I watched part of the inauguration, and WOW, it seemed glitzier than the Super Bowl! I thought his speech was good. Now, I just hope he does a good job I'm also glad I wasn't in DC. 2 million people on the Mall? That density is way too high for my taste. Oh, and nice touch of unintentional comic humor (the Chief Justice forgetting his lines)!

The President's becoming more of a celebrity position, and the Presidential Elections, a popularity contest...

Aren't all elections, at least in some way, a popularity contest?

I just wish they'd actually get away from the fluff news about the event, really. Reports of executive orders regarding staying Bush's last few acts and halting Gitmo prosecutions come up silently on the crawl while the channel airs his appearance at the National Prayer Service in its entirety, including the Reverend and her neverending love letter.
I'd much prefer if A, the pomp and circumstance would subside so he could do something important, and B, when he does do something important, that the press offer more than a passing mention.

You've all been fooled: Yo-Yo Ma was wearing a clip-on tie.

Aside from Obama's inauguration speech, this was my favorite moment from yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLDzJHdxWAc&eurl

While probably not the most tactful thing for the crowd to do, Bush sure worked darn hard to ensure that kind of disdain.

But isn't the whole point of the Inauguration ritual nowadays to provide "fluff" and be a propaganda spectacle? The event itself doesn't signify any other new thing than there being a new president and a new government, it's job is to get people pumped and create the sense that new days are here.

I watched Obama's speech, and the following words from Frank Zappa came to mind: "Government is the entertainment division of the military-industrial complex". It was basically the same substanceless, emotive jargon that constitutes most US Inaugural speeches. He said what he'd have to say. I do think that Obama is more fit than many of his predecessors and that times are ripe for positive changes, but a lot of people seem to get lost in the euphoria of just finally having him in office. They forget that he actually hasn't really done anything yet. I'm glad he was elected (yesterday would've really been dreary if McCain had been up on that podium) and I remain hopeful that times will be better, but personally I'll reserve judgment till after he's actually started accomplishing things of substance. He has the huge mess that Bush made to clean up: let's see what he can do.

Found this on japanprobe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNSip5gyKo

The japanese at their wackiness as per usual.

I understand what you're trying to say, but an inauguration speech isn't the best time to establish policy.  If there was ever an ideal moment to deliver a speech that inspires the country, or the world for that matter, this was that moment.  I'd say he succeeded in spades.  But now that the ceremony is out of the way, yeah, I'm crossing my fingers that he can meet expectations.  He has a lot of damage to undo in the next few years.

Awesome.  Japan's wacky racism is one of the things I miss most about living there.

Agreed, I was just commenting on the whole media circus around the Inauguration. The way some people reacted (even outside the US) and the way the media covered it, you'd think it was the second Coming or something.

Its a paradox in many ways. The ceremony is meant to create enthusiasm and expectations, but when it becomes such a big thing, there's a danger that many people will think "well, the Inauguration's over and we got a better president in now, so I guess that takes care of that". Meanwhile, nothing of substance has changed in the actual state of affairs out in the world...

I agree though that it was a very good speech, and I'm hopeful for the future.

What I find interesting is that Washington D.C. was declared a federal disaster area because of the inauguration:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZG … U5NTAzNzU=

Nice link, I got some good laughs out of it

I still find it very interesting that a man with a name that reminds one of "Osama Bin Laden" (when craftily combined with the V.P. name) became elected President of the U.S. It's not interesting that he was elected, but of the value some humans assign to the coincidence. I would say there's nothing to worry about (similar to thinking of a song and then hearing it on the radio), but some people are quite concerned. It is further interesting to note that a religious person informed me of this (such a person would place a very high value on a coincidence). This stems from my recent investigation into the nature of coincidences. When I was younger I used to think they were mysterious (one could argue my mind was religious and not rational), but they can be explained mathematically using probability.

Back to normal reality, my only real complaint about the inauguration was the cost. Congress recently berated the CEOs of Chrysler, Ford and GM for using private jets, but the President starts off wasting money. Not a good sign.

Wow...

Yeah, no kidding... I brought that up when talking to friends and they just about bit my head off over it. Spouting the same bullshit conservatives did when Bush was on top of the hill that I was 'unpatriotic' and that I was 'dumb' for not recognizing this was history in the making.

Tell that to the economy -_-;

I saw this commercial when I was in the Philippines over the holidays:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxkZQMM5lc0

Pretty funny how popular he is around the world.  For anyone who's unaware, that's supposed to be the president of the Philippines in the video.

To his credit, Obama did place a salary freeze on White House employees that make over $100K a year. However, I'm not entirely certain how that affects things, if it all. Does anyone who's more politically savvy than myself know more about this?

cheers,

-avatar!

I'd sure love to quadruple my salary so that I could get frozen too.
It'd be an honor!!

Yeah, those poor souls. To be stuck at only more than $100,000. How will they eat? Where will they live? The males might have to cut back on prostitutes and the females might only get to go shopping a few times per week. What horrors will they endure? Will they survive?

I don't think anyone's claiming they're suffering, only that the freeze aims to keep the rich from getting yet richer. It's not a cure-all move and it's not intended to be, but it's one of many many steps in the right direction.

I agree. It's a small step, but it's still better than allowing them to get salary increases! Also, I'm curious what people have to say about this:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/23/ … pstoryview

cheers,

-avatar!