Some Notes on the Inauguration
Wow. What a tremendous day. A widely anticipated historic day.
Instead of being all super insightful and/or humorous about this, I’ll leave that to the pros (HERE and HERE), but I do want to leave you with a couple of notes on today’s event.
I felt like the booing that occurred when Dubya was announced was uncalled for, classless, and detracting from an otherwise happy and hopeful celebration. It’s clear that Bush is leaving his Presidency with a dismal approval rating, but why would you boo someone on a day that isn’t even about him. Plus, I just feel that you should have respect for someone who ran your country for eight years, even if you don’t agree with the decisions he made.
What a perfect metaphor… Cheney in a wheelchair on his last day as VP. Not much else I can or will say about this.
My cousin made a simple, yet powerful, statement to me this morning as we chatted during the inauguration. She said, “I’m proud of my president for the first time in 8 years.” I couldn’t agree more. I liked Clinton as president, but I only followed his presidency in his last couple years because I was too young to make sense of any of it before then. I have trust in Obama. He is a good motivator and I am inspired by his optimism and resolve.
Obama’s speeches usually ‘reach’ me. Today’s was no exception and, like on election night, I got goosebumps. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be there in person.
Lastly, as I watched, or tried to watch the ceremony on the internet, it was clear that the world was on pause. Email and phone calls stopped, chats were closed, Twitter updates were silent, and the feed from CNN lagged about as slow as I’d seen in a long time. Was it that way when Bush 43 was put into office? I don’t remember, but all I can say is wow.
By the way, 44 is one of my new favorite numbers.
Related posts:
5 Responses to “Some Notes on the Inauguration”
Well said. I watched an interview with MLK III last night and he called Obama a visionary that inspires and brings people together - a concise and accurate description.
Fun to watch Punahou school march by and see Barack, Michelle and even the little girls give them a shaka (since we were watching starting at 6:30am from Maui)
I didn’t hear the boos when Bush left, but I think the respect issue can be an interesting conversation. I disagreed with nearly all his decisions, but the difference between him and other people I disagree with is that he did not earn my respect. His attitude in handling that office left me feeling disappointed, angry and sad. It will take a while for me to let go and realize that he is finally gone.
For me, and I can’t believe that I am defending him, having respect for someone who has courage enough to run our country is somewhat automatic. I didn’t like many of his decisions either, but there is no way for us to know the circumstances surrounding those decisions. He (hopefully) did the best he could in a job that I know I couldn’t do, and that is enough to earn my respect… at least to a level where I wouldn’t boo the guy.
Andy, I agree with the concept of respecting a person for doing a tough job even if you don’t agree with his decisions. But, if someone thinks that Bush did things that were illegal, immoral and/or unconstitutional, then I don’t think that someone would have respect for Bush.
But according to Richard Nixon, it’s not illegal when the President does it.