Let's watch it together shall we?(The ceremony is over, but if you want to see the President's speech just scroll down.)
Here are a couple of pictures courtesy of our friends over at the Obama Diary.
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| If you look carefully perhaps you can see some of our IM friends in that crowd. |
Update: John McCain is of course too busy to attend the inauguration, but he did send a tweet.
Congratulations to President Obama and his family on this Inauguration DayYou can almost feel the love can't you?
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) January 21, 2013
Update 2: Interesting bit of information from HuffPo:
If things had gone differently in November, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) might have departed the Capitol on Monday as the vice president of the United States. Instead, he faced a chorus of boos as he left the building to attend President Barack Obama's second inauguration ceremony.
You know part of me wants to respond to this with "Okay now that was uncalled for, let's act like grownups here." But then I remember the lies and accusations that were directed at the President coming from the Romney/Ryan campaign, and I just want to say "Fuck him!"
The important thing here is that I WANT to be gracious, don't you think?
Update 3: I have to apologize as I was incorrect about John McCain not being at the inauguration, he was indeed there. Fortunately I am a liberal and so I am allowed to make corrections and admit when I am wrong.
Update 4: In case you missed it here is the President's speech from today. It is a real barn burner.
To borrow a phrase, this is just awesome! There's an incredible feeling of elation and hope in our home as we witness this event.
ReplyDeleteWas awesome!G thanks for hosting! (was awesome speech by POTUS! of course my adobe flash plugin crashed twice during his speech) prob made by R's.
DeleteDid y'all see this pic from last night?
https://twitter.com/i/#!/krystalwolfgrl/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FTlU81x3E
Thanks, Gryph! I was hoping you'd put an Inauguration post for us.
ReplyDeleteWatching it live on the teevee machine as I type. Love our POTUS and his beautiful family.
I think I just saw GinaM in the crowd! :-)
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is amazing. Wow!
Doesn't Hillary look fabulous? She's the picture of good health.
She is there... "Greetings from DC" :)
DeleteShe is having a blast!
Shutout to GinaM------
DeleteHaaay Gina, Gurlfrayend!!! Have Funnnn!!!
[best effort from this southern good ol' boy at doing my Imitation of Martin Lawrence's 'Sheneneh' character. Since I'm haing to 'splain it, trust me-- it wasn't very good!]
Anon 8:38 -- So glad to hear!!! We would love to hear all the wonderful details when Miss Gina returns.
DeleteIt was great seeing the Secretary of State looking so good. The rest has done a world of good.
DeleteRiveted! With laptop at hand.
ReplyDeleteOh, fuck you, McCain, you awful, cynical old loser.
ReplyDelete"Get off my lawn, you bunch of punks!"
DeleteRetire soon, Sen. McCain. Before you pull a "Jimmy the Greek" and become that candidate that no one will ever admit to voting for in ANY election, except the supporters that no one can admit to pandering to.
Crickets from $arah?
ReplyDeleteKristy?
My God, don't provoke them.
DeletePresident is knocking it out of the park with his speech today.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I'm in utter awe. So passionately spoken.
DeleteHoly crap! Kelly has a voice and a half!
DeleteYes, Gryph, a beautiful speech! Congratulations, Mr. President, on your second term. Seeing your beautiful family, I could not be more proud to have you as my First Family.
DeleteGod keep you safe!
Yeah I am not really a Kelly Clarkson fan, but GODDAMN!
DeleteIt's ok, Gryph. I am. :-)
DeleteI don't want to see old fart John McCain on tv anyway!
ReplyDeleteI watched a little of Fox News and Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly kept commenting on the fact that the "crowds were considerably less this time. Hmmm, they pondered...what does that tell you?"
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you, Bret and Megyn. The size of the crowd is second, in my opinion, to the size of the electoral blowout that occurred on Nov. 6. The 'crowd' that showed up on Election Day is the one that matters the most!
They are LYING the park is closed b/c it was over flowing!
DeleteLiars!
Up fist X 10
DeleteBeing that President Obama's first election was an unprecedented HISTORICAL election, of COURSE there were much larger crowds. Remember, Fix News caters to morons who don't question anything they" report."
