Right now, ABC is taking the Soviet perspective on the inauguration--focusing on the big Cadillac limos, the cops, and security; showing Senators, Supreme Court Justices, and Cabinet designees. George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson are talking gibberish in low, serious tones.
There's Susan Rice (UN Ambassador) and Carol Browner (global warming czar).
Hey, there's Eric Holder, the Attorney General designate who said that waterboarding is torture.
But I don't care about that. ABC would do a lot better if they did face in the crowd interviews.
"The elites they will always be with us"--but elites didn't make it possible for a black guy to be elected president and elites didn't make Barack Obama's campaign.
"There's Al and Tipper Gore."
The "pageantry" might look different to people who are there, but the whole thing looks like a march of death to me.
11:14, I wonder what some of the African-American blogs are saying.
Here's brotherpeacemaker at Afro-Spear.wordpress.com.
A lot of people like to talk in the most simplistic of terms that Mr. Obama’s election is now an indication that racism is over and that the people in the black community no longer have an excuse for the under achievement that permeates the black community relative to other communities. But then people turn around and see Mr. Obama as the rare exception instead of the general rule of black people. He speaks so well. Black people are indeed inferior. It’s just that every now and then you will find that rare black person that can transcend his or her inherent black inferiorities.
Bottom line is that from Dr. King’s perspective, it wasn’t about the individual. It wasn’t about the achievements of a few black people. It was about the black community. We can celebrate the fact that Mr. Obama is the latest member of an extremely small, elite fraternity. We can support him in his endeavors as he tries to bring something that resembles respectable leadership back to the oval office.
The black community should be very proud of this moment.
More elites are being officially introduced to the inauguration crowd. A few minutes ago, it was Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, now Bill and Hillary.
None of elites has a hat on--hopefully there won't be any William Henry Harrison cases of somebody dying because they didn't dress for inaugural cold.
Oops. Carl Gibson from MSPR wanted to interview me. I told him that Obama has about six years to turn things around. That's a lot more optimistic and less Republican-fearing than most observers. But I'm sure I'm right. Reagan and George H. W. Bush got 11 years. Obama will get at least half that.
A student sitting next to me compared the procession to The Green Mile--Obama's last steps.
Brotherpeacemker is right about Obama's election not meaning the end of racism in the United States. But it is a sign that racism is weakening on the very important surface of electoral politics.
It's a huge deal.
11:39. There's Obama moving out of the capital toward the inauguration stand, the first black guy to be sworn in as president. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Diane Feinstein were in front of him and two black cops were escorting them.
Forty years ago, there were almost no black public officials, almost no black cops in that kind of setting, and no powerful women.
Excellent.
Obama is coming out. He gives a hug to John Lewis as an offical passing of the torch from the Civil Rights generation to the "Making Good on Civil Rights" President.
Obama's smarter than ABC News and he's working both the high ranking and the ordinary parts of the crowd.
Another fifteen minutes of speeches before the swearing in.
Look at the crowd--that's more powerful than anything Diane Feinstein is saying. Ooh. Feinstein is making an inadvertent reference to Malcolm X's famous "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech.
Here comes Rick Warren--now mostly known as homophobe, calling for a "new birth of clarity." That's a weak kind of gruel. Oh man, what was Warren doing in pronouncing the name of Obama's kids--MELIA and SASHA!
That got a big laugh from the crowd here
That's a real hat that Aretha Franklin is wearing--singing My Country Tis of Thee.
Joe Biden is taking the oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States." Hopefully, he'll do a better job of that than "Constitution-Wrecker" Dick Cheney.
11:59. The big moment is almost here.
They're playing "Simple Gifts"--Mrs. RSI and I socilize with a circle that sings Simple Gifts at EVERY gathering we have. This is really cool.
And the band they have for the occasion is great--Yitzhak Perlman, YoYo Ma, etc. It's a stirring song. I'll remember this for a long time.
12:04pm. Barack Obama hasn't taken the oath yet. But he became president at noon.
And Obama blew the oath of office. Well, I'm certainly going to feel a lot better the next time I screw up. If Barack Obama can screw up the oath of office, I can forgive myself for a lot of things.
12:07, now the speech
Obama moves quickly to two points:
1. The fidelity of the people to the founding ideals and documents of the Country
2. The Crisis--the war against terror, the economy, and failing schools
Guaranteeing that the crisis will be met.
Obama is going through the sacrifices that our ancestors made "for us."
To begin the work of remaking America.
Laying a new foundation for growth--infrastructure, science, health care, new energy, eductional transformation,
Against cynicism
Reminding that the success of the economy depends on real prosperity and opportunity.
More when I see the text.
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3 comments:
Carol Browner global warming czar. Get busy Carol, I'm freezing, honey. By the way, do Americans think a czar is a good thing? Bullets in the head in the basement and such.
Oh, now that was John Robert's fault with the oath : )
I read something to that effect at Talking Points Memo, but will check it later.
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