I can’t believe this moment is finally here. I am so incredibly relieved.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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the ceremony is beginning.
Anyone remember when Carter hopped out of the car and went strolling in his inaugural parade?
I do. It’s been awhile.
I was hanging wallpaper in the kitchen with the tv on in the family room during that inauguration. Remember it well..
George H.W. Bush is laboring pretty badly. He really should be using a cane.
The moving vans are going to work at the White House.
Hi, I will pop in here and say hi to you Booman, just noticed you are live blogging.
I too am relieved that this moment is finally here.
I never thought I’d be more excited about the incoming team than that the current team is leaving.
it’s the day in America *”All Men Are Created Equal” is finally ratified.
May the force be with Obama.
The crowd is ginormous.
I love it. All of it.
Al Gore is in the House.
Aretha Franklin is going to do ‘My County Tis of Thee’.
Sasha’s outfit is silly-cute.
I forget the name, but they announced earlier that Michelle Obama’s outfit was created by a Cuban-American designer.
Toledo
Barack is going to be using the Resolute desk, right? I read that somewhere.
Will I ever have to see Lynn Cheney again?
Yes
and Hubby is hobbled off the stage in a wheel chair.
he looks like the decrepit monster he is.
I kept hoping for a Potemkin moment when his wheelchair went down the stairs.
At her husband’s sentencing.
Sitting here in ca. I worry about the cold, some don’t look that warmly dressed and most heads are bare. That is in the stands, not the crowds.
see why Grandma will live in the White House…the Kids hang on her.
The crowd is starting to get restless. It’s 11:30.
I am also excited to the scrappy kid from Scranton taking the vice-presidential oath. I hope he can figure out which branch of government he belongs to.
Boehner looks like someone killed his whole family and Bush looks like he’s walking to the gallows.
I thought Bush looked relaxed and happy.
always looks like an over-cooked chicken. All that smoking is not good for the skin. He appears to spend several hours/week on the tanning bed.
Anderson Cooper: Bill Bennett, you’re a student of history, what are your thoughts?
They’re wheeling Emperor Palpatine out in a wheelchair.
Dr Strangelove.
Not the Darth Vader costume.
I am watching on msmbc, booman I think on CNN, does it make a difference in viewing I wonder.
Michelle Obama has the Bible that Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration.
According to Charlie Gibson, he will become Pres. at 12:00 noon whether or not he is sworn in yet.
Joe the Biden!
Here he comes.
No overcoat!
Tears
the difference between obama’s inauguration and bush’s in 2000 is stark.
with bush it was pouring rian, protests lined the street. someone threw an egg at the limo. it was frightening to watch, like something out of a ww2 movie.
today is a celebration.
Why did Diane Feinstein get this honor?
Chairman of inaguration committee.
thanks.
Fortunately, she didn’t snipe about Panetta.
was shafted doing his benediction for the We Are One concert.
Wasn’t she the head or chairperson of the Inaugural Committee?
Oh Jesus, Warren is even more inappropriate than I had imagined. Go away, bigot.
Eh? What’s he done, other than be crap?
You yanks and your ostentatious religion.
The name of “Jesus” is not appropriate at a state occasion.
What a fucking toad.
You cannot TRUST a Baptist asshole.
our so-called “ostentatious” religion (not mine). I couldn’t wait until he was off the podium.
Re-Re (Aretha Franklin’s name among us black folks) was all the church I needed, even with the canned back-up.
I really don’t like this bigot.
this dude is ruining my buzz.
If you mean Rick Warren, it only now occurred to me that this sort of prayer shouldn’t be happening at all. It didn’t hit home until he kept driving all the stuff about God; this really doesn’t sniff Constitutional, at all.
with religion that started with Bush. However, with T.D. Jakes doing the sermon at Obama’s morning service today, I am not sure the nation has seen the last of these bigots milking the populace for all they can get. I’m afraid that Jakes is angling to be the black Billy Graham, but he has BAGGAGE galore.
I’ll be glad when the Obamas choose their new pastoral home, and let it go at that.
I couldn’t listen and turned him off.
Arefa!!
Arefa’s hat is awesome!!
n/t
rick warren is an asshole.
Well, he has successfully marginalized all the jews, all the muslims, all the unitarians, all the hindus, all the quakers, all the baha’i, all the africans who are nativist, all those who do not follow jesus.
What a FUCKING TOOL! It is all entirely unnecessary. All he had to do was say “In your name” or something equally neutral.
Divisiveness at this moment is unforgiveable, and then to use a Christian Prayer? What a fucking asshole.
Oh, that’s what was wrong with that bit! I knew the “Our Father” was off but couldn’t think exactly why!
We have a State Religion, where the terms are “God” “our father” and “He on high” and stuff like that. No one save atheists are excluded by these terms.
Then we have divisive, sectarian terms like “Jesus” and “Yeshua” and such. These are sectarian divisive names, and many are excluded. Muslims are excluded although Jesus is a prophet, he is secondary to Mohammed. Jews are excluded, hindus, nativists, animists, pagans, baha’i, etc.