Delete>>Update: John McCain is of course too busy to attend the inauguration, but he did send a tweet.
ReplyDeleteHe IS there.
PHOTO: McCain Gives Thumbs Up At Inauguration
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) gave a thumbs up for the cameras at President Obama's second inauguration. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/photo-mccain-gives-thumbs-up-at-inauguration
Obama Calls For Equality For ‘Our Gay Brothers And Sisters’
ReplyDeletePresident Obama called for the equal treatment of gay Americans in his second inaugural address Monday.
"Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," Obama said.
Obama also included a mention of the Stonewall riots in a list of civil rights movements:
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth."
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/obama-calls-for-equality-for-our-gay-brothers
I am... So proud. So hopeful. So grateful. So happy.
ReplyDeleteObama Hails Broad Civil Rights Movement
ReplyDeleteIn his second inaugural address, President Obama hailed the broad civil rights movement, from women's rights, to civil rights, to the rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth," Obama said before hundreds of thousands at the U.S. Capitol.
Awesome speech by our President! He always delivers.
ReplyDeleteI scanned at c4p and noticed those many tacky comments, as usual, about our President.
Also, Skank has taken to FB today with a post about MLK. After being quiet for a while, she could not resist a jab on this respected day of the Inauguration of our President. She is really so predictable and so very pathetic.
Obama: We Will Respond To ‘Threat Of Climate Change’
ReplyDeleteIn his second inaugural address on Monday, President Obama said that as part of his second term agenda, his administration will seek to take further action to reduce the threat of climate change.
"We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity," Obama said before hundreds of thousands at the U.S. Capitol. "We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise."
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/obama-we-will-respond-to-threat-of-climate
Full Text Of Obama’s Second Inaugural Address
ReplyDeletehttp://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/full-text-of-obamas-second-inaugural-address
Not to be all partisan on a day like today and spike the political football, but there's a short, humorous blog entry by Andy Boriwitz in the New Yorker today. I'm unable to post the link here on my iPhone, but it should be easily accessible. If someone can post the link, I'd appreciate it. Just something for a mild chuckle at the expense of Fox News and their "Blue Monday" meme they're pushing right from the git-go this morning on Fox & Fiends, as today being the most depressing of the year.
ReplyDeleteYES!!! Andy took the pigskin and scored a TD with that post!!! Good Stuff!
Deletehttp://tinyurl.com/b5jfh3d
Thanks Anita.
DeleteAndy does those short Onion-style pieces that hit my funny bone pretty hard sometimes because they're so dry.
Fabulous...simply fabulous!!! The singing was great, esp the Brooklyn choir, loved Evers widow and Blanco poet...the diversity of our nation. I totally loved his speech, same tone as his campaign..esp the voter suppression part, you could just feel the GOP cringing...hahaha. BTW I saw McCain enter with Diane Feinstein, so he was there. I would love to be the fly on the wall at the Robme's complex.
ReplyDeleteI thought the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was a very interesting choice of songs. Anybody else besides me see that as a subtle jab to the Southern Obstructionists?
Deletewytch,
DeleteOh chit! I didn't until you just mentioned it. lol But all of the baggers, rednecks, and fundies down were on a media boycott today, so anything subtle went past them. To get their attention today, Gen Sherman would've had to burn a few southern capitals.
Obama the man made history with his first inaugural address. Today, Obama made history with the agenda laid out in his second inaugural.
ReplyDeleteThe president made right wing heads explode by quoting the Founders to start his second inaugural address, “Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.”
Behind the talk of individual freedoms, President Obama did something else. He enshrined liberal values of the new and minority coalition in American politics. While calling for tax fairness, deficit reduction, and entitlement reform, the president rejected the idea that entitlement programs must be privatized. Obama said that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security free us, not make us a nation of takers.
The president promised that we will respond to climate change, and called out climate change deniers. He called on America to lead on climate change. The president rejected the neo-con idea of perpetual war, “We the people still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.” The president said America will try to resolve its differences with other nations peacefully.
Obama called for equal pay for women, and our gay brothers and sisters to be equally treated under the law. The president said our journey is not complete until people don’t have to wait for hours to vote. He called for immigration reform, and mentioned gun control. The president called these our values. Progress doesn’t require us to settle debates for all time, but to act in our time.
