Obama Inauguration

I believe that that with Mr Obama you will be introduced to what we had in uk under Tony Blair, New Labour. And also what we have here in Aus Kevin o7 Rudd.

Modern socialism characterised by multi millionaire politicians who are very eloquent in speech but very short on delivery.

In aus's case most notably the APOLOGY to the Aboriginal Peoples. Nout has happened since the apology. Also he signed Kyoto as it was dying and due to be replaced,

I fear Mr Obama may in the end offer the same.

his leadership may be linked to one single act.

How he deals with the deportation order, that is 4 years old, against his Kenyan Aunt.

Will she stay or will she go.

Sorry to sound so negative but i am concerned that if he fails in following up his rhetoric eg close Guantanamo, leave Iraq etc etc then there seem to be quite a few with a grieveance who may act.

i will watch his progress with great interest.

regards a Brit in Aus

David

Oh yeah i forgot to add i am Kenyan by birth.

David

I agree that the expectations for BHO are unrealistic. What he has going for him is that anything he does is likely to be an improvement over what we've had.

After Watergate, Gerald Ford, stagflation and Jimmy Carter, Americans were yearning for something to believe in, and Ronald Reagan fit the bill for a lot of people. I didn't think much of RR, and his legacy will be overblown as long as there are conservative commentators to worship at his feet, but there is no denying that he was the most effective president since FDR. Like FDR, he did a lot of it with his smile, his confidence and his happy talk. America is a confidence game, and he was the master.

I'm hoping that this is another such juncture, and that BHO can cajole us out of our doldrums and self loathing much like RR did, but in a more constructive direction.

Barack Hussein Obama has become the 44th president of the United States. The fact that he is (half-) black and he's made it to the top is an inspiration of all of us. I cannot expect that he will fulfill all of his promises, but I know that he will do what he thinks is right for his country. May God Bless Obama and the United States of America.

Personally I thought he made a wonderful speech.

How he will be able to live up to the expectations I think I will leave to history.

Chaps

Obama has proved that a load of rhetoric can fool a lot of mugs desperate for any sort of change.

Now comes the hard bit, delivering on his promises. I suspect that he will let a lot of them down.

I hope I am wrong but the man is short on policies.

Regards

Mick

Davohorn,

as usual you see the glass half full. This is a great day in the history of the United States. I am not sure why you are so driven to share your negative outlook. If only you could chanel that energy towards something positive. You can't cross the icy river if you refuse to swim. best of luck to you.

chris

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Now comes the hard bit, delivering on his promises. I suspect that he will let a lot of them down.

I hope I am wrong but the man is short on policies.

Hmm.....nine separate, specific commitments made in his inauguration speech alone, Mick - doesn't strike me as someone who doesn't know what he's about. A promising start!

I wish him the very best of luck - he will need it.

Whatever problems the US [in this instance though in reality nthe whole of the world's nations involved in trade] has at the moment the future can be looked at with pessinisum, or realistic hope.

If looked at with pessimism, I suspect that the slump will be longer and more painful than it night be if viewed realistically but retaining some hope for the best that might be possible. I really do think that a fresh start for the US may result in a less unhappy situation concerning well-being, both economic and in terms of personal happiness. GWB's administration was tired out and filled with the doom of naval gazing over the undoubted mistakes, lies, and wrong decisions.

A change is exactly what the doctor ordered. Let us hope that the new administration brings sense in areas of both foreign and home policy in the US through what are going to be harder times to come, but let us hope that these times are bearable and suffused with an attitude of optimism about what can be achieved.

Sometimes the only weapon is the expression of a hopefull concept of what can be possible.

Without Churchill the moral of the British in 1940 would have not been what it was. To keep the spirit of fighting for freedom was only possible at that time in fine rhetoric and the incredibly heroic sacrifice of what Churchill would refer to as the few.

What if he had stated the negative aspect and suggested the it was likely Britain would be overun in weeks by the vastly superior force we faced, rather than promising nothing other than blood, sweat and tears, and fighting them on the beaches etc.

It is all about attitude in tough times.

May God bless Mr Obama in his task of leading the US in these times of challenge.

ATB from George

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Obama has proved that a load of rhetoric can fool a lot of mugs desperate for any sort of change.

Now comes the hard bit, delivering on his promises. I suspect that he will let a lot of them down.

I hope I am wrong but the man is short on policies.

Well, I guess with Bush we got neither rhetoric, nor policies - though leaving the world 'desparate for change' as you say.

I do not agree with all Obama stands for by any means, but on balance it can't fail to be better than 8 years of US government by the Dukes of Hazzard.

quote:

Originally posted by avole:
I'm with you in that Obama is going into office with such great expectations by his people

I would count myself as among "his people" even though I have no vote in the most powerful country on earth.

