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I hope you’re all picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and getting back to the work of “remaking America.”
That challenge from our new president will entail some heavy lifting in the immediate future. (Just Google “War in Iraq” or “Conflict in Afghanistan” or “Dow Jones Industrial Average” or “Unemployment Rate” or merely words like “Bailout” or “Gitmo” if you need any background.)
I’d prefer to spend just a little more time thinking about all that went on during the Tuesday ceremonies and celebrations before breaking a sweat.
Here’s something you might not know. According to the Denver Post’s “Inaugural numbers,” the word “change” was used only once by Barack Obama in his speech following his oath of office. I’ll bet that’s just as much a surprise to many of you as it was to me.
Speaking of Obama’s speech, I remarked to my couch mate (who may or may not have been a person that could or could not be living in my house who might or might not have viewed an hour’s worth of the festivities between stops in her work schedule) that it was absent the soaring oratory that I had expected. One of the commentators remarked that the inaugural address was more “prose” than “poetry,” and I’d have to agree. Perhaps the more somber and businesslike approach came after a few sobering weeks of contemplation about the many tough tasks that awaited our new leader when he woke up on his first morning in the White House.
Something about the dog that finally caught a car and actually had to figure out where to bury it comes to mind. Or the warning I’ve received occasionally to “Be careful what you dream.”
In another tidbit the Post mentioned the flub in the actual oath of office. Seems Chief Justice John Roberts transposed a bit of the formal language, temporarily confusing matters. After Obama paused, Roberts repeated the correct sequence, but the new president repeated the justice’s original phrasing in his recitation of the oath.
Now we have experts parsing whether or not the oath needs to be repeated in order to make it official. I’d prefer to leave than hanging a while in order to see what the folks in the tin foil hats make of it. You know, those who still refuse to believe official documents and other findings that indeed our 44th president is a U.S. citizen by birth and is indeed eligible to hold the highest office in the land.
It’ll be interesting to see what all the amateur constitutional lawyers make of this latest opportunity to raise questions. Personally, I’m wondering if the conservative chief justice might have done it on purpose to provide ammunition to the crowd that’s heretofore been shooting blanks.
Then there’s the question of the appropriateness of Western dress in the formal activities in our nation’s Capitol. You’ll recall that Ken Salazar, our former senator and newly-confirmed Interior secretary, drew a few sideways looks and critical comments for wearing his cowboy hat to the announcement of his appointment to the cabinet position.
Adding a little fuel to the fire will be reports that Salazar’s successor, Michael Bennet, adopted pointy-toed footwear to go along with his tux at inaugural festivities. And word that President Bush himself, while exiting the platform, remarked to our own 3rd District Congressman that it took “a real man” to sport the Western attire John Salazar was wearing at the Tuesday morning ceremony.
Personally, I’m thinking more folks were probably wondering about Aretha Franklin’s chapeau, which one wag opined must have taken about a bolt of gray flannel to produce. (But I’ll bet that her head was warm while she sang.)
Anyone else think our new young president dances like us old white guys? I missed Obama strutting his stuff to up-tempo tunes at any of the inaugural balls. He seemed just as tentative as most of us aging “gentlemen” who’ve spent more time in the buffet or bar lines than on the dance floor in recent years. Thank God for waltzes!
All foolishness aside, it was a remarkable day.
I was touched by the emotion of the faces of those grizzled veterans of the civil rights movement as they watched a black man assume the highest office in the land, a successor to predecessors who were slave owners. I’m encouraged by not only the high expectations of his constituents but also the dose of realism and call to action provided by our new president. I’m heartened by the apparent desire of most Americans to, as Obama quoted from Scripture, “set aside childish things” like partisan one-upmanship and “begin again the work of remaking America.”
Let’s do it!
----------------------------------
Jim Spehar welcomes your comments about inaugural festivities and our new president at jimspehar@bresnan.net.
That challenge from our new president will entail some heavy lifting in the immediate future. (Just Google “War in Iraq” or “Conflict in Afghanistan” or “Dow Jones Industrial Average” or “Unemployment Rate” or merely words like “Bailout” or “Gitmo” if you need any background.)
I’d prefer to spend just a little more time thinking about all that went on during the Tuesday ceremonies and celebrations before breaking a sweat.
Here’s something you might not know. According to the Denver Post’s “Inaugural numbers,” the word “change” was used only once by Barack Obama in his speech following his oath of office. I’ll bet that’s just as much a surprise to many of you as it was to me.
Speaking of Obama’s speech, I remarked to my couch mate (who may or may not have been a person that could or could not be living in my house who might or might not have viewed an hour’s worth of the festivities between stops in her work schedule) that it was absent the soaring oratory that I had expected. One of the commentators remarked that the inaugural address was more “prose” than “poetry,” and I’d have to agree. Perhaps the more somber and businesslike approach came after a few sobering weeks of contemplation about the many tough tasks that awaited our new leader when he woke up on his first morning in the White House.
Something about the dog that finally caught a car and actually had to figure out where to bury it comes to mind. Or the warning I’ve received occasionally to “Be careful what you dream.”
In another tidbit the Post mentioned the flub in the actual oath of office. Seems Chief Justice John Roberts transposed a bit of the formal language, temporarily confusing matters. After Obama paused, Roberts repeated the correct sequence, but the new president repeated the justice’s original phrasing in his recitation of the oath.
Now we have experts parsing whether or not the oath needs to be repeated in order to make it official. I’d prefer to leave than hanging a while in order to see what the folks in the tin foil hats make of it. You know, those who still refuse to believe official documents and other findings that indeed our 44th president is a U.S. citizen by birth and is indeed eligible to hold the highest office in the land.
It’ll be interesting to see what all the amateur constitutional lawyers make of this latest opportunity to raise questions. Personally, I’m wondering if the conservative chief justice might have done it on purpose to provide ammunition to the crowd that’s heretofore been shooting blanks.
Then there’s the question of the appropriateness of Western dress in the formal activities in our nation’s Capitol. You’ll recall that Ken Salazar, our former senator and newly-confirmed Interior secretary, drew a few sideways looks and critical comments for wearing his cowboy hat to the announcement of his appointment to the cabinet position.
Adding a little fuel to the fire will be reports that Salazar’s successor, Michael Bennet, adopted pointy-toed footwear to go along with his tux at inaugural festivities. And word that President Bush himself, while exiting the platform, remarked to our own 3rd District Congressman that it took “a real man” to sport the Western attire John Salazar was wearing at the Tuesday morning ceremony.
Personally, I’m thinking more folks were probably wondering about Aretha Franklin’s chapeau, which one wag opined must have taken about a bolt of gray flannel to produce. (But I’ll bet that her head was warm while she sang.)
Anyone else think our new young president dances like us old white guys? I missed Obama strutting his stuff to up-tempo tunes at any of the inaugural balls. He seemed just as tentative as most of us aging “gentlemen” who’ve spent more time in the buffet or bar lines than on the dance floor in recent years. Thank God for waltzes!
All foolishness aside, it was a remarkable day.
I was touched by the emotion of the faces of those grizzled veterans of the civil rights movement as they watched a black man assume the highest office in the land, a successor to predecessors who were slave owners. I’m encouraged by not only the high expectations of his constituents but also the dose of realism and call to action provided by our new president. I’m heartened by the apparent desire of most Americans to, as Obama quoted from Scripture, “set aside childish things” like partisan one-upmanship and “begin again the work of remaking America.”
Let’s do it!
----------------------------------
Jim Spehar welcomes your comments about inaugural festivities and our new president at jimspehar@bresnan.net.
