Obama's Inauguration and your thoughts

[SSS]

Of course, I wonder what the economic impact of these millions of visitors in and around the DC area is, I can easily imagine it outweighs the official expense of this event, much more so than any stimulus package.

Don't know about the economic impact, but I was stuck behind some asshats from Indiana today who had an Obama sticker on their car. They were sitting at a red light to make a right turn, not realzing you can do that in VA. They just sat there until the light turned, even though there was no incoming traffic that would have prevented them from turning.

I'm curious what I-95 N will look like tomorrow, maybe I'll take a picture.

 

[Zenimus]

Everybody in the world is in disbelief that such a thing even happened in America.

I groan everytime I hear stuff like this.

If anything, that just proves what a false image the rest of the world has constantly been fed about the US. Even domestically tons of people were saying "I never thought this could happen!" Why would they think that? We aren't in the same world we were 50 years ago.

I've been saying since Obama became a candidate that not only did he stand a very good chance of being elected if he defeated "the first female president" Clinton, but his race would not at all hinder him in elections. In fact, I also said that his race would actually help him due to the whole celebrity element of it.

Racism didn't cease to be a major problem in America on election day. It's been like that for a long time now, but no one wanted to acknowledge it because it's not PC.

 

[bokmeow]

I groan everytime I hear stuff like this.

If anything, that just proves what a false image the rest of the world has constantly been fed about the US. Even domestically tons of people were saying "I never thought this could happen!" Why would they think that? We aren't in the same world we were 50 years ago.

I've been saying since Obama became a candidate that not only did he stand a very good chance of being elected if he defeated "the first female president" Clinton, but his race would not at all hinder him in elections. In fact, I also said that his race would actually help him due to the whole celebrity element of it.

Racism didn't cease to be a major problem in America on election day. It's been like that for a long time now, but no one wanted to acknowledge it because it's not PC.

I dunno man, if you made any phone calls to voters in battleground states as I have and heard some of the disinformation smears of Obama regurgitated to you, it'd be a total lie that you didn't feel the slightest apprehensive about his odds.

 

[Zenimus]

I dunno man, if you made any phone calls to voters in battleground states as I have and heard some of the disinformation smears of Obama regurgitated to you, it'd be a total lie that you didn't feel the slightest apprehensive about his odds.

I guarantee you I wouldn't feel a bit apprehensive about his odds, based solely on the racial element.

Obama's got a shady past and there are a lot of very good reasons to be apprehensive about whether or not he would make a good president, but just brushing it aside as "whiteys don't want a black president" is just beyond ignorant to me.

I'm not saying all those wacky smear ads have merit, nor am I suggesting that there aren't racists anymore either, but I am saying that they are in the extreme minority. Far, FAR more people were more inclined to vote for Obama because he is black than those who can't handle a black president. (or mixed-race, I guess I should say, but no one in the news says that.)

It was the same thing with Hillary Clinton. A huge part of her hype was the fact that she was female, not whether or not she might be a good president.

 

[ecksnine]

It's horseshit.

 

[bokmeow]

I guarantee you I wouldn't feel a bit apprehensive about his odds, based solely on the racial element.

Obama's got a shady past and there are a lot of very good reasons to be apprehensive about whether or not he would make a good president, but just brushing it aside as "whiteys don't want a black president" is just beyond ignorant to me.

I'm not saying all those wacky smear ads have merit, nor am I suggesting that there aren't racists anymore either, but I am saying that they are in the extreme minority. Far, FAR more people were more inclined to vote for Obama because he is black than those who can't handle a black president. (or mixed-race, I guess I should say, but no one in the news says that.)

It was the same thing with Hillary Clinton. A huge part of her hype was the fact that she was female, not whether or not she might be a good president.

I don't suppose I need to show the New Yorker cover that summarized all the absurd reservations voters in this country had toward Obama?

His supposed "shady past" included among those absurd reservations.

 

[LoneSage]

hahah, Obama's Inauguration a holiday for black people:
http://gawker.com/5131608/ap-black-people-across-nation-not-going-to-work-next-tuesday


actually one of the supervisors at my work, a black Bible thumper, is going to DC tomorrow for it.

 

[RocketLawnChair]

You know, everyone's been so obsessed with the fact that Obama's "black" (he's *half* white...), and I'm really sick of hearing it. *I* wanted Obama to win because he seemed to be the better man for the job, NOT because of his skin color.

So the guy's 50% black. Great. Does this mean we're supposed to give him special trophies, and wear shirts which say "I LOVE BLACK PEOPLE" because a good portion of the assholes in this country are closet racists? Is he black? Is that a black man? WOW HE'S BLACK! It would be nice if people would start to focus on what the man says. Fucking hell.

With that said, I think he'll be a good president.

 

[Zenimus]

I don't suppose I need to show the New Yorker cover that summarized all the absurd reservations voters in this country had toward Obama?

His supposed "shady past" included among those absurd reservations.