A goat in a tutu should have won against the Republican offering but I think he did a lot better than that - as did the United States.

Well, let's all hope that his success during the next four years is likewise a lot better than a goat in a tutu.

I'm sure it will be.

Cheers

Don

Well considering the past 20 years it was W who fooled the public.

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —President George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

I'm certainly glad I never voted Republican since Nixon.

Sure Obama can't be a saint, or a savior, but now we have a fighting chance to right the wrongs. He's just so much sharper and can easily look back at what didn't work. It's also in the hands not just of his cabinet, but the leaders, political and business. Sad to say they just might not all be behind change. Commentators have said the Republicans have really damaged their own party. The public has seen what hasn't worked.

Good luck to BHO.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by GFFJ, and I think it is a good sign that the US has elected Barack Obama with all that he represents. Only time will tell if he is as sucessful as I hope he will be, but he does strike me as a skilful politician who has the capacity to unify the domestic and international political stage and be a champion for dialogue rather than aggression.

I also think we need to be realistic how much can be achieved by one man since a lot of the world issues at the moment (climate, economic downturn, war in Middle East) will require all world leaders to pull in one direction as opposed to the current approach with US/UK pulling one way and everyone else pulling in another.

Personally speaking, I am very hopeful that President Obama's election will be a catalyst for positive change. I do respect the other, more cautious, views expressed here but hope that they are wrong.

regards,

Dev

I found today's inauguration quite uplifting. I think Obama will have a hard time living up to what many expect from him, some expectations that might not be realistic.

I have heard some interesting comparisons to Franklin D Roosevelt, especially with the economic situation he is inheriting, but if in a few months Obama can continue to be mentioned alongside FDR then I think that would be positive.

I also was pleasantly surprised by Bush during the transition period, hearing that he gave Obama a lot of access to executive information that is not normally available until in office. The two of them seemed very at ease. Even if it was for show, it didn't look forced.

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
[....but on balance it can't fail to be better than 8 years of US government by the Dukes of Hazzard.

That's not fair....

The Dukes of Hazzard were actually quite intelligent and principled!

what's important is what comes next ...

Indeed,

Thanks for being John the Baptist to my post:


In truth I found the whole inauguration less than inspiring.

His "victory" speech was much better.

But somehow I find the thought of 2 black children in the White house as a very positive and uplifting portent.


SJB

A momentous day.

I was simply amazed at the number of people who turned out to see it happen for themselves, and I hope Obama can remain the popular President he is today, as the goodwill of the people goes a long way.

Although he made an intelligent speech, I too thought it was a little flat, and lacked the history and emotion (and rhetoric) of some of his previous efforts, but with due cause. We're in a bad way, and it's time to deliver on the promises that got him elected.

He gets my vote, for sure, and I wish him well.

As a Brit, I don't have a vote in the US but if I did, I would have voted for President Obama. I found his inauguration speech inspiring. He is a man I would follow.
He will almost certainly not achieve all his aims. Not all will be possible. But he has shown the direction in which the USA and the world must go and for that we must all be thankful. He deserves any support we can give him in achieving his very worthy ambitions.
Ken

some good pundits on PBS said he got 3 good jabs in at the previous admin about changing paths and going from fear to positive. The news comes on in 30 min. I'll see what BBC says then why the stock market took a dive instead of a lift. Then the hour PBS news. Should be an interesting evening.

What a great speech.

Hope the next eight(?) years will be better than the previous eight.

Listening to the radio while at work today i was impressed with the fact that he walked the walk and met many people when he left the safety of his vehicle. This simple act is very important as i feel it reflects his trust in the american people.

One interesting comment here was the Aboriginal community leaders saying they hope that one day we can have the same here.

I think they missed the point. Mr Obama is not an Indiginous American, ie not a North American Indian, but a man of mixed European and African parentage. It is in my opinion important to value both his European and African heritage equally and not just his apparent skin tone. He himself has always made a point of his heritage being mixed race so the contiual reference by many to just his African heritage may not be too intelligent in the long run.

So off to a good start, lets hope he can keep the momentum up.



If and when the Americans elect a North American Indian as President then they will have achieved the sentiment made here by Aboriginal leaders.

America and Australia are still lead by Migrant peoples not indiginous to the countries.

Will this be achieved in either country soon?????

So a very moving day and full of hope for the future. Much of his speech was indeed uplifting, and i am sat here listening to the radio comments and assessment of today.

David

Ref the comment about Obama being mixed European/African, I reckon that will be just fine, as I seem to remember from my history we did rather well in Britain with a mixed British/American Prime Minister once.
Barrie