About Politics

Joanna Steele-Perkins asked:


The Presidential Election is now over, but for Barack Obama it has only just begun.  Looking at the footage of Obama and his family celebrating his victory, I cannot help but feel that Obama gives America the new Image it needs.

I have to admit to not staying up half the night waiting for the results of the recent Presidential Election.  I felt certain that Barack Obama had won more than just my vote. 

Photographs of Barack with his wife Michelle, and daughters Natasha and Malia showed the family looking united, together in every way.  Not only is it clear that Barack has complete support from his family, they were co-ordinated in the clothes they wore too.

Obama look fabulous in his dark suit and white shirt with a red tie.  The effect of Michelle in red and black and the children one in black and one in red was stunning. 

Obama has used the “colour” tactic.  Certain colour combinations can alter another person’s perception of you.  To convey yourself as a leader, you need to use colour combinations that give you control and authority.  A dark suit, light shirt and contrasting tie do this.  For somebody dark like Barrack Obama a dark suit is one of his best looks.  Possibly an ivory shirt may have been better than white, he looked a bit “yellow” on the television but this could have been due to studio lighting and tiredness!  The red tie with the strong white stripe signified authority and suited his colouring perfectly.  This tie also symbolised the red and white stripes of the American flag. The family all dressed in co-ordinating colours conveyed the message of unity and support.

For men with lighter colouring it is not so easy to achieve this look.  If you have light or auburn hair, a charcoal or light navy suit is more flattering than black.  Again a pure white shirt is too harsh, try ivory or cream.  Remember to get the shade of red for the tie right too.  Blonde or light brown hair men need a light shade of red  and auburn haired men a warm yellow-red for auburn hair.

In some business situations you may not want to be the “leader”.  If you are a participant in a brain-storming situation for example, opt for less authoritative colours.  You want the colours to convey “openness” and appear approachable, so other members of your team feel they can speak out.  In this situation try and choose less contrasting colours. 

Colour combining can be very powerful when used in the right way.   I feel sure that Barack Obama will continue to use his knowledge of colour combining  to his advantage throughout his presidency.  Take some tips from this great man and use then for your own benefit in all aspects of business, it just might make the difference between near success and success.



Jennifer

mauricecano asked:


Hillary can not only fend off attacks, but bite back. Can Obama withstand a Republican opponent?

Catherine

Daviiiiiiiiiiiiiii asked:


25,000 people don’t have jobs at this moment Obama said he would open 30,000 jobs for people, how can he do this without letting other company’s from going out of business? Is he going to open jobs at the white house or jobs from new companies?

William

Mr. Smartypants™ asked:


Obama buying his daughters puppies, Bush passing the torch proudly to Obama, little kids writing letters to Obama. What’s next? Obama to appear on the View?

Dustin

Nate Gillespie asked:


Professor Elizabeth Alexander had the challenging task of writing a poem for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. She read that poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” aloud to millions of people on January 20, 2009. Alexander, an African-American poet, filled the shoes of literary giants like Robert Frost, Miller Williams, and Maya Angelou, all of whom read original poems at past presidential inaugurations.

Alexander chose to write her poem in the form of a “praise song.” A praise song is a traditional form of African poetry, one that usually celebrates an individual, a god, a village, or an aspect of nature. This choice of form seems particularly apt in light of President Obama’s African heritage.

When looking at this poem, a good place to start is by asking whom or what is Alexander’s poem praising?

* “the day” – As you might guess, Alexander is praising “the day” – January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama’s inauguration day. But this day is more than just another presidential inauguration. Alexander is celebrating the day that a black man can become the President of the United States.

* “the dead who brought us here, / who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, / picked the cotton and the lettuce, built / brick by brick the glittering edifices / they would then keep clean and work inside of” – Alexander praises the people that carried us to this momentous day. Each of the jobs listed above may correspond to a group of Americans. Here are a few possibilities: “who laid the train tracks” could refer to the many Chinese immigrants who worked to build the Central Pacific Railroad. “Who […] picked the cotton” likely refers to black slaves, whereas those who “picked […] the lettuce” may be a reference to Mexican migrant workers, especially in California. This poem honors and praises the many people who built and developed our nation.

