
Actions speak louder than words and that’s what I am waiting for.
Okay, then —
1) He’s already preparing an executive order to close Gitmo.
2) The new whitehouse.gov site is already saying that the full text of every executive order will be present for viewing. I would call that a major change towards transparency.
There are two actions. Any comment?
I don’t deny that a lot of the expectations have been overblown, and I absolutely expect to be disappointed here and there. On the whole, though, he’s starting off pretty well.
TWL
Jonathan (the other one) wrote:
“My wife’s great-grandmother was born a slave. She herself was first called a “ņìggër” at the age of 3, in the great state of Missouri. She was in happy tears from about the beginning of the Oath of Office until shortly after the end of the inaugural speech.”
Do you think she would have had the same reaction had that been a black Republican being sworn in as President?
And somehow I don’t think the media would have had such a massive love-fest or played up the “historic” element as they did with Obama.
“1) He’s already preparing an executive order to close Gitmo.”
I’m waiting to see what happens here, and if he signs the order. Also, what is his plans? Mass release, move to a new facility, what. I’ll give him credit once I see his full plan.
“2) The new whitehouse.gov site is already saying that the full text of every executive order will be present for viewing. I would call that a major change towards transparency.”
It’s a stretch to give him much credit for this. From the tech side I’ll give him credit, because his office is making better use of the whitehouse.gov site. But the presidential executive orders have always been public record, and full text available online. Just not on the whitehouse.gov site (that I know of) except under the news releases when each one was signed.
As a tech worker, the factor of the Obama administration I’m most excited about is his awareness and use of technologies, and embracing of these same technologies.
Lets be honest here… don’t you think the expectations placed on Obama have been a bit too much?
From some quarters, yes. But that’s the same with any president. How many conservatives do you think were out there believing the same kinds of things about Bush, based on their own expectations? After all, he’s still got a 20% approval rating. 😉
And somehow I don’t think the media would have had such a massive love-fest or played up the “historic” element as they did with Obama.
Well, a black Republican has to run. And I mean somebody serious, not Alan Keyes, who the Republicans tried to run in Illinois for the Senate seat that Obama would win.
And as I’ve seen pointed out elsewhere, the big thing here is that Obama was *elected*. Not appointed.
Regardless of the party, this is about as historic as it gets. This country is more than 200 years old, and we’re finally going to be lead by a non-male, non-white.
I don’t see why people are having a fit about this, or trying to down play it. It sounds like some are just upset because it’s not the GOP that gets to take the credit for breaking such barriers, even though they’ve never been in much of a hurry to break down such barriers.
Completely off topic: for the Oscars this year, the good news is that I have no reason to watch after the Best Supporting Actor is announced.
It becomes clearer with every passing day that Biden is going to be comedy gold.
I’d rather it be Biden than Obama.
Exactly. He takes a lot of the heat off. Though I’m not sure that Obama sees this as a big enough plus to make up for the aggravation.
Way too early to make this kind of prediction but I will not be stunned if Carzy Joe decides to spend more time with his family in 2012 and Obama chooses someone more likely to carry on the legacy to be VP in his second term. If Hillary has proven her loyalty…?
Off topic but still great–Best headline-EVER: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1126136/Former-French-President-Chirac-hospitalised-mauling-clinically-depressed-poodle.html?ITO=1490
Former French President Chirac hospitalised after mauling by his clinically depressed poodle
Congratulations on finally winding up with what looks like a genuinely competent Commander-In-Chief. As someone’s pointed out, he’s not wasting time making much-needed changes. He also scored big points as far as I’m concerned by holding that ‘open house’. A remarkable and welcome change after years of secrecy and of the President practically living in a bunker.
Now, if only the near-hysterical adulation practically comparing him to the Second Coming could wind down … Here I thought the bloodless fall of the Soviet Union was a big deal. Heck, even Man walking on another world pales next to this. Sheeesh.
John Lyons: “Socializm (Socialism) has failed in every country that it has been tried. Canada (Canadians) waiting mounths (months) for simple proceedures. (procedures) Sweeden (Sweden’s) tax rates that are approching (approaching) 70%. Hawaii that (where they) started universal heath care for children and in seven months backrupted (bankrupted) the state.By the way the current mortgage crisis was started by a goverment (government) loan companys (companies) that gave loans to people who could not afford them.”
And that’s not even touching your serious punctuation issues.
Beyond the factually challenged nature of of your regurgitated talking points… Wow. We all have the odd typo or brain fart when typing here and there, but… Wow. Your post is proof that (1) Bush’s under funding of No Child Left Behind did some serious damage or that (2) the studies that show that the average Rush, Savage and Hannity listeners are generally less well educated than the average PBS/NPR viewers/listeners are dead on.
