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Forward into the past
Sound Politics —
Forward into the past Barack Obama in his Inauguration Speech : Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. Invoking a movie tune from 1936 is a fitting segue into the retread New Deal that surely awaits us: For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. ...
Live Blog: The Inauguration of Barack Obama
The Caucus —
... and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many…” The Speech | 12:09 p.m. Mr. Obama begins his Inaugural Address. As is the recent custom, he gives a nod to his predecessor, thanking him for his service. Here is the prepared text . Obama Takes the Oath | 12:05 p.m. At 12:05, Mr. Obama becomes president of the United ...
Quick Obama Speech Take: WTF?
Jules Crittenden —
[image] « New Dawn Of American Gaga-Eyed Idol Worship Quick Obama Speech Take: WTF? This one may actually have been worse than that other wretched speech . Even local lefties who sang the big Wright-excuse speech’s praises, calling it the second coming of MLK Jr., have been saying this one didn’t go anwhere or deliver any punches. But it was worse than that. Some stock American History 101, some standard bootstraps and strong America rhetoric, and a string of other platitudes and sniping entirely unsupported by anything he has said or done or said ...
Obama’s non-reductive rhetoric as new media strategy
techPresident —
... exposure, and in the early days of 2007 it seemed Obama's campaign would drown in verbiage. Yet thanks to a deep and wide funding base, he survived long enough to turn that liability into a core asset. The Obama campaign is credited with doing an end-run around the media, going straight to the people through email and Youtube, but the candidate's rhetoric aided that strategy. Summarizing his speeches is like paraphrasing a poem, which drives the public to seek out the original -- the full text of Obama's inaugural speech currently sits in the NY Times' top 10 most emailed, and ...
Robert L. Borosage: Obama's Summons
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
Obama's Summons
"A man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." It was not the words, but this transcendent reality that evoked the tears at Barack Obama's inauguration yesterday. The somber eloquence of the new president, the presence of over a million people celebrating what they had done, the grace of the Michele and Barack together, the infectious delight of their daughters, the relief felt in the long overdue departure of Bush and Cheney - all were overshadowed by the historic reality of Americans electing the first African American president to ...
Tim Geithner’s Tax Shenanigans
RedState: Conservative News and Community —
Reading through this story, it is clear that at the very least, the Treasury Secretary-designate was massively and egregiously careless in preparing his own taxes. The funny thing, of course, is that most people are expected to do their taxes right–and do so. And if they don’t, they are penalized for it, sometimes quite severely in fact.
Tim Geithner wants us to believe that his errors are TurboTax’s fault and wants to be Treasury Secretary anyway.
Recall the following words from Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address:
. . . those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform ...
What John F. Kennedy Said About Richard Nixon, Applies To Nancy Pelosi
RedState: Conservative News and Community —
“No class”:
Pelosi said one of her favorite moments from Inauguration Day was when Marine One lifted off the Capitol grounds, signifying former President George W. Bush’s exit from Washington. “It felt like a 10-pound anvil was lifted off my head,” she said.
That’s Hope and Change and putting “an end to the petty grievances” for you. But beyond that, what is so valuable about Pelosi’s head?
. . . To understand [Pelosi's] politics, think Huffington Post without the flashes of wit. Here is a typical Bush-bashing, cliché-ridden quote of hers: “The ...
What John F. Kennedy Said About Richard Nixon, Applies To Nancy Pelosi
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days —
"No class" : Pelosi said one of her favorite moments from Inauguration Day was when Marine One lifted off the Capitol grounds, signifying former President George W. Bush's exit from Washington. "It felt like a 10-pound anvil was lifted off my head," she said. That's Hope and Change and putting "an end to the petty grievances" for you. But beyond that, what is so valuable about Pelosi's head ? . . . To understand [Pelosi's] politics, think Huffington Post without the flashes of wit. Here is a typical Bush-bashing, cliché-ridden quote of hers: "The emperor has no clothes. When are people going to face the reality? Pull this curtain back!" Pelosi dismisses people who ...
Tim Geithner's Tax Shenanigans
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days —
Reading through this story , it is clear that at the very least, the Treasury Secretary-designate was massively and egregiously careless in preparing his own taxes. The funny thing, of course, is that most people are expected to do their taxes right--and do so. And if they don't, they are penalized for it, sometimes quite severely in fact. Tim Geithner wants us to believe that his errors are TurboTax's fault and wants to be Treasury Secretary anyway. Recall the following words from Barack Obama's Inaugural Address : . . . those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because ...
Jerry Weissman: What Obama Did Say
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
The anticipation leading up to Barack Obama's Inaugural Address yesterday was as emotionally loaded as awaiting the outcome of a lottery drawing, and as covered in print as much as the Super Bowl. Experts of every type from historians to speechwriters, and from journalists to speech coaches (full disclosure), offered their expectations of what Obama would say. In most cases, opinions focused in two general areas: themes and inspirations. It would be wise to allow the gold dust to settle a bit before commenting on the grand themes of this momentous occasion, so let me focus only on the sources of Obama's inspiration.
Given ...
“I Won”
RedState: Conservative News and Community —
Well, yes. He did.
But here’s a newsflash: The opposition still has the right to oppose and still has the right to press for its own agenda.
Perhaps someone should let the White House know about that. In particular, if the “reality-based community,” who hated declarations of victory and electoral dominance when George W. Bush was riding high, could take the lead in informing the White House that it should not be surprised that the duty of the opposition is to oppose, that would be helpful. In addition, someone could remind the White House that the President promised to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans to bring the country together ...
