Obama Becomes President...Again!

Is the Obama presidency already in reruns?

No.

He took the Oath of Office a second time, tonight !
So, story: A lot of media are reporting that this whole thing was brought on by the White House Counsel Greg Craig (best name ever) and Joe Biden's stupidity. At the ceremony to swear in Obama's White House staff, Biden said the following, according to Politico:

“My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts,” Biden said at the swearing in of White House staffers Wednesday afternoon.

The staffers in the room laughed, but Obama stood stone faced and visibly annoyed:


Last night on the air, this happened:
And Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said: "We're wondering here whether or not Barack Obama in fact is the president of the United States. They had a kind of garbled oath. It's just conceivable that this will end up going to the courts."

The White House then issued a statement saying that they had decided, out of thoroughness, to have Justice Roberts come to the White House to administer the Oath once more. Apparently a lot of people, including "professional" Chris Wallace, think that Obama is not officially the President, and that since yesterday, Joe Biden has actually been the President, since the Oath of Office for the President was not properly administered, and was somehow in violation of the 22nd Amendment.

Wrong. The 22nd Amendment was put in place strictly for the two-term limit rule...good 'ol George Washington and Thomas Jefferson didn't want young America turning into a Monarchy.

Additionally, the 20th Amendment was called into question, since some thought that at noon yesterday our country was leaderless, because the Oath had not been given. Article 2 of the Constitution, that lays out the oath, was effectively superseded by the 20th Amendment, which states that the President and Vice President relinquish power at precisely noon on the 20th day in January...regardless of whether the President-elect has taken the Oath.

There's some tricky language, but the 20th Amendment makes distinction between "entering upon the execution of the office" and "term of office shall start at noon." Meaning, that President Obama's term started at noon yesterday, but didn't enter into the execution of his duties until after he was sworn in.

Rest easy, America, Obama is actually our President !

I'm really glad Obama stuck up for Chief Justice Roberts, too...give the guy a break, it was his first inauguration, and he didn't plan on looking like a douche, he wanted to go without notes and look impressive.

Sidenote: I watched the National Prayer Service that the President attended, and...wow.

Day One...

One final note...I have discovered the best source for all the political information on the new Obama Presidency. Politico has a comprehensive diary of everything that the Administration is doing, and it's immensely interesting to read.

Politico 44

A New Day Has Come...

Well, I'm sitting here parked on the couch, Krispy Kreme donuts and milk in front of me, awaiting the start of the Inaugural ceremonies, and I thought I'd post some thoughts as I see things on my television screen. I plan on trying to get a peek at each news channel, mainly because eventually each one of them makes me angry and forces me to flip to another one. Look for pull-quotes of stupid things news reporters say, stupid things people in the crowd say, counts of how many times I hear overused words or cliches, and many more random bits of Inaugural-ness. Barack my world, bitches !

- 9:30 am: Merideth Viera on "Today" on NBC keeps saying "There he is!!" when Obama appears on the camera, and said something about history that didn't make sense. One thing to note though, they showed the President-Elect leaving St. John's Church on those screens on the National Mall, and the crowd exploded already...I've been reading that Washington, D.C. is just bursting at the seams with people trying to see this event. The subways started running people at 4 AM, and there's an estimated 2 million people on the Mall to watch...

**After seeing Dubya and Obama and their wives on the steps of the North Poritco at the White House...I wonder what George is thinking. Maybe, "Hmm, you aren't John [McCain]..." ?

10:40 AM: Spike Lee is interviewed on ABC, and along with wearing a ridiculous white fur hat, he appeared to be high...because he couldn't think of where he was. I'll chalk it up to nerves, though. Some chick who was interviewed said she'd been sending blogs to her family every second on her cellphone...something each cellphone carrier explicitly asked customers to NOT do...so we'll see how long the cellular network around D.C. lasts before imploding.
- Over on NBC Governor David Patterson made some awful joke about Michelle Obama being a woman, and no one laughed, including me. Maybe someone forgot to read him the punchline...
Oh, and Ted Kennedy has an ultimate hat on. He looks like Churchill, only the kooky version.