* “the struggle” – This struggle seems to be related to the people that Alexander referred to above – immigrants, slaves, and other hardworking Americans – who have struggled for equality, racial justice, and a better future.

* “every hand-lettered sign” – She goes on to celebrate the many people of today who have participated in the Obama campaign, making “hand-lettered sign[s].” In this way, Alexander is recognizing the numerous average Americans who have volunteered in large and small ways, to bring about this amazing day.

Just as the poet praises the progress that America and Americans have made, the structure of her poem also reflects this movement and progress using the metaphor of walking.

The poem opens saying, “Each day we go about our business, / walking past each other, catching each other’s / eyes or not.” This line reminds us of how busy we can become with our tasks, text messages, or our own worlds. “Walking past” also indicates that people move in multiple different directions as they go about the business of their daily lives.

The poem then focuses on ordinary tasks performed by Americans of all backgrounds – tasks like mending clothes, fixing flat tires, making music, waiting for the bus, taking a test, or checking out the clouds in the sky. This establishes that this work of poetry is about average Americans – teachers, farmers, mothers, handymen.

Alexander seems to present several voices of people who walk traditional and non-traditional paths – some seeking safety, some new frontiers, and some a better life. All of them walk toward an unknown future.

Shmoop’s interpretation is just one of many possible, but perhaps the poet is suggesting that each person is propelled forward by a sense of stewardship for the spirit, the body, or the earth, but ultimately they are driven by love. Further, she may be saying that if we recognize this common thread as global citizens, we will “cast a widening pool of light.”

At the end of the poem, Alexander uses a similar image of walking, but instead of “walking past each other,” she describes “walking forward in that light.” We move from walking “past” to walking “forward,” from the past to the future. The idea of walking “forward” indicates people walking in the same direction, in sync and united. This walking together has brought the country to “the brink, […] the brim, […] the cusp” of something altogether new, a time inAmerican history  in which “anything can be made, any sentence begun.”

Alexander closes her praise song by celebrating America’s new direction.

About the Poet: Elizabeth Alexander is a professor of African American Studies at Yale University. Barack Obama’s selection of her was called “perfect” by the president of the Poetry Foundation, John Barr. In Barr’s words, “Alexander is one of the seminal voices in contemporary American poetry. Like Whitman before her, Alexander has always sought in her poems to celebrate America’s tremendous common spirit and edurance by acknowledging our differences and triumphs” (source).



Thomas

Aaron Taylor asked:


gest thing happened the other day. I know this may sound like a stretch, but Barack Obama actually visited my family to personally elicit our support for him. Let me tell you that the experience was otherworldly. The whole time I’m thinking why is Barack Obama visiting us? I live in a middle class neighborhood and don’t have any connections with rich and influential people. What’s Barack Obama doing in my house?

Two days later, another bizarre incident happened. After saying goodbye to an old friend that came to visit my wife and me, I looked outside and saw that our visitor had accidentally totaled my car while backing out of the driveway?and then fled the scene of the crime! The next thing I remember happening is I called the local repair shop and guess who answers the phone? Ron Paul! I actually haggled with Ron Paul on the phone for about five minutes only to find out that my car was irreparable. The whole time I’m thinking is it really that easy to get a hold of Ron Paul?

If you find these two stories unbelievable, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The universe is still shifting on its axis. For the record, the above incidents never happened?except for in my dreams?literally. I’m reasonably sure that the whole Barack Obama dream comes from a CNN episode I watched the night before about John McCain’s first run for congress where he literally knocked on people’s doors to solicit votes. Now as to why Ron Paul is working at a local auto repair shop and living in my aunt’s old house, beats me!

It seems like since the start of the Democratic National convention, and the Republican convention that immediately followed, politics has invaded nearly every area of our lives. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to escape! Watching bits and pieces of the conventions over the past few weeks, I couldn’t help but notice the glitz, the glamour, and the adulation that goes into elevating our political leaders to near godlike status?and how their star-struck fans so easily bask in the glory of their would be saviors.

