Category: Elections 2008

On the Inauguration, I wrote:

I can’t wait for the Wingnuts to parse the stumbling over Obama’s oath of office (both Obama and Roberts) to somehow prove he never took the oath and therefore is not president.

Apparently, after the initial laughter over the prospect, some people decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so Roberts re-administered the oath to Obama yesterday, without any bobbles (or a Bible).

Interestingly enough, the same thing (retaking the oath) was done by both Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur in their day.

I’m sure that won’t quiet the conspiracy nuts, but …

Taking down the Obama poster from the blog sidebar. Peeling off the (magnetic) bumper stickers from the car. Got one last wear out of the Obama shirt last night, sharing some champagne with Margie, but … the campaign’s over, the governance has begun, and here’s hoping that the rhetoric and promises of the former are reflected in the latter.

Good luck, President Obama.

He said:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

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 forebears, and true to our founding documents.

Except he’s wrong, as are any number of other commentators who made a similar statement today. Forty-three Americans have now taken the presidential oath, though Obama is considered to hold the 44th presidency, and is regularly referred to as the 44th president. And, no, I’m not claiming it’s because Obama isn’t really a real American or some simlar lunacy.

Instead, it’s because Grover Cleveland did something no other person has done: served two non-consecutive terms (with Bejamin Harrison serving a term in-between), and so is counted as both the 22nd and 24th presidents.

Forty-four presidents … but only forty-three people have sworn the oath.

Of course, I assume Obama knows that, but one’s inaugural address isn’t the place for a history lesson (though, upon consideration, I can imagine Al Gore explaining it all to us). But … does that mean … if he did know, does that make him a liar, only two paragraphs into his presidency? (Aha! Film at 11! Double dittos! Next up on the O’Reilly Factor — Barack Obama: Threat or Menace or Just Confused With Numbers?)

And so it goes.

Or, rather, journals it while at school. A transcript:

PRESIDENT-ELECT TURNS INTO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Former president twisted back from moving boxes. [George H.W. Bush]

Lincoln Bible

McCain [one of the presidents, not GHWB] had back surgery – has to use a cane.

Lincoln Memorial

Sea of people [“I really liked that!”]

Forty-fourth President

First African-American President

Aretha Franklin – “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”

Even though the Oath of Office hasn’t been said, Obama is now President.

Obama is President!

[“After the oath of office had been said, in Obama’s speech …”] The snow stained with blood.

Love with a widening light.

Had a chance to watch the Inauguration from home (working furiously most of the time), and take, of course, a picture. More random (and non-sequential) thoughts.

1. Cute kids!
2. CSPAN is too much fun. Never has it been more interesting to watch people standing around and chatting. On the other hand, sometimes it was annoying when the sound system was picking up an announcement from outside while the cameras were shooting a different group inside — e.g., hearing the announcement for Biden’s kids while watching Obama’s (cute!) kids.
3. Great music between the acts.
4. I can’t wait for the Wingnuts to parse the stumbling over Obama’s oath of office (both Obama and Roberts) to somehow prove he never took the oath and therefore is not president.
5. Great inaugural speech. Powerful. Need to see the text; I strongly suspect there are quotables from it.
6. Rev. Warren did a decent, if long, job of his invocation. I thought the Lord’s Prayer was a bit much — not any more objectionable per se (and there are elements of it that are fine), but as strongly a sectarian prayer as one could come up with short of the Nicene Creed.
7. Cute kids — on boxes!
8. Always interesting watching the interplay between the Presidents and their Families, as well as the protocols of the announcements.
9. Bush, inside heading for the platform, looked a bit stunned. Obama almost looked dreamily relaxed.
10. Amazing shots of the mall and the humanity there.

Amazing history. Glad I watched — and glad I DVRed it for Margie and Kitten tonight.

Obama takes the oath of office. At last.

So here we are. Inauguration Day. The end of the Bush presidency. The beginning of the Obama one.

Part of me is hopeful — yes, the sort who imagines Obama as charging in on a White Unicorn, smiting evil and bringing puppies and flowers to a world grown tired and dark through the machinations of the current administration.

Part of me is cynical — waiting for Obama to reveal himself as another politician with feet of clay and a weakness for special interest spending, a return to business as usual with a Donkey in charge instead of an Elephant.

Much of me is pragmatic, realizing that Obama cannot live up to anyone’s expectations, my own included, let alone everyone’s. He will certainly make decisions that disappoint me — perhaps because of weakness, perhaps because he knows something I don’t, perhaps for good reasons, perhaps for bad. But I think, based on what I’ve read and heard of the man that he will do more things that impress me, that inspire me, that make me as glad that he is our president as I was embarrassed and increasingly angry that Bush was. I think he will, net-net, be just what this country needs.

I don’t envy him his job. Between cleaning up the mess and setting the federal government back to right — both full-time jobs — will he have time and energy and opportunity to make some positive changes, not just fix the negative ones? What will be done, what will be tried, and what will be left undone? How much time will he have?

(Though I’ll note that, despite very earnest and heartfelt fears on some folks’ parts, the Bush Administration did not run Bush for a 3rd term, did not fake a major terrorist attack, did not cancel the election, did not pull Osama bin Ladin out of a hat, did not declare martial law before the inauguration, did not disappear Obama before he could take office. Yes, today is not yet over, but I don’t see any of that as likely to happen today.)

I don’t have any magic advice for the new president, save to stay grounded in what’s real with his family, to keep an eye on the goals and not on the day-to-day drudge, to listen as well as speak and to consider before action. I think all of those are behaviors Obama has already shown, which is promising.

I keep him, his family, and our nation, in my thoughts and prayers.

So you think you could cut through the vote recount clutter in Minnesota and quickly come a conclusion about all those challenged ballots? Take the MPR challenge and see.

One bit of amusement is how the challenging from both the Coleman and Franken camps completely flip-flops on similar bad markings that favor their candidates.

(via Ginny)

Electoral-vote.com gives the latest on Alaska’s Senatorial election.

First off, looks like Alaska and the Republicans won’t be embarrassed by a convicted felon being returned to office.

With all but 2500 votes counted, Anchorage mayor Mark Begich (D) now has an insurmountable lead of 3724 votes over convicted Sen. Ted. Stevens (R-AK), ending Stevens career as the longest serving Republican senator in history. The remaining votes, which come from overseas voters and igloos so far north that they don’t have polling places, will be counted next week before the tally is finalized.

Begich claimed victory yesterday evening; Stevens has not yet conceded. A recount is possible, but Alaska uses optical scan machines and previous recounts have not changed the results much. Begich’s victory brings the number of Democrats in the new Senate to 58, with races in Minnesota and Georgia still undecided.

The delta is high enough that if a recall is requested by Stevens, he’ll have to pay for it.

Interestingly, Stevens may have been torpedoed by a third party candidate — Bob Bird, who ran for the Alaska Independence Party and got over 12,000 votes, presumably from Stevens. But there may be some chicken-and-egg here — did Stevens lose because Bird took his votes, or did folks disgusted with Stevens but unwilling to vote for a Democrat shift their vote “safely” to Bird in protest?

An interesting note on Begich — he’ll be the only member of the Senate without a college degree.