Another important note: I refuse to flip over to CNN at all today, in order to keep my sanity...and to boycott their ridiculous Facebook collaboration to have people instantly update their status so all their friends can see what they are thinking each and every second. I choose to get information from a real news channel, not a gimmicky broadcast aimed at young people who have nothing better to do with their lives...

More to come
P.S. the motorcade is GINORMOUS

11:20 AM: ABC's anchors will not shut the hell up and just let us watch the event. Charlie Gibson is like Biden: long-winded, and tells the stupidest anecdotes and tries to be poignant when it just comes off as arrogant. NBC oozes professionalism right now, as Brian Williams actually apologizes for their microphones picking up some of the chatter on the stage, and someone who is clapping excitedly right next to the microphone. Every channel could learn something from Brian Williams' class.
11:28 AM: Laura Bush says "Hey Everybody" as she comes down the steps. Haha.

*How awesome would it be to have Marine Corp guards around you all the time, a Marine Corp band that basically follows you everywhere, your own Cadillac limo, and an infinite number of Secret Service agents blanketing you at all times. When I watched Obama's train rally in Delaware the other day, I was amazed at the number of agents forming a half circle around him.

I can't get over the image of Obama's two daughters, and Michelle Obama, walking down those stairs, just that image of this new American family that has arrived...I'm not going to say Kennedy-esque like all the media does, but you know our politics have changed for good when you look at that image.

11:37 AM: George W. walks onto the stage, to a very very ligth applause, and no reaction from the enormous crowd whatsoever. I think he's just glad to be done with this job so he can let Obama deal with everything now. And I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but it's somewhat fitting that Cheney is in a wheelchair after some kind of moving injury yesterday...

More later

11:39 AM: Joe !! I'm sorry, but if I hear one more mention of how Joe Biden loves freakin' Amtrak, I am going to punch something. Biden is a good man, but he's a two-faced politician. A year ago he didn't even like Obama, and now look where he is. I don't know whether it's a testament to Obama's grace or Biden's ability to swallow his pride in order to advance his own career...

11:45 AM: Obama is introduced, and oddly, the announcer says "Barack H. Obama" Was this intentional??

12:08 PM: The Chosen One is sworn in...and look what I found...the words to Hail to the Chief! Sing it with me !

Hail to the Chief we have chos-en for the na - tion,
Hail to the Chief! We sa-lute him, one and all._______
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge co-op - er -a- tion_____
In proud ful-fill-ment of a great, no-ble call.____

Yours is the aim to make this grand coun-try grand-er,
This you will do, That's our strong, firm be-lief.__
Hail to the one we se-lect-ed as com-mand-er,
Hail to the Pres-i-dent! Hail to the Chief!

12:12 PM: Holy crap, President Bush #41 wins the prize for most ultimate hat!!
And NBC loses points for showing Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans two times in the last hour

12:45 PM: OK, I caved...I flip to CNN, and immediately flipped back. Their reporter compared this inauguration to Nelson Mandela's...and Campbell Brown says that the crowd is "A Yes We Can kinda Crowd" ... and then on CBS they interviewed some douche who said that humanity's and America's struggle has been going on for "thousands of years," and that he had no idea how many people were here but that he witnessed history. Good god.

12:50 PM: Bush gets on Marine One...I don't know why but he looked grumpy during Obama's speech...almost like "dang, this Barack guy is pretty good. I need a taco." And as he's walking to the helicopter...he just looks like he's pissed that he's a regular citizen again. BUT then he made a joke and he and Barack laughed. Haha good work George.

3:10 PM: And journalists now are clamoring over the fact that Senator Kennedy had a seizure...CNN is in full freak out mode, and trying to question any politicians within earshot. CNN, go fuck yourselves.