It doesn't matter what the New Yorker says or what they consider to be absurd. We might stray into the whole "liberal media bias" topic here, but I think it's a fair statement that if John McCain had any of the questionable issues about his past that Obama did (well-founded or not), he would've never gotten nominated. It would've been played to no end.

But anyway, my main point was that people shouldn't be so shocked that someone of Obama's descent could be elected president. It didn't happen by magic. It happened because times have changed and racism is no longer a pervasive issue in America. But, acknowledging it can get you branded as a bigot or someone who doesn't care about the down-trodden... or something.

 

[Jedah Doma]

It doesn't matter what the New Yorker says or what they consider to be absurd. We might stray into the whole "liberal media bias" topic here, but I think it's a fair statement that if John McCain had any of the questionable issues about his past that Obama did (well-founded or not), he would've never gotten nominated. It would've been played to no end.

QFT

 

[Lagduf]

I spent the better part of today finishing up reading Sarah Vowell's absolutely wonderful Assassination Vacation, a book dealing with, well, the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.

 

[DangerousK]

I spent the better part of today finishing up reading Sarah Vowell's absolutely wonderful Assassination Vacation, a book dealing with, well, the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.

Getting prepared for a potential assassination are we 'Duf?

I actually find Garfield's assassination to be incredibly fascinating. Of any of the US Presidents who have been assassinated, I would have loved to been sitting there in Washington's Union Station on that hot summer day in July 1881 just to observe it. The way everything is now, it is amazing that security for the President used to be so lax. Plus it also showed how bad the spoils system had gotten. I've read the July 3, 1881 New York Times article on microfiche detailing the event, and it's pretty cool to read. It was quite a graphic description of what happened. Check it out if you ever can.

 

[Lagduf]

Getting prepared for a potential assassination are we 'Duf?

I actually find Garfield's assassination to be incredibly fascinating. Of any of the US Presidents who have been assassinated, I would have loved to been sitting there in Washington's Union Station on that hot summer day in July 1881 just to observe it. The way everything is now, it is amazing that security for the President used to be so lax. Plus it also showed how bad the spoils system had gotten. I've read the July 3, 1881 New York Times article on microfiche detailing the event, and it's pretty cool to read. It was quite a graphic description of what happened. Check it out if you ever can.

The best part about Garfield assassination (if there can be a "best part" about an assassination) is that you'll never guess who was there to see off the President:

Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln.



Garfield and McKinley probably would've both survived if they'd had access to the medical technology we have today (or even 30-40 years ago).

Garfield's assassin was pretty batshit awesome crazy though.

I just don't see an assassination happening to Obama, btw.

You should read Vowell's book, by the way, it's pretty humorous. Sort a book about the assassinations and Vowell's "pilgrimages" to sites dealing with people and places surrounding the events leading to the Presidents' deaths.

 

[evil wasabi]

I groan everytime I hear stuff like this.

If anything, that just proves what a false image the rest of the world has constantly been fed about the US. Even domestically tons of people were saying "I never thought this could happen!" Why would they think that? We aren't in the same world we were 50 years ago.

I've been saying since Obama became a candidate that not only did he stand a very good chance of being elected if he defeated "the first female president" Clinton, but his race would not at all hinder him in elections. In fact, I also said that his race would actually help him due to the whole celebrity element of it.

Racism didn't cease to be a major problem in America on election day. It's been like that for a long time now, but no one wanted to acknowledge it because it's not PC.

Get over it man. Obama is hardly a democrat. He's way more republican than anyone is giving him credit for.

 

[Loopz]

It doesn't matter what the New Yorker says or what they consider to be absurd. We might stray into the whole "liberal media bias" topic here, but I think it's a fair statement that if John McCain had any of the questionable issues about his past that Obama did (well-founded or not), he would've never gotten nominated. It would've been played to no end.

But anyway, my main point was that people shouldn't be so shocked that someone of Obama's descent could be elected president. It didn't happen by magic. It happened because times have changed and racism is no longer a pervasive issue in America. But, acknowledging it can get you branded as a bigot or someone who doesn't care about the down-trodden... or something.

For people who supposedly extol the virtues of pulling yourself up by "your bootstraps", you guys sure spend a lot of time blaming everyone else besides your candidate and your failed policy initiatives.

McCain in fact DID have a number of questionable things in his background that were never picked up by the media, an alleged affair, the fact that he used his wife's private jet to get around when his campaign was fucking broke (in clear violation of FEC rules), a number of ties to shady land deals with unscrupulous Arizona developers, etc. The media was much more interested in his personal narrative as a war hero, just as they were more interested in Obama's personal story as a person of mixed heritage with a mother from Kansas (Jedah's home! woot!) and a father from Kenya.

The media picked their narratives and ran with them. Obama's camp played ball with it and did a hell of a lot better controlling their message. McCain's camp took it on the chin with the economic collapse and never recovered, offering up a new story damn near everyday. Drop the liberal bias blankie, no one believes it and its been disproven a thousand times. The Republican Party just needs to pick itself up by its own bootstraps, the media isn't going to do it for them.