As much as you wanted to scare us all with the Obama-as-boogeyman; you’ve just laid out one of the best cases you could for why the past administration and the party that backed it needed to be replaced and the damage they did undone.
Thanks for playing.
~8?)
Richard, yes, I do think expectations are very high and there is potential for disappointment.
However, there’s a gigantic difference between “high expectations” and “kool aid drinking”. One is a reasonable analysis of the facts, the other is an insulting exaggeration. If all you had said was that people are setting themselves up for disappointment, there wouldn’t have been much argument. Notice that nobody is really saying that you’re wrong about those things.
But instead of saying it in a reasonable way, you decided to use insults. So now we’re talking about the insults and nobody is taking your opinion seriously. You sabotaged yourself, buddy.
Richard : “Sorry, but I think my Kool-Aid drinking description was spot on and I’m being very level-headed (and don’t worry, I don’t expect an Obama supporter to agree with me–no one likes their balloon being popped). Lets be honest here… don’t you think the expectations placed on Obama have been a bit too much? Even before Obama won the presidency, or took the oath of office, people (in the millions) were practically making him to be the Second Coming — someone who could cure the country of all its ills overnight and literally save the world single handily (and no, I do not think this is an exaggeration one bit).”
Richard, I’m not an Obama supporter. That’s a fact that’s documented here and at my own blog. I did believe that he was the better of the two choices though. That being said…
You’re wrong and you’re exaggerating greatly. Most of the Obama supporters I know or have come into contact with (and my job and the location of that job had me coming into contact with a lot of them) all hold reasonable expectations for Obama. I know that it would appear that way for the Kool-Aid drinkers who gulp down plenty of Fox News, Rush, Savage and/or Hannity servings a day, but it really is just the vocal minority of Obama supporters who think he’s the second coming.
“And do I need to bring up the comparisons to Lincoln that were being made? Again, even before this man has served one day in office, he’s being compared to Lincoln? Oy. Doesn’t this sort of wild and incredibly unrealistic expectations smack you as being a bit out of touch with reality?”
It’s not particularly off base or head smacking when seen in context. He’s not being compared to Lincoln insofar as what Lincoln accomplished as President. The comparisons have been based on Obama’s stated admiration of Lincoln and the fact that Obama is trying to put together a cabinet based on the Lincoln model. When someone states their intent to model their administrations design on Lincoln’s blueprint; it’s not unrealistic or out of touch with reality to discuss the comparisons to Lincoln’s early days going into his presidency and how he put his administration together VS how Obama is putting his together.
“Again, my Kool-Aid drinking remark is a perfect way to describe the Obama hysteria that has been displayed by the of herd of Obama worshippers. President Obama is a man plain and simple (seems to be a smart one though — yet incredibly inexperienced). He is not some sort of Messiah or a Superman. The quicker this is realized by the loyal Obama fanatics the better off we’ll all be.”
And, again, you’re totally off the plank here. A vocal minority of Obama supporters are like that, but the majority are not. The Kool-Aid drinkers in this equation are they who get told by Fox and a herd of conservative talkers that everyone is “worshipping the Messiah” while playing the same ten sound clips of fringe Obama supporters over and over again, swallowing the Kool-Aid happily and then going out and regurgitating the “Messiah” talking point as if it were gospel.
The Right has its equivalent stupidity as well. Bush wasn’t even in office a day when a large number of the conservative talkers who have spent careers making Reaganism a borderline religion started talking about how W. was the second coming of Reagan or even greater than Reagan. Hëll, the talking point de jour the day after Palin gave her speech at the convention was that she was “Reagan-like” and that she was the second coming of Reagan. There were also conservative editorialists writing about her appeal to the base in almost softcore pørņ styles. The difference here that separates the politically active from the Kool-Aid drinkers on both sides is that the politically active just rolled their eyes at the vocal minority and fringe while the Kool-Aid drinkers paint the entire other side with the brush of that side’s vocal minority and fringe. Kind of like you’re doing here.
Is that Kool-Aid tasty, Richard?
“Lets wait until his 4 years are up (or eight)–heck 100 days–until we start reaping any sort of high praise on the man. Actions speak louder than words and that’s what I am waiting for. Are you? Or you simply contempt to live your life by taking what could very well be just a placebo of hope and change?”
Everyone is waiting to see what he does. Every news story I’ve seen that’s not slanted towards making Obama’s supporters look like religious fanatics worshipping at the alter of Obama shows people who are extraordinarily happy that Bush is gone and that Obama is in office, but notes that a whole lot of the people on the Left are crossing their fingers and hoping that he doesn’t screw this up. Besides, what you see through your venom tinted glasses and six Kool-Aid lunches as “a placebo of hope and change” could also be called optimism. Seriously, do you really expect anyone who voted for him to start walking around right now and talk about all the things that Obama is going to screw up and fail at? No, they’re going to talk about all the things they hope that he does and does well. That’s human nature and pretty much how everyone from both parties have acted for as long as I can remember.