John McCain’s adoring fans seem to believe that if only they can get their guy elected to the White House, righteousness and morality will be restored to the land, America will be spared the horrors of a left-wing socialist panzie?and how could I forget?evil will be defeated. Barack Obama’s adoring fans seem to think that all they have to do to end poverty, heal the nation’s racial divide, and save the nation from Bible toting war mongers is put a check mark next to a drawing of a donkey in November. Can it really be that simple?

Enter into human history, Jesus of Nazareth. One of the things I love about Jesus is how He refused to be awed by the powers that be of His day. I would love to have been around when Jesus called Herod a fox, or when He referred to the religious leaders?who held a similar position to modern day mullahs in Iran?brood of vipers. Even more, I’d love to have been a peasant in the crowd watching Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. Author Shane Claiborne in His book Jesus for President compares Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to a U.S. president riding into the inauguration ceremony on a bicycle. If Claiborne is right, then Jesus was a lot more of a prankster than I’ve ever imagined Him to be. The question is why would Jesus go out of His way to mock power?

I’m not a psychoanalyst, but I’d be willing to risk a guess. I think that one of the reasons that Jesus came into the world was to crush the all-too-human tendency to look to political rulers for earthly salvation. When Jesus took up a towel to wash His disciples feet, His disciples were offended because they didn’t want their master behaving like a slave, but what they failed to realize is that was exactly Jesus’ point! In Jesus’ value system the powerless is superior to the powerful. Like His mother, Jesus embraced a value system that elevated the poor over the prince, where God puts down the mighty from their seats and elevates the humble (Luke 1:52). Rather than embracing political power to bring about earthly change, which is what Satan tempted Him to do, Jesus put His faith in the upside down Kingdom of God, a Kingdom that puts faith not in the power of the sword, but in the power of self-sacrificial love.

As tempting as it may be to be awed by the power of modern Caesars, followers of Jesus are never to forget that the Word of God tells us not to put our trust in princes (Psalm 146:3). Rather than trusting in the coercive power of the sword to effect moral change in the world, followers of Jesus put their faith in an otherworldly kingdom that rules not with the power of a sword, but with the power of a towel. As eloquent and sincere as they may be, neither McCain nor Obama are going to save the world, let alone America. True power flows from the cross, not from Caesar’s throne.



Theresa

Robert Walsh asked:


Robert Walsh Kids Clothing announces the publication of their newest page, “President Barack Obama Gifts & T-Shirts On Sale”.

Today in history, November 4, 2008, the presidential election of 2008 will place an asterisk in the history of US Presidents next to the 44th President as the first black American President, Barack Obama.  His name will be found on lists that include major historical events, American history, famous people in history, history of racial discrimination, famous black Americans, and historical event dates.

The “Obama for President” theme was a dream for many Americans, particularly the Afro-American community.  Given very little chance to succeed at the start of the primary season in 2007, history channel will chronicle his journey to the White House.  The historical events timeline of his run for the Presidency began on a cold winter day on the steps of the Old Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where President Abraham Lincoln announced his run for the Presidency almost one hundred fifty years before. 

This will be included among the interesting president facts that historically connect these two tall young lawyers from Illinois who made their way as little known individuals to the nation and reached the White House to heal a divided nation.  Each attracted attention of their political parties through speeches they gave prior to running for office.  And each will be historically mentioned in the almanac of Black American History. 

This day in history also makes internet history with the fact that prior to going out to make his Election Day victory speech Barack Obama texted a message to all his supporters.  His Speech in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, his home town, brought out almost a quarter of a million people and journalist from around the world.

This is why Robert Walsh Kids Clothing wants to invite people from across America and around the world to have the opportunity to share in this historic moment and event by purchasing their own Barack Obama themed t-shirt from http://www.robertwalshkidsclothing.com/21.html.  This new page will give all an opportunity to purchase a cool and unique Barack Obama t-shirt whether they live in the United States, Kenya, Indonesia, or just feel they want to proudly celebrate with pride and joy American Democracy at work in electing her first Afro-American President.             