The president said, “We must act knowing that our work will be unperfect.” He said it will be up to people 4 years, 40 years, and 400 years in the future to carry our work forward.
http://www.politicususa.com/obama-unchained-economic-crisis-him-president-sets-ambitious.html
As Joe Biden would say, 'This is a BIG FUCKING DEAL'!
ReplyDeleteHere's to the GOP!
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/11323352#
May God bless President Barach Obama
Awesome speech! I loved it when the camera spanned and caught the sour grapes bunch: Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and Eric Cantor; the look on their faces was priceless!
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump tweeted that 'Democrats and Republicans must come together to make America great again.'
ReplyDeleteBut, of course, he couldn't tweet that on election night..no...had to call for a 'revolution.'
What a twat. An utter piece of garbage.
Crosshairs Sarah probably woke this morning in some hotel, reached over to the night stand, shook the Adderall bottle, washed the last of them down with the remnants of a screwdriver, turned on the TV, saw the massive crowd that turned out for Obama, and then proceeded to bash the mini bar fridge with a floor lamp.
ReplyDeleteShe's a rock star - in her delusional, no-talent, nutrient starved brain.
DeleteIt doesn't take much for Sarah to start setting fires and throwing remotes controls and cutlery. She goes into the same rage whenever she's given a regular straw instead of a fluorescent bendy-type. She's a rage-aholic. She can't get out of bed unless she's gotta bitch about something.
DeleteOn the day President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, an exuberant Vice President Biden famously pronounced the reform a “big something deal” — except that he didn’t use the word “something.” And he was right.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I’d suggest using this phrase to describe the Obama administration as a whole. F.D.R. had his New Deal; well, Mr. Obama has his Big Deal. He hasn’t delivered everything his supporters wanted, and at times the survival of his achievements seemed very much in doubt. But if progressives look at where we are as the second term begins, they’ll find grounds for a lot of (qualified) satisfaction.
Consider, in particular, three areas: health care, inequality and financial reform.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/opinion/krugman-the-big-deal.html?hp&_r=0
"Fortunately I am a liberal and so I am allowed to make corrections and admit when I am wrong."
ReplyDeleteConservatives are also allowed to make corrections and admit mistakes. They just choose not to.
The McCain tweet used appropriate language, was courteous and well timed. I can't fault the guy for the tweet, though I suspect staff wrote it. (Of course, I'll never let McCain off the hook for picking Sarah Palin.)
ReplyDeleteAnybody else in Anchorage notice that Fox4 TV is the only network affiliated station that is not carrying the inauguration live. Instead they have Dan Fagan on for the entire time. (to be honest I can't receive channel 4 over the air so I can't confirm this, but the TV schedule shows Fagan on all morning)
ReplyDeleteGryphen, when you have time on this historic day, please take a moment to post Sarah's latest Facebook post, no doubt ghostwritten for her. Still, it honored all of the "freedoms" that Lincoln and King fought for, shades of Track fighting in Afghanistan to secure those same freedoms for us, here at home.
ReplyDeleteShe did not mention that President Obama owes his historic presidency to Lincoln's Emancipation proclamation. (No, Sarah, the Civil War was not fought against a stifling, overbearing government.) She did not mention what's going on in Washington DC.
President Obama recognizes that his role in history was made possible because of Martin Luther King Jr. and President Lincoln. It is no small coincidence that he chose to be sworn into office on two bibles, one owned by Lincoln and the other' MLK's.
As for Sarah and her ghostwriter writing about all of those "freedoms," Lincoln freed the slaves. They still were segregated and treated as second class citizens, prevented from voting, attending "separate but equal" schools, and until the 1960's, forced to drink at a separate drinking fountain. They could not sit in the front of the bus or at a lunch counter. Oh, please, Sarah, what "freedoms" are you tossing around so casually?
Racism? It is still alive and well. Just ask the woman who accused the President of the United States of shuckin' and jivin'. Sarah certainly does enjoy her freedom of speech, and it tells us exactly what she thinks of those "freedoms" granted by Lincoln, and for which King and his followers marched, while her fellow Republicans put roadblocks in the way of African Americans voting. The next time that you put your hand over your heart and pledge allegiance to the flag, Dear Sarah, you are supposed to practice and believe those words, too, "...with liberty and justice for all."