Meanwhile:


3:26 PM: An interesting comparison that I have been thinking about. A presidential inauguration is about as ceremonial as it gets in America, but think about how taxing it must be. I remember how exhausted I was after Michigan's commencement...and I am sure that's what it "feels" like...just like it's a college commencement ceremony, just about 10000000 times more intense and fancy. It followed a very similar program that a university commencement does...only Obama's graduating to the Oval Office!
NBC gets bonus points for making a joke about Obama needing nicotine once he got into the limo...which by the way is HUGE. If I were in that crowd I'd be like, "Hey Mr. President! What's your gas mileage! (limo is a Cadillac...NBC had fancy graphics about its run-flat tires)"

Just an incredibly dignified event that makes America look darn good :)
More soon

4:07 PM: He's outta the limo ! Woooo Chosen One
Text of Obama's amazing speech goes here. I'm going to have to replay it several times, but WOW, he is just such an eloquent man...and the fact that he wrote his own speech, and didn't tinker with it...he's a writer and an academic, and he's our President now. I found this great NYT article the other day...and I believe it now more than ever after hearing that speech. Obama the Harvard Man is in the White House now instead of George the Legacy Son.

*My remote stopped working so no more quips about the other news channels failing at covering this thing...but I'm going to dig around for interesting insight from my favorite journalists.

4:30 PM: Bahahaha, Al Roker completed Brian Williams' challenge to get Obama to wave to him. "Mr President! Mr. President! he shouted" and Obama pointed to him and said "It's warm!"
+10000 points to NBC

4:46 PM: The Presidential Viewing Box is quite a sight...the fanciest skybox/luxury suite in the country, that's for sure.

- The Atlantic's endorsement of Abraham Lincoln in 1860
- Chicago Trib's thoughts on the oath of office goof
- Historical perspective on the Inauguration
- ABC News found the cost of the ceremonies

I don't forsee anything else spectacular occurring, so I'm going to sit back and watch the parade.

What a country. Tim Russert said that...don't forget it.

Hmm. Michigan Basketball

Ohio State 63, Michigan 58

I figure I could blog about this game since I was actually there...

After finally seeing Beilein's team in person for the first time, there's no denying that they are immensely improved over both the Amaker years and last year's horribleness. The problem is thusly: when Michigan's scorers can't hit a basket for minutes at a time like on Saturday night, they dig themselves an early grave that they'll never get out of. They tied cut the defecit to four going to halftime, and then tied it within the first three minutes of the second half. And that was despite not making a shot for what seemed like 10 minutes.

Novak, Grady, Lucas-Perry, Sims: 22 combined points
Manny Harris: 21 points
Stu Douglass: 12 points

I'm smart enough to know that an offense dependent on 3-point shots and getting scorers open for jumpers that doesn't get hardly any production from four of their five main scorers, it can't win a basketball game. Beilein made a great adjustment for the second half by switching to that brutal 1-3-1 defense that seemed to force Ohio State to take longer shots that Michigan was able to grab off the rim...but when Novak had almost as many rebounds as Sims, the conference leader in rebounds, something is amiss. I'll leave the rest of the game analysis to people who actually know what they're talking about. However, if it were me, I think I would make some lineup changes that can help Michigan get points instead of clangs on the rim:

Guard: Harris, Center: Sims, Scorers: Douglass, Jevhon Shepard (who I have not seen on the court since the first few games), Grady/Lucas-Perry (who I think may be getting a little gassed, he was yanked from the game several times)

Meanwhile, at halftime, the 1989 National Championship team showed up! Oh, and the Michigan players wore these slick throwback uniforms that Adidas made:
I may have only been 3 at the time, but the 1989 Michigan basketball team is a pretty remarkable story. Read a flashback from the AA News and the Daily, and then relive the Bill Frieder saga! That championship became the wedge in between some very rough years of Michigan basketball. Bill Freider had assembled a team that could beat anyone, and then he was fired by Bo Schembecler, who told the team that no Michigan Man would leave his school, and made Steve Fisher the interim coach for the '89 season. It is because of that championship that Fischer was able to bring in some guys named Webber, Rose, Howard, Jackson and King for the 1991-'92 season. Michigan was in the NCAA title game with four freshmen, and then made it back the very next year when they were sophomores. For some reason, I always remember those legendary baggy shorts. Everybody who loved basketball wanted a pair of those baggy maize shorts. They became a status symbol...and it was at that point that the Fab Five were icons, and they made Michigan the center of the basketball world for two glorious years. Four years later, in 1997, all the members of the Fab Five were gone, and Steve Fisher had been fired by Tom Goss for a bizarre off-the-court issue...and Michigan basketball fell into the eternal damnnation of college basketball. The '89 team is a reminder that the most unlikely of teams can climb to the top, and that's what Beilein has on this court, is the foundation for a dangerous, dangerous team.