Marc

Dzulian asked:


My Experience with NY City Street Fairs

Some time ago I used to go to the NY City Street Fairs, to peddle my

Personalized Merchandise

You had to have a NY City Street Fair Permit. My NYC Fair permit for 1998 was issued to me:

Dante Zuliani: Document Number: 009699

You also had to rent a spot on the street from the Street Fair Organizers. To set your stuff up would cost you about $160. for a spot about 8 foot long and 4 feet wide.

On the 1998 Memorial Day Street Fair I got me a spot in Queens on Broadway and 31st Street right in front of Mcgloghins Bar. I set myself up with a helper whom I paid $150.

We had to set up a canopy with a generator, a computer, printer, scanner, iron heat press and all the merchandise  to be Personalized with Customers Pictures.

We were ready to start doing business just before 10 O’clock AM. When it started to rain. ” the forcast was for a light drizzle” but it started to rain heavy with a wind blowing.

The rain stopped at about 11 O’clock, that’s when some vendors were opening shop to start doing business. By that time all my merchandise, t-shirts, mouse pads, posters and all the hardware, computer, printer ,camera and everything was ruined by the rain.

I could not be opening for business that day, I had to pack up my stuff and go home, with no business being done.

I paid $160 to get the spot, but was rained out. I asked the Street Fair Organizers for my money back, but was told there would be no refunds made for the rained outs.

What could I do? with a shrug I told Myself.          

 ”Some you Win and some you Loose” That’s life Brother!

After that Experience I never went to another Street Fair.

I’ve set me up a Website http://centostars.com  and I’m concentrating now on doing

T-shirts Imaging. You can go to my website and choose Obama’s or McCain’s picture

or you can Email me your own Favorite Picture in a JPEG format of whatever subject you choose and I will print it on T-shirts for you.

Thank you for your Interest in Street Fairs and T-shirts Imaging.

My best regards! Dante Zuliani!      

 



Marjorie

Nate Gillespie asked:


In January, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States, taking his oath of office on the steps of the Capitol before what is believed to be the largest crowd ever to witness a presidential inaugural in person.

Following the swearing in ceremony—which was conducted on Abraham Lincoln’s bible—Obama gave a powerful speech, promising the American people that they could and would unite to overcome the economic and military difficulties facing the nation. “Our challenges may be new,” the president said. “The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends—honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.”

Instant reviews of Obama’s speech from the TV talking heads were quite positive, and the huge crowds along the Washington Mall roared their approval. But will Obama’s inaugural address stand the test of time? How will Obama’s speech go down in history?

Only time will tell. But truth be told, the historical bar against Obama’s words will be judged is actually pretty low.

Yes, a few presidents’ inaugurals have gone down as great moments in our history.



In 1981, Ronald Reagan memorably encapsulated his own philosophy and set the political agenda for an entire generation with his declaration that “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

In 1961, John F. Kennedy captured the imaginations of a more idealistic generation by asking his fellow citizens, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped lift his countrymen’s spirits at the darkest hour of the Great Depression by declaring, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln began to heal the wounds of the Civil War by closing his second inaugural with the words, “With malice toward none; with charity for all… let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds… to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

And in 1801, Thomas Jefferson tried to soothe the nation’s original partisan discord by proclaiming, in the wake of a bitter election fight, “We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists.”

Those were all, without a doubt, successful inaugural speeches. (And perhaps not coincidentally, those were all successful presidents.)

But what about the other 39 presidents and the other 50 inaugural addresses? They mostly fall somewhere on a spectrum ranging from forgettably mediocre to memorably awful.

John Quincy Adams, who was often criticized for being an out-of-touch elitist with no clue how to relate to ordinary people, did nothing to challenge that reputation in 1825 when he began his presidency with this whopper of a sentence: “In compliance with an usage coeval with the existence of our Federal Constitution, and sanctioned by the example of my predecessors in the career upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my fellow-citizens, in your presence and in that of Heaven to bind myself by the solemnities of religious obligation to the faithful performance of the duties allotted to me in the station to which I have been called.” No one was too shocked when Adams was defeated four years later by “man of the people” Andrew Jackson.