No she didn't mention the inauguration of President Obama at all. It was an obvious slight. Kinda like when Usama bin Laden was killed, she took to Facebook to thank George W. Bush for killing him.
DeleteI think whatever unimportant, derivative, googled, platitudinous, drivel that trashy, worthless guttersnipe chose to burp out today can wait until tomorrow for any discussion that might be warranted.
DeleteToday is for the American President and the American People, not Sarah Who.
Gryph, I second your remark on Ryan.
DeleteDid anyone hear about Mitten not watching the festivities. Said he couldn't be bothered.
What a true American. Magic britches and all.
Sarah is just a remnant of the ugly, angry racihatAnd bigotry that the majority of this country has moved past, but should always remember as a caution against returning in the direction. Sarah sells hate speech packaged as a cultural pop icon, but no one is buying her act anymore.
DeleteSarah has served her purpose to show what hatred and selfishness can do to a person, a political party, and possibly, a country if allowed to fester. Sarah's words and actions have been soundly rejected by the great majority of the people in the US, and her behavior henceforth, will only continue to marginalize her as a bigoted extremist throwback to an era that was shameful in this country's past. The fact that even her own political party completely shut her out of their political convention is a sure sign that, despite the great divide of ideological differences between the two nor political parties in our great country, there is no place for Sarah Palin in our nation's discussion about how to bridge the gap and come together as a nation.
Sarah Palin might choose to continue to foster her own brand of ersonal hate and animosity towards those who disagree with her brand of extremism, but she will be no more important than the refuse we discard in the trash each day. The Sarah Pslins should never go in the recycle bin. There's nothing there that will serve any useful purpose for the good of us all.
Well, I went ahead and commented on her after all. I wonder if she still thinks any attention is better than no attention?
DeleteThis is Sarah Palin's comment on today's inauguration:
ReplyDeleteToday Americans honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's been 30 years since President... http://fb.me/1PzcZqPI3
Perhaps she doesn't know.....
I know that we Democrats are never supposed to be visibly or audibly critical of "the other side," but I'm glad that Paul Ryan got some "boos" as he left the Capitol. I want the Republicans in Congress to realize that we want them to do the work of the country, not the work of the NRA, the Koch Brothers or ALEC. President Obama mentioned the oaths taken by all members of Congress to uphold the Constitution. They sometimes need reminders from us, the people, of whom they serve - and it's not big money.
ReplyDeleteI was also glad that Richard Blanco, in his very moving poem, mentioned the children killed all too recently in Connecticut. I am sure the Republicans in Congress and across the country want those children erased from our collective consciousness. We, the people, must not let that happen.
I was thrilled with the President's address. It was forceful and it was short. It reminded all of us of what he fought for so hard during the almost never-ending campaign. I was so proud to have supported President Obama, actually since he first announced his candidacy all those years ago.
The singing was beautiful and, again, done with great simplicity. Beyonce, thoroughly clad, sang the National Anthem perfectly.
It was a perfect inauguration!
Beaglemom
Yes! Thanks, Beaglemom, well stated!
DeleteHe framed every single issue with the words of the Constitution. The speech was absolutely brilliant! I'm so glad I worked on both campaigns and grateful to him for getting youth actively involved in politics.
Laughing so hard. Did anyone catch the video of Boehner and his wife. I don't believe I've seen a couple that detest each other so much. When 60 Minutes interviewed him a few years ago, it was evident that she despised him, but their hatred is in such sharp contrast to the love and dignity of the Obamas and Bidens that it was almost shocking.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read all the comments so sorry if it is a repeat. McCain looked horrible. Past old but more like his is very sick. He needs to retire.
ReplyDeleteSenator Murkowski only mentioned "the festivities" on her FB page. Was that her or her staff's omission? We'll never know. I still thought it was not very nice. Of course she was probably thinking about how anything with the President's encouragement was going to be what she couldn't support as per her overlords, so she was bracing herself.
ReplyDelete