"I Won"
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days —
Well, yes. He did . But here's a newsflash: The opposition still has the right to oppose and still has the right to press for its own agenda. Perhaps someone should let the White House know about that. In particular, if the "reality-based community," who hated declarations of victory and electoral dominance when George W. Bush was riding high, could take the lead in informing the White House that it should not be surprised that the duty of the opposition is to oppose, that would be helpful. In addition, someone could remind the White House that the President promised to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans to bring the country together after "bitter partisanship" ...
Jerry Weissman: Obama, Aristotle, and Fred Astaire
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... In The Power Presenter, I described several tropes he has used throughout his ascent to the presidency. It should come as no surprise then that he turned to some of them again for his high profile Inaugural Address. ...
Jerry Weissman: Obama and Bush
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... The passing of the torch of leadership on Inauguration Day is usually a lofty occasion, on which political differences are put aside for the sake of national unity. Most incoming presidents observe this protocol in their Inaugural Addresses and speak graciously of their predecessors, but in his, Barack Obama broke the string. Although he began graciously, "I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition," Obama proceeded to take exceptions to George W. Bush's track record. And although he did ...
Jerry Weissman: Obama and "You"
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... Two days later, during his Inaugural Address, he used "you" or "your" 15 times, but two-thirds of those referenced another "you," America's enemies. The new president addressed them directly: ...
Michael Carmichael: Craddock Scandal Rocks NATO
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
In the wake of an international scandal mushrooming around the career of US General Bantz John Craddock, American credibility has collapsed inside the top echelons of NATO. General Craddock is the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe (SACEUR) and simultaneously the Commander of the US European Command.
Described as a hard-line partisan deeply committed to the neoconservative ideology of former US President George W. Bush, General Craddock is a controversial commanding officer whose command authority extends to that rather euphemistically termed, "peace-keeping force," operating in Afghanistan known as the International Security ...
More Ice storm & More
The Anchoress —
The severe ice storm that has crippled parts of the midwest and devastated Kentucky is getting a little more attention from the press than it has since last Tuesday, when the storm hit. This is the Monday after.
Time Magazine writes a professional-sounding piece that is completely devoid of emotion, mentions President Obama exactly once (in passive voice) and never ever strays into unfair wonderings such as “why isn’t more being done,” or “where is the President, why isn’t he present here,” or “how can the president stay warm, eat steak and watch football when scores ...
A Few Stimulating Ideas
Firedoglake —
Start with an anti-government, anti-regulation attitude in the Bush White House, then add eight years of shrinking the number of federal regulators, and here's what you get (courtesy of Steve Vogel at the Washington Post): ...
Mr. Obama, Speak First at Touro
American Thinker —
... the point. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect." As if to underscore the primacy of this outreach effort to the Islamic world, Obama characterized America itself as a country of"Muslims, Christians, Jews" -- having in his earlier inaugural address -- disregarding actual US demography (i.e., recent ...
Who's Running Guantanamo?
Antiwar.com Original —
O n Jan. 20, the answer to that question seemed obvious. In his inaugural speech , with George W. Bush standing just behind him, President Obama pointedly pledged to "reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" a clear indication that, as he promised in a speech in August 2007 , he would dismantle the extralegal aberrations of the Bush administration's "War on Terror":"When I am president, America will reject torture without exception. America is the country that stood against that kind of behavior, and we will do so again.
As president, I will close Guant namo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva ...
Rhetoric & Reality
The Corner on National Review Online —
Thursday, February 26, 2009 [image] Rhetoric & Reality [John J. Miller] President Obama's inauguration speech : We will restore science to its rightful place. Bloomberg News : President Barack Obama will reverse a U.S. plan to ship nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain in Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the senior senator from the state, said in a newsletter to his constituents. 02/26 08:55 AM
The Rabbit Ragu Democrats
RealClearPolitics - Homepage —
IN the annals of American excess, there often arrives a moment when those with too much money, too much clout and too much hubris just can’t stop themselves from tempting the fates. They throw an over-the-top party in public, or parade their wealth and power before the press, and the next thing you know their world, and sometimes ours, has crashed. In the go-go Reagan 1980s, the junk bond king Michael Milken bedazzled investors with lavish Predators’ Balls in Beverly Hills. Sure enough, he and Wall Street would end the decade in ruin. Back East, the financier Saul Steinberg celebrated his 50th birthday in 1989 with a $1 million party in the Hamptons. “Honey, ...
The Rabbit Ragu Democrats
Commondreams.org Views —
In the annals of American excess, there often arrives a moment when those with too much money, too much clout and too much hubris just can’t stop themselves from tempting the fates. They throw an over-the-top party in public, or parade their wealth and power before the press, and the next thing you know their world, and sometimes ours, has crashed. In the go-go Reagan 1980s, the junk bond king Michael Milken bedazzled investors with lavish Predators’ Balls in Beverly Hills. Sure enough, he and Wall Street would end the decade in ruin. Back East, the financier Saul Steinberg celebrated his 50th birthday in 1989 with a $1 million party in the Hamptons. “Honey, ...
An Honest Liberal Times Columnist? -- By: Lisa Schiffren
The Corner on National Review Online —
Is the honeymoon over? is a big question this weekend, what with the fairly ubiquitous hits, even from the maintream media, that the White House is taking for wasting time and political capital on an amateurish -- failed -- bid for the Olympics. Until a few moments ago, I would have said no, not really. This is just a spat. It is a spat on an entirely acceptable matter, at that -- a display of less-than-polished politics from an administration that has offered smooth enough politicking to overcome lack of substance in a long list of areas. The media has not ratcheted the love down yet. ...