James Buchanan, often ranked by historians as the worst president ever, took office in 1857 at a moment when the nation was torn by bitter sectional controversy over slavery. In his inaugural address, he essentially told the country to just get over it: “Most happy it will be for the country when the public mind shall be diverted from this question to others of more pressing and practical importance,” he said. Most unhappy it was for the country when Buchanan’s head-in-the-sand approach led directly to the Civil War.

Warren G. Harding turned his inaugural into a long discourse on his personal philosophy of business. The speech was said to bore listeners to tears.



But the worst inaugural address in American history, without a doubt, belonged to William Henry Harrison. For his 1841 inauguration, Harrison penned a monumental 8,500-word treatise, much of it devoted to explaining—for reasons that remain baffling even today—obscure lessons from ancient Roman history. Undeterred by a ferocious blizzard on inauguration day, Harrison refused to wear his overcoat and insisted on plowing through the entire two-hour speech, bitter cold be damned. Then he caught a wicked case of pneumonia and died 31 days later.

To this day, William Henry Harrison holds the all-time records for both the longest inaugural speech and the shortest presidency. At Shmoop, we hope that neither record will ever be broken.

If we can be fairly certain that no incoming president’s inaugural address will ever beat William Henry Harrison for length, we can be equally sure that none will ever beat George Washington for brevity. Washington’s second inaugural, delivered in 1793, was exactly four sentences long—less than 150 words. While no one made a recording of the speech, for obvious reasons, our best guess is that the address lasted two or maybe three minutes.

And that, friends and countrymen, is why George Washington is on the dollar bill and William Henry Harrison is… dead of pneumonia.

Obama’s speech, delivered on another cold winter’s day in Washington, clocked in at about 17 minutes, which is just about average for modern times; every inaugural since 1980 has lasted between 14 and 22 minutes.

While it’s too soon to say whether Obama’s words will go down in history alongside the great speeches from Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy et al, there is no question that Obama’s inaugural was historic in nature. Apart from the obvious—yet still remarkable—fact that Barack Obama just became our nation’s first black president, his inaugural itself was unlike any that ever came before. More people crowded into Washington, DC, to see January’s events in person than for any previous presidential inauguration. That crowd—which reflected the Obama campaign organization in its unusual size, diversity, and enthusiasm—may well end up being the feature of Obama’s inauguration best remembered by history. That crowd reflected the feeling that something special happened, that Obama’s inauguration into the White House marked the renewal of America’s democratic spirit.

Like most eruptions of democratic enthusiasm, Obama’s inaugural festivities had both their positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, it was hard not to be moved by images of American flags waving over hundreds of thousands of happy faces, all wide smiles and tears of joy, their voices filling the Mall with chants and cheers of jubilation. On the other hand, the same crowd greeted outgoing president George W. Bush with widespread booing and even a taunting song of “Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye!” Not too classy… but still not nearly as bad as the crowd of Andrew Jackson supporters who trashed the White House in 1829, breaking antique furniture and tracking mud all over the place, or the mob of Abraham Lincoln fans who ran off with the White House silverware in 1865.

Will Barack Obama’s presidency live up to the phenomenal excitement of his inauguration day? History will be the judge of that.



Gail

Nate Gillespie asked:


As anyone who saw a campaign poster in 2008 could surely tell you, Barack Obama is all about change. Change in the White House, most profoundly in the simple, yet stunning, fact that we now have our first black president. Change in the tenor of politics, in an effort to step back from the ferocious partisanship of the past decade. And change in the direction of the country, in the form of a dramatic shift in the priorities and policies of the government.

Yet change, Obama also knows, can be frightening. Too much change can seem radical, threatening, dangerous. During the campaign, Obama had to overcome the deep-seated fears of many Americans that his particular brand of change would only mean change for the worse.

