Dirtman followed through on his plan to have an All-Inaugural Day. I was in and out and have experienced enough of Keith Olbermann and his pomposity to last me the rest of my lifetime and then some. I told Dirtman I'd watch with him if he could make Olberman shut up.
So we watched on C-SPAN. Blessedly devoid of inane commentary.
I am pleased that Barack Obama is now our president -- really I am. My view of the presidency is, while I respect the office, it requires a politician to get there, making the individual's character suspect to begin with. Oh, I understand the historic significance of Obama's election -- but that speaks more to the will of the people than anything else.
And Obama seems to be a man of integrity, which I honestly don't think we've seen since Jimmy Carter (who never got anything done, so perhaps integrity is not a good thing to have if you're the president).
When Cal Ripkin broke Lou Gerhig's record and brought fans back to a sport decimated by the baseball strike, I remember commenting to Dirtman that he (Ripkin) had better not turn out to be a druggie or a womanizer because it would really devastate a lot of people. (I must say, Ripkin has turned out to be true blue, so to speak. Now if he could only spread a little of that integrity into Little League Baseball...).
Anyway, I feel the same way about Obama.
Though in the past the press has not been one to suffers fools gladly (and boy-o-boy, did they get the opportunity to prove it with the last administration...), they're so enamored of the new president every move is seen through a very different lens than the one they had been using.
Yesterday is was rather refreshing amidst Olbermann and Chris Matthews' effusing over the slightest arch of Obama's brow, to hear NBC's Chuck Todd (who took David Gregory's place as White House correspondent) point out that the inaugural speech contained basically the same points that every other president made for their inaugural speeches. Later on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart actually dug out speeches by George W. Bush as spliced they alongside Obama's speech. It took a lot of courage to do that when everyone else thinks that this morning they will wake up to no recession, a glut of employment opportunities and the international community forming a global circle around our country singing "Kum Ba Ya."
The media does know, doesn't it, that Obama hasn't done anything yet, right?
But I'm willing to be dazzled. I'm anxious to say I was wrong to doubt. If Obama's mere presence changes the mood and attitude of this country, all the better.
I'm not sure this will even post tonight (it didn't). We've been told our internet problems stems from our proximity to Washington, D.C., and the Inaugural festivities, so it's not so much to put up with temporarily.
2 comments:
I'm with you all the way on this.
C-SPAN is the only way to go for this sort of thing.
As much as I disagree with much of Obama's policy, I find myself encouraged by the change in the country's mood and am open to the positive ways in which he is obviously going to impose, or at least attempt to impose, change. I'm willing to be wowed also. And while they are certainly propped up by the media, they are a beautiful family to watch and set a good example for our nation's young people.
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