But, obviously, the Kool-Aid drinkers on the Right will see every Obama supporter as blindly worshipping their Messiah because that Kool-Aid helps to mask the taste of the sour grapes.
Still, you have to admit that if it were conservatives talking about God as much as the…let’s say, more enthusiastic Obama supporters are…this would almost surely be grounds for considerable kvetching about our decent into a theocracy and “these people are sacrey!” and “I fear for __________” etc etc.
I mean, it’s spooky when the kids in Jesus Camp are filmed praying for God and Bush as though the two spend regular time having coffee and croissants but I don’t recall anyone selling T-shirts with Bush as Christ or the lamb of God holding a Bush flag, or people unashamedly (and without any hint of snark from the interviewer) talking about how when Bush was speaking they heard God’s voice. And any celebrity who said anything like what Spike lee did (God caused the markets to crash so that Obama would win) would have been quite justifiably mocked to within an inch of his life.
But it’s also true that these represent a small minoruty of obama supporters and taking a tiny group and using it to describe a much larger, saner one is cheap politics. just because you may feel it was done to you doesn’t make it any less cheap. If someone is foolish enough to come here and start blathering about how they think Obama has a direct line to God and can still the waters with a wave of his mighty hand, well, give him or her their lumps. But don’t act like this is something the rest of us have to defend or apologize for. Any candidate will have a share of kooks on their side. It’s a logical fallacy to make too much of it.
It is fair though to be a bit alarmed when you see members of the news media swooning over a candidate. these are the people you want to have reporting on any malfeasance on the part of politicians, which is hard to do when you are on the record as having leg tingles when they speak. Acolytes make poor watchmen. fortunately, the days where the big guns in media could make or break a story by pushing or ignoring it are rapidly ending.
What a silly thing to say. Hëll, yes.
Ever TALK to any black people?
“these people are sacrey!” Huh. I meant scary, though sacrey would work if there were such a word to combine sacred and scary to describe people who see religious connotations in burned tortillas, cheese sandwiches and politicians.
(pretty sure minoruty isn’t a real word either)
Jerry, I love ya, man, but give me the name of even 1 “conservative talker” who “started talking about how W. was the second coming of Reagan or even greater than Reagan.” before Bush had not even finished his first day. You can’t fight goofy exaggerations with goofy exaggerations.
Can we stop with the Kool-Aid metaphors please? It’s getting way overused, plus probably half the people using it think it’s a Jim Jones reference, which it’s not.
PAD
plus probably half the people using it think it’s a Jim Jones reference, which it’s not.
Wait, you mean Wikipedia is wrong about the origin of this phrase? 🙂
Can we stop with the Kool-Aid metaphors please? It’s getting way overused, plus probably half the people using it think it’s a Jim Jones reference, which it’s not.
It isn’t? I always thought it was. Where did it come from?
Wikipedia lists the Jim Jones massacre as the source, but it also gives another incident it can refer to. The other is a group of people who (before Jonestown) gave people LSD in kool-aid as a kind of test to see if they accepted the acid culture. Thus the phrase, “the acid test,” which was neat to learn since I didn’t know where that expression came from before today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool-Aid_drinker#.22Drinking_the_Kool-Aid.22
I looked around the internet a little, but I didn’t find anything else that could verify which one is the direct source of the phrase.
But PAD’s main point is what’s important. Where ever the phrase is from, it’s overused.
Now I’d always thought that “acid test” refered to the way they would drop nitric acid on gold to see if it was really gold (Gold is remarkably stable and resistant to corrosion. That’s why it’s gold!). I’d be surprised if the drug reference was the first time the phrase was used but it wouldn’t be the first time I was surprised by the origins of a common phrase.
I don’t know about pre-Jonestown references to Kool-aid in this manner, but the acid test is something entirely different and much older. It comes from testing purported gold for purity – with acid.
I refer people wondering about the origins of “drinking the Kool-Aid” to the Tom Wolfe book, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.”
And Jim Jones’ people didn’t even drink Kool-Aid.
PAD
PAD: I refer people wondering about the origins of “drinking the Kool-Aid” to the Tom Wolfe book, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.”
Are we done talking about politics? Because I wouldn’t mind continuing the conversation on word entomology (I’ve got a great story about the root of the phrase, “He’s in the tank for so-an-so”), but I don’t want to throw the conversation off topic.
Has the thread run it’s course on the original topic, or should we get back to politics?
Or just let me know if anyone doesn’t *want* to talk about phrase entomology. It might not be as fascinating as I think it is.
