Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Inauguration

So. Not sure what profound thing I can say that hasn't been said. I watched with Emma's school, where I wept a lot, and was called a "crybaby" by some punk eight year olds.

His speech was so incredibly moving, especially

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the 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. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. 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 only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.


Oh, swoon.

One of the kids, upon seeing Bill and Hillary Clinton, said, "Hey, there's Hillary! I think that guy's her husband!" Sorry, Bill, history is a swift moving river.

And I loved Aretha's hat. Suck it, haters.

Oh, and did you see Cheney? He's using a wheelchair because he hurt his back moving boxes into his new house. Instant karma got you, sucker!

What was your favorite part?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i didn't get to see the whole day, but i started tearing up when joe biden was sworn in and then when michelle was holding the bible to swear obama in.

i do think it would have been nice if his first official act would be to have W and his lover Dick escorted off the premises.

dale

Unknown said...

I loved the speech, I loved Michelle, I loved every shot of Biden being his cheerful chatty self. I didn't for the life of me understand that poem, which sounded like a third-grade recitation.

But what I loved, LOVED, were the shots of the crowd. SO many people, young and old, and every color of the rainbow. I don't think I've ever seen a political crowd that reflected the actual diversity of this country. It was pretty fricking amazing.

I love that people are still talking about "where they were when Obama was speaking". I think we're witnessing something pretty profound. I hate to be so grandiose, but... really! Look at that speech! It blows my mind.