The Next Morning in America
January 20th, 2009I’ve made no bones about my support for Barack Obama. On the eve of his inauguration I am thrilled that he’s the person to lead the United States out of the garbage created by the previous administration.
Every incoming administration faces this to a certain degree. This time, the country is facing wars, economic distress and a hunger for intellectual decision making. The country is facing the severe impacts of cronyism, a lax regulatory environment and a bureaucracy hell bent on given the president more power. Hundreds of signing statements and executive orders that need to be overturned and repudiated. A bunch of broken departments across the government spectra (Justice, Health and Human Services ["morality" medicine anyone?] that need some ass kicking. This is going to be hard work.
Despite the sad state of things, I have hope that decisions will be made over the next few months that will make life better. Maybe not immediately, but in a few years, I believe that we’ll be happier, healthier and on the way to living more responsibly. I don’t think the Obama years will be marked by miracles, but I hope that they will be marked by competent decisions and brilliant people bonding together to realize at least a smidge of the human potential.
Idealist? Me? Yep. At least for a year.
This inauguration is a huge step for the U.S.; we are moving forward, proving, in no small measure, that we can do great things. We have elected a person of color to be president. I figured I’d be a grandparent before this happened. I figured wrong and gladly so. We did it. We made this happen. What else can we do?
I’m interested in your thoughts about this historic day, even if you didn’t vote for Obama or don’t live in the U.S. Please share below, if you feel like it. o
Tags: inauguration, Obama Presidency, politics
It’s around 3:30am here in NC and I’m staying up all night because I don’t want to miss a single moment of this glorius day, the day we FINALLY get to say goodbye to Bush. It will be so good to have Obama guiding this nation. I am so proud of our country for electing this man to lead us out of the quagmire in which we find ourselves. I feel such hope for all of us..Is it too early to crack open the champagne??
I plan on watching the inauguration at my desk this evening (5pm local), and maybe having a sneaky little weep. I’m so, so thrilled for you all – it’ll be a day you’re still talking about when you are a grandparent.
I’m in Australia, and I’m just about to go to sleep for a few hours so I can get up at 3.30am to watch the ceremony live on tv. I was in DC last year in January and February just as the primaries were heating up, and I am so excited to be able to see the final stage of this epic journey.
i’m de-lurking myself for this one – i’ve been working through dooce’s and your archives since this summer sometime but never made my way out of the woodwork to comment.
i am so excited for what’s going to happen later today. as much as the very logical part of me doesn’t want to get her hopes up, i am full of giddy anticipation to see what we can do as a people who have reached across racial and cultural boundaries to elect someone who we believe is best for the job. i believe we are on the road to truly thinking and acting non-dualistically and becoming a community bent on compassion and the greater good instead of personal interests and hatred. look at what we overcame yesterday; imagine what we can do tomorrow! let’s all use this time to reflect on what is really important to us and how we can work together to make our world better.
I have been in Asolo, Italy working on my MBA since the beginning of September. (I voted by absentee ballot.) Half of my class is made up of Italians. We have one Canadian, one Brazilian, one Indian and the rest are American. I’ve found it incredibly interesting hearing what all of the non-Americans think about Obama. They were just as glued to the TV as we were during the election. From my experience here, it is safe to say that all of Italy is thrilled with Obama. This entire world is ready for a change, and I think we will get that from President Obama.
Sorry, it’s raining here which means the internet sucks. (Seriously.) Pardon the double-reply, feel free to delete one.
Jennifer
I’m in Australia. And, while I won’t be getting up at 3am to watch proceedings, I am very, very excited.
I’ve been a supporter and I’m thrilled to watch today’s events – especially from the vantage point of the Washington metro area. But amidst all the mass hysteria, it occurs to me that it is a little less like we elected him President and a little more like we crowned him King. I’m concerned by the unrealistic expectations. I hope that he’ll begin to fix everything, but there are a LOT of things that need fixing and sometimes I wonder if it’s realistically possible to do as much as we all want in a few short years. Of course, it only took a few short years to mess it all up. So anything’s possible, right?
That being said, I just can’t wait to hear Obama’s first Presidential speech because finally we have a President WHO CAN TALK! If all he did was say “nuclear” over and over for twenty minutes, that’d be improvement enough.
i was a mid-election convert to supporting obama, and i am beyond excited to watch today. i am proud of our country for finally having optimism for the future! although, i can’t say i hate bush, i am hoping that he gets to take a good long nap and vacation after what must have been a difficult 8 years. but perhaps i am the only one left who has any sympathy for him.
I’m still in a state of glorified disbelief.
Just a few hours….
Good Morning Jon,
I will have to say from the outset that I voted for the other guy. But I am not sorry the way things turned out – I am hopeful. I will stand behind our new President in a way that I couldn’t quite do for number 43.
It is always a good day to be an American. Today will be a very good day. We are already being challenged to become involved and to work together. This is a very good thing. We have many challenges to face.
Peace,
Jeanine
Well, I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t vote for Obama. But before you get your panties in a twist, I didn’t vote for McCain either. I voted for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution party. As Obama is very soon to become my new president, I wish him well in his next 4-8 years. While I disagree with most of his platform, ideal, beliefs, etc, I’m not going to be a bitter person wishing him any form of torment.
I voted for Bush twice, a decision I first blame to being 18 and then again to just plain ignorance. I have since changed my erroneous ways. While I think Bush has trampled the constitution and our personal liberties at the same time, I think Congress has not only allowed but also done their fair share of decimating our lives. My prayer is that change will come, but change that is in the right direction…our constitution.