Holy crap:
I guess the consideration and deference from someone building a team of rivals only extends as far as you were ever considered a rival in the first place.
I’m all for entomology (and eager to hear the “in the tank” origin) but one last political point; I think some of what the over the top Obama love is about comes from people who are either just getting political for the first time or just haven’t been paying attention.
Example- Nicholas Kristof in the times writes: President Obama’s inclusiveness started with his celebration of America as a patchwork of “Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers.” If you know of any other sitting president who has dared to embrace atheists (Thomas Jefferson did, but not while in office), post the information on my blog, nytimes.com/ontheground.
I didn’t think his statement was all that big a deal, it seemed to me that other presidents had said something similar while in office and sure enough, here’s GW Bush at the national Prayer Breakfast- In our country, we recognize our fellow citizens are free to profess any faith they choose, or no faith at all. You’re equally American if you’re a Hebrew, a Jew, or a Christian, or a Muslim. You’re equally American if you choose not to have faith.
I’m pretty sure Clinton must’ve said something about non-believers as well.
(Though in the comments I see some atheists are mad about the “non-believer” label–“I believe in LOTS of stuff! That has negative connotations! Neemy weemy meemy!” (simulated whining sound) So, once again, you can’t say anything without making someone feel like a victim)
Second and a bit more puzzling, Garrison Keillor, who you’d think would no better, calls Obama our first genuine author-president.
Well, no. Even assuming the “genuine” is there to eliminate JFK’s ghostwritten ,i>Profiles in Courage, you’d have to forget Jefferson, Hoover and Teddy Roosevelt, who wrote extensively before being elected, and the many others who wrote afterwards.
It’s not as though Obama isn’t genuinely breaking new ground so why make stuff up?
Because I wouldn’t mind continuing the conversation on word entomology
Ironically, “entomology” is not the word you mean. 🙂
(Though I do love finding out about the origins of phrases. I only recently learned that “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey” had some real non-metaphorical meaning at one time.)
And Bill, while Obama may not have been the only president to mention atheists in any light other than us being immoral bášŧárdš, putting atheists on equal footing with major religions in an inaugural address is, to this atheist at least, a Big Deal.
I also like the fact that when he talks about diversity, “gay or straight” is a ubiquitous phrase.
You’re right, though, that a lot of the passion is from people who are involved for the first time, a number of my students among them. I made it a point shortly after the election to talk to the ardent McCain supporters and urge them not to turn their back on the process. “I remember the first election where I was able to vote. I walked precincts for a candidate named Michael Dukakis. Half of you are probably saying, ‘who the hëll is Michael Dukakis?’ which should give you a good idea about how that campaign turned out…”
TWL
Bill Mulligan: (Though in the comments I see some atheists are mad about the “non-believer” label–“I believe in LOTS of stuff! That has negative connotations! Neemy weemy meemy!” (simulated whining sound) So, once again, you can’t say anything without making someone feel like a victim)
I initially had that same whiney reaction to “non-believer” when I heard it, but I knew what he meant. There is a lot of miscommunication between people of faith and atheists/agnostics, so the problem is that there needs to be better ways of talking about this stuff. I get why he’d say it that way and I’m okay with it. Mainly I was just happy that he made the gesture at all.
I was even more happy that he mentioned Muslims, actually. With all the people in this country conflating the word ‘Muslim’ with ‘terrorist’, I was glad he took the opportunity to mention them specifically in an inclusionist way.
By “our,” maybe Keillor was referring to yours, mine, and his.
By “our,” maybe Keillor was referring to yours, mine, and his.
Possibly, but then he was forgetting Woodrow Wilson.
Keillor could have been referring to Obama entering office only with author-cred. I’ve been referring to Obama as a smart man who doesn’t owe his success to any particular special interest. “Genuine author-president” is shorter. That’s why he has the radio show.
Soooo…you think Keillor thinks that Obama’s only credit is that he’s an author? I don’t see how, being as he’s a senator and all. And I don’t see how only having author on one’s resume would be a good thing. But you could be right, I’m not familiar with the way Mr Keillor thinks.
To those familiar with his show, it’s no surprise referring to Obama as only bringing his author-cred into the white house — “genuine author-president” — is high praise from Keillor. Lincoln entered office with a term in the House and a lost senate-bid, and people praise him by reminding us he was born in a log cabin. And it’s perfectly reasonable for Keillor to refer to Obama in this manner if that’s what he’s doing.
In the arts and sciences and athletics, training involves making the most complex-maneuvers second nature to the practitioners’ intuitions. In the sciences and athletes, the highest-levels of exchange take place between masters. However, in the arts, the highest-levels of exchange must include the interaction between the master and the lay-person, the outsider, the person with no practice in the art in question. If Keillor is placing his faith in artistic mastery, good for him.