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.
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