 

[lithy]

Get over it man. Obama is hardly a democrat. He's way more republican than anyone is giving him credit for.

If by Republican you mean the current iteration of the party, it is hard to say who is more of which Obama a Republican or McCain a Democrat, they have just sort of melded together into one giant thing with only slight variations on a theme to differentiate them.

 

[evil wasabi]

man, nothing turns me off faster than people talking shit about McCain. I think the guy is a patriot. His followers are complete idiots though.

 

[Loopz]

http://jalopnik.com/5134488/presidential-gatling-gun+equipped-suburban-badder-than-new-cadillac-limo

The number of shells spitting out of this thing boggle the mind.

 

[Hidden Character]

http://jalopnik.com/5134488/presidential-gatling-gun+equipped-suburban-badder-than-new-cadillac-limo

The number of shells spitting out of this thing boggle the mind.

"The video is good, but what it really needs is Samuel L. Jackson popping up out of the turret and yelling, 'Assassinate this, mother-@#$%!' "

"That's a vehicle that can take road rage to the next level."

That clip is my laugh of the day. Thanks, Loopz.

 

[Orpheus]

different skin color, same "live for the day" bullshits fiscal policies
let me know when we get someone in office who is prepared to face reality
all the hype are news media slobbering just proves that people desperately need a hero right now

Welcome to politics.
A realist would not have a chance winning the election as that is not what the people (conservative, liberal or in between) want. But is that honestly news to anyone.

 

[Zenimus]

For people who supposedly extol the virtues of pulling yourself up by "your bootstraps", you guys sure spend a lot of time blaming everyone else besides your candidate and your failed policy initiatives.

McCain in fact DID have a number of questionable things in his background that were never picked up by the media, an alleged affair, the fact that he used his wife's private jet to get around when his campaign was fucking broke (in clear violation of FEC rules), a number of ties to shady land deals with unscrupulous Arizona developers, etc. The media was much more interested in his personal narrative as a war hero, just as they were more interested in Obama's personal story as a person of mixed heritage with a mother from Kansas (Jedah's home! woot!) and a father from Kenya.

The media picked their narratives and ran with them. Obama's camp played ball with it and did a hell of a lot better controlling their message. McCain's camp took it on the chin with the economic collapse and never recovered, offering up a new story damn near everyday. Drop the liberal bias blankie, no one believes it and its been disproven a thousand times. The Republican Party just needs to pick itself up by its own bootstraps, the media isn't going to do it for them.

Eh?

What the heck are you on about? I never said anywhere that liberal media bias is the reason McCain lost, and that "alleged affair" bit never went anywhere because it originated from one unreliable source with no proof. The very fact that you bring it up just shows that it did get picked up by the media.

And will you stop talking about political subjects in first-person terms like "your party" and "our side"? I've jumped on you about that before. You sound absolutely ridiculous, like some maniac at a football game. "We're gonna go all the way man, we're gonna do it this year!" Or maybe someone who would go out of their way to start a barfight with some group you don't agree with. You're the only one on this website that does that.

You don't have to take everything so personally.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Here are my thoughts:

First off, the GOP machine has divided the US in a horrifyingly partisan manner. With any luck, Obama might help rectify this.

Second, I think electing a black guy is a big deal. It changes how the world sees America and how America sees itself.

Finally, I'm just glad a smart guy was elected finally. If nothing else, we don't have to put up with a functional retard in the goddamn White House.

 

[abasuto]

One of the servers at my job is going to DC. This woman (she's 31) actually told me that her car payments will become lower thanks to Obama winning. The dishwasher at my job believes that Obama's win will mean he'll finally be able to afford buying a home (he makes $8.00 an hour and pays child support on 11, yes, 11 kids).

The point is, alot of people have insanely unrealistic expectations of Obama and come 2 or 3 years when obsolutely nothing is different about their life, reality is gonna slap hard.

 

[Lagduf]

One of the servers at my job is going to DC. This woman (she's 31) actually told me that her car payments will become lower thanks to Obama winning. The dishwasher at my job believes that Obama's win will mean he'll finally be able to afford buying a home (he makes $8.00 an hour and pays child support on 11, yes, 11 kids).

The point is, alot of people have insanely unrealistic expectations of Obama and come 2 or 3 years when obsolutely nothing is different about their life, reality is gonna slap hard.

These people are idiots, but us sane people already knew that.

I heard a report on NPR (i believe) about people getting Obama tattoos after he won the election, but (obviously) before he had even served a single day in office.

I think of these people I can accurately say that they are all complete and absolute fucking morons who need to be eliminated from the gene pool (not that i'm for eugenics, i just hope people realize these dolts are stupid and don't procreate with them).

I mean, come on - you get a tattoo of a man who literally has yet to do anything?

It's absurdity at the highest level.

I mean, i'm optimistic Obama will able to steer the country in a positive direction, but come on, this shit is absurd.

 

[lithy]

I happen to be working 1-10 tonight so I guess I'll watch some.