Sidenote: Crisler Arena is a crazy mad hoppin' place to watch a basketball game again. Finally. The place was packed, the court looks great under the new lights, and the new score/videoboard is a behemoth. Not to mention they have the guy that does the PA at Comerica Park now! When it's loud, it is damn loud, and Ohio State was rattled a few times when they had some miscues and got everyone pumped up. I expect Crisler to be a major factor in some coming Michigan victories.

Final note: Charissa Thompson of BTN is officially the hottest sideline/courtside reporter in the country. Pic goes here:
Watch, now Michigan will turn around and stomp Michigan State in the next huge home game on the schedule. I'm just glad that Michigan basketball has some credibility to its name again...even though looking up into that black hole in the Crisler rafters where the 1992 and 1993 Final Four banners once hung makes people hang their heads in shame. No longer can we just joke that the best thing Michigan Basketball had going for it was the new Crisler Arena lights...

Michigan...Basketball!?

Alright, I'll confess: I'm a believer. Michigan Basketball has now won three more games than they did last season...and I just looked at ESPN's Bracketology and the RPI:

ESPN projects Michigan at a #9 seed in the NCAA Tourney. A 9 seed ! A year ago a 9 seed in the NIT would have been an achievement they were so bad. Interestingly enough, Joe Lunardi has them paired with West Virginia in the South region. That could be an epic tourney game that Michigan could actually win.

The RPI as of their 12th win, since they won #13 yesterday in dominating fashion, is at 33...their strength of schedule has gone down a bit since they played Oakland and Eastern and Savannah State, but the Tourney Committee *cannot* ignore two wins over top 5 schools and if Michigan goes deep into the Big (11) Ten Tournament, a tourney birth is a lock.

Keep the faith my friends...Beilein may have our boys dancing in March for the first time in 10 years.

SEX MULLET

Happy New Year...but not for THE Ohio State University...

Number of consecutive BCS bowls Ohio State has either gotten embarrassed in or, well, embarrassed in the last seconds of a game: Three.

Texas won the Tortilla Chip Bowl minutes ago, and all Michigan fans smiled, because we know it means one thing: the Big (11) Ten is officially in the crapper, poised for an epic Michigan return to stomp on the Big 12 and Pac-10.

As the VPs and Marketing people of the faceless sponsoring corporations presented trophies to Texas, I recall how I read a damning article on how much of a sham the college bowls have become (the seemingly incorruptable Rose Bowl included). Yahoo News has the article, and it's very insightful into what our beloved sport is becoming: centered around money, perks, and elimination of the presence of the NCAA altogether (note that the NCAA has nothing to do with the national championship anymore...it's basically a fledgling organization that receives money from big sponsors to have big-time schools compete for a lot of money, and is awarded a completely arbitrary championship that more times than not has been open for debate). We all praise Michigan for not caving to corporate sponsors for Michigan stadium -- the tradeoff was forcing Bill Martin to build the damn skyboxes to get athletic department revenue instead of having a few signs on the scoreboard -- but the parts of college football that we want to see fixed go unchecked in the name of dollar signs.  FOX has the BCS until 2010, then ESPN takes over, and even then, they have structured their contract so that a playoff system cannot be instituted. It has to take the mutual might of the universities, the NCAA, and even Barack Obama, to cleanse the best darn sport in the land !

Yahoo News Column.

P.S.  Does anyone know what the hell 'G' is ???

P.P.S. Stephen Ross is buying the Miami Dolphins. Amazing!

P.P.P.S. There was an epic mullet spotted on the Texas sidelines. Picture coming.