What is the value of the name of Jesus at a time like this? No value whatsoever, save to piss off people.
Biden’s lucky to get Stevens instead of Roberts.
running late
Kick ass Joe!
Joey Biden is the Vice-President of the United States…and CHENEY IS NOT!!!
and the life is draining out of Cheney.
That was awesome. Who all was playing?
Yitzak Perlman, Violin
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Anthony McGill, Clarinet
Gabriela Montero, Piano
John Williams, Composer
Arranger, not composer. It’s a song from the Quakers, or Weavers, or Shakers or something.
The tune inside the arrangement is called “The Lord of the Dance.” It may have been co-opted by some Christian sect but it’s roots are pagan. The original lyrics refer to the solar god, “Dance, dance, wherever you may be, for I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.” It’s often sung at neo-pagan gatherings.
well, in any case, it was a pleasure to listen to them perform it.
In the history of music, many composers take existing tunes, and compose a new piece from it. It is beyond arrangement, which involves determining who plays the lead here, etc. This was a composition, since it involved an entirely fresh take on this old tune.
Antonin Dvorak took a whole collection of folk songs, and composed the Slavonic Dances. He is the composer, not just the arranger, since he translated the base material of the tune into a new thing, his Orchestral Dances. That is similar to the approach here.
John Williams, Composer
From the Shakers, I believe.
From Wiki:
and the 44th begins in 35 seconds.
I am going to stand.
Congratulations, Mr. Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America!!!
Obama lost his cool there, but it was fun! I hope he pulls his shit together for the big speech.
Roberts gave him too long a sentence and too fast
According to somebody on CNN, Roberts was the one who botched the words. Obama knew the right ones, so got confused. Roberts is of the clan that loves to bloviate on his love of the Constitution, but couldn’t get 35 words of it right?
On a side note, somebody at NPR noted that Lincoln was sworn in by the abominable Taney, his arch-enemy. Obama was sworn in by Roberts, whose nomination he had voted against.
No words. Just right.
There is a tone of authority in his voice that I haven’t heard before – a “Don’t even think about f’ing with me” tone that I’m used to hearing in my neck of the woods that I hadn’t heard from Obama before. I’ll be interested in seeing what, if anything, that means in how he goes about his business. I’m now optimistic – no longer cautiously.
Yes, we can.
Pledge to educate third world = YES!
http://www.whitehouse.gov
was simply inspired.
A good speech.
Strong. So fucking strong.
That was a bit of an anticlimax.
My Backwards Bush clock on my desktop here at work is ZERO! My wingnut co-workers, particularly those of the theocratic bent, are now having a fit of apoplexy.
I honestly questioned whether we would ever see this day.
There is hope. Now the hard work begins.
is now giving the benediction.
He has given an inclusive and non-sectarian benediction. He is quoting from a lot of spirituals and verses of the spiritual books.
And he closed with a chant of “Amen”.
A good benediction.
Unlike the invocation, which was entirely divisive.
Agree, even as one of those non-believers this didn’t bother me any even enjoyed it unlike Warren’s ignorant even childish divisiveness.
Obama gave a nod to non-believers too.
Even I can’t complain. There’s a huge weight lifted off my soul today.
Also, my nephew was born this morning at about 3 AM, my youngest brother’s first kid. No, he was named after my grandfather. Yes, he’s a cute kid.
Yes, today is one I’ll never forget.
Congratulations Zander..happy day indeed.
Just occurred to me. You notice how tight CNN kept their shots during Warren’s speech? I was interested to see earlier how many people in the crowd would turn their backs on him…didn’t occur to me that they weren’t panning the audience too much, now I wonder if it happened or not.
Here’s what I want to see next.
Bush on a helicopter, leaving town.
I have a suggestion for the top of the next thread. 🙂
Any minute now Boo….ah we have liftoff…now it’s really done. Now I can really let out a sigh of relief.
Somewhere in Texas, a village is preparing to receive their idiot.
I didn’t think it was possible, but I felt a little sorry for Bush. He looked so small and irrelevant.
we all gave him the finger.
Us too, but I did feel a little twinge at the end. I wonder if he’s going to look out the window of the helicopter when it rises.
We did too. That was the other thing I was wondering, they had a lot of people out there today passing out fliers to give Bush the finger as he flies off. Didn’t see any backs on Warren, wonder if the fingers came out. Guess I’ll have to watch the blogs for shots from the crowd.
start the rotors!!
going going. GONE
Nah Nah Na Na!
Nah Nah Na Na!
Hey-ey-ey!
Good bye!
totally bunged up the Oath.
The Chief Justice is required to administer the oath. Didn’t he practice? It’s symptomatic of the incompetence of the wingnutwackadoodles. He can’t even get the oath right.
Yes, what was with him.
To me, it sounded like his first line was bungled as well.
It was Robert’s fault.
Next up: Larry Johnson will announce that Obama is therefore not the lawful POTUS.
what? Larry’s wrong?
do not question FloBee.