So Obama has always made a conscious effort to balance his calls for change with equal references to the timeless continuities of American history, seeking to cast his own political movement as nothing more than the culmination of the work of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Jefferson, Kennedy, and the other great leaders of our past. (Obama deliberately began his campaign, for example, in the same place that Lincoln began his own run for the White House, and ended it by taking the oath of office on Lincoln’s bible.)

Obama’s best speeches have all been peppered with historical allusions and quotations. Over the course of the campaign, Obama breathed fresh life into some of the most moving phrases offered in the past by Lincoln (“a new birth of freedom”), Martin Luther King (“the fierce urgency of now”), and Cesar Chavez (“yes we can”).

This morning’s inaugural was no exception to Obama’s tradition of using the past to frame the present, as the inaugural address was full of historical allusions—some obvious, some not so obvious.

So what exactly was Obama referring to with each of his invocations of the past? Let Shmoop be your guide…

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

Actually, only 43 presidents have taken the oath. (Grover Cleveland, who won the presidency in 1884, lost it in 1888, and won it back again in 1892, counts as both President #22 and President #24… so while there have been 44 distinct presidencies, there have only been 43 different presidents.) Aside from that bit of random trivia, the new president’s point here is to emphasize the continuity of the presidential transfer of power, in times good and bad, as prescribed in the Constitution (that’s what Obama’s invoking in his references to “We The People” and “our founding documents”).

Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted—for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things—some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

Here Obama invokes the experiences of a wide variety of Americans, from all walks of life, in triumphing over adversity. Those who “packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life” would include both the first European settlers of America—the rugged colonists of Jamestown and the Puritan refugees of Plymouth Rock—but also the later generations of immigrants who poured into the country through most of the 19th and 20th centuries. Those who “toiled in sweatshops and settled the West” were the factory workers of America’s industrial revolution and the pioneers of Manifest Destiny. The “the lash of the whip” is both an obvious reference to slavery and, perhaps, a sly reference to a line in Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural (“every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword”). Concord and Gettysburg and Normandy and Khe Sanh were momentous battles of the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, World War II , and Vietnam War, respectively.

…As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Obama’s reference to a false “choice between our safety and our ideals” is almost certainly meant to echo Benjamin Franklin’s famous dictum that those who “give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” The main peril faced by our Founding Fathers—Franklin among them, of course—was defeat and punishment at the hands of the British. The “charter” they drafted, the “charter expanded by the blood of generations” throughout American history, is the Constitution of the United States.

…Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.

Here Obama refers to American victories in World War 2 (over fascism) and the Cold War (over communism), both of which were achieved not only through force of arms but also through effective diplomacy—the Grand Alliance with Britain, the Soviet Union, China and France in World War 2, and the NATO alliance of Western powers against the Soviet bloc in the Cold War.

…This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed—why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

These words were perhaps Obama’s most direct (yet still fairly subtle) reference to the profound racial significance of his election as President of the United States. Throughout the Jim Crow era, Washington, DC was essentially a Southern city—which is to say a segregated city. As late as the early 1960s, when Martin Luther King came to the city leading the March on Washington, the most admired black man in America was still only able to stay and eat in certain establishments inside the city’s African-American districts.

…So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Obama closed his speech by invoking the bitter winter of 1776, which George Washington and his soldiers spent in camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. American prospects in the Revolutionary War at the time looked bleak, as Washington’s men shivered and starved through the long winter knowing that they would soon have to go into battle against a fearsome British Army that regarded each and every one of them as a traitor to the crown.

The most famous quotation to emerge from the ordeal at Valley Forge was, interestingly, one that Obama chose not to use—Thomas Paine’s declaration that “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” While our own predicament as Americans facing difficult circumstances in early 2009 can hardly compare to the hardships endured at Valley Forge, Obama’s choice to end his inauguration by invoking the nation-making struggles of our forebears was almost certainly offered in the hopes of restoring a sense of national unity and purpose similar to that fostered by George Washington two centuries ago. If Obama succeeds in that, he will surely join Washington in the pantheon of great American presidents.



Laurie