PS. supposedly it’s supposed to snow here in VA and the world is coming to and end because of it. We haven’t even gotten a flake of the 3-5 inches promised and schools have already closed down. thought you might find that funny seeing as you guys have already gotten pounded with snow and are doing just fine.
I’m filled with nervous excitement.
Up at 6am, pacing, coffee.
I took the day to work from home because we don’t have a TV at the studio. Now I’m afraid to turn it on because I fret the pre-coverage might diminish what I have in my mind. I’ll wait just a little more and tune in for the parade, the pomp, and most definitely the circumstance.
I’m realistic about my expectations. I think people aren’t listening to his words, or they think he’s being humble… but it really is going to take years to dig us out of this mess. He’s said so, and I hope people are aware of that while celebrating.
I’m celebrating too, because like you, I didn’t think I’d see anyone of color in the white house in my lifetime. A woman, maybe, but certainly not a black man with a Muslim name. It’s rejuvenated my spirit. I couldn’t be happier with a presidential pick.
And it gives me reason to think that once again, all things happen for a reason. Would he have won if the previous president wasn’t such a glorious fuck-up? I don’t think so. I think when you look back on Bush’s legacy in 100 years, the most significant point will be that his failures got Obama elected, and pushed the USA into the future faster than it would have ever made it with a competent or mediocre 2000 – 2008.
This was the first election in which I’ve voted, even though I’m old enough to have voted in a couple of previous elections, and I’m glad I did. I was prepared to be just as uninterested in this presidential race as previous races, but when Hillary’s name was in the ring, I sat up and started paying attention, because I knew this would not be an ordinary race. Not because I’m uber feminist and was all about electing a woman, but having a viable female candidate was different.
Then came Obama, this guy out of nowhere, and I had to figure out who he was and what he was about. And there was McCain, and he chose Palin, and I got to see her in action and figure out her politics and became die-hard Obama. I don’t wish to slam the Republicans, I believe that McCain and Palin are good people with good intentions and hoped to improve the country in their way, but they do not represent anything that I want for this country.
I also got to read around and discover that so many people around the world were following this election, too, and that everyone wanted Obama to win. How much do I love the invention of the Internet for that? Thank you, Al Gore.
Obama has made such a huge improvement already, just in the feelings of hope, optimism, and enthusiasm that his election win evoked in most people. I’m kind of sad that I’m not in DC today to celebrate this inauguration because, due to where I live, I’m rather alone in my views about Obama and celebrating alone kind of sucks.
Good things are coming, but they will take time, I hope people realize that. I also hope people realize that Obama didn’t elect himself. The same people who elected him need to keep on participating and making the changes, because Obama can’t do it alone, even as President.
We are going to watch the inauguration in my office today. We are absolutely overjoyed here in Toronto, if I could have voted it would have been for Obama. It is a relief to see Bush leaving office and having a intellectual in the U.S. office who will acknowledge the difficulties ahead and make sound decisions.
I’m watching it live here in Oz… it’s just such an amazing time. I too thought I’d be older and with grandkids before I ever saw this day. Me and the hubs both voted for Barack Obama. We’re thrilled that it’s the end of the Bush regime. I don’t expect that everything will magically go back to the way before Bush came to power, but it’s just heartening that there is some new blood, new ideas, and new life in the White House. I think he’s going to try things, lots of things, and hopefully some will work… I heartily believe Obama will be a mix of Lincoln and FDR with some great results…
Just hope.. brimming with hope here!
voted for him, think he gives us hope, think the world will look at in a different (more positive) light, think that change is on the way. however, i think we are in a world of hurt right now and more economical blows to come in 2009, so i’d be kidding myself if i thought any real change was going to happen before 2010 or even 2011.
I am thrilled, optimistic, and inspired. Your comparison of the pre-Inauguration festivities being the equivalent of the pre-game warmup for sports fans is spot-on, and yet a glorious understatement!
If you cannot learn generosity of spirit after having won an election, when can you?
May God bless President Obama and grant him every success; and may God watch over the United States, under this and every President.
I’m listening live on Hulu while working. It’s just so amazing to FINALLY BE HERE at this day we’ve all be wishing for for so long now. Your blog post pretty much summed up my feelings exactly.
I learned to find my voice and my outrage during the campaign. I channeled it locally into my neighborhood, determined to take back the Association and the small suburb of Portland I live in from the stupidity. I feel so optimistic, in spite of the dire situation we’re in because others like me, are refusing to put up with business usual. Transparency and Accountability don’t feel like empty promises and most importantly, “All men are created equal” seems like it’s really almost completely true. I am proud of America.
This is the real New Years Day, isn’t it?
I’ll just leave it at that you and I don’t feel the same way about today Jon, but I think you pretty much knew that already. I won’t be watching it…and there are many people I know that feel the same way.
Good luck to him and all, but I seriously think he’s only going to add to the misery if he goes down the road he’s said he would…starting with $1.7 trillion spent in the next two weeks. I was giving him a bit of benefit of doubt for a few weeks…and then I read over the package and quickly found, that if he supports it and pushes it, he is no different in any respect to any Washington insider you and so many of us already despise. Much of it is a slap in the face to the Americans who are suffering right now…who won’t benefit from it in the least.
I simply can’t get past the stupidity of it, history being made or not.
I’m thrilled that someone intelligent is finally in charge, but there’s a lot – a *lot* – of hard work ahead for everyone.
I hope Obama can start leading this country to a less wasteful standard of living – fewer cars, severely reduced air travel, more public transportation, reviving railroads and barges for long-distance freight, more local farming, more energy conservation, etc. – and perhaps even a more purposeful way of life, an end to the consumer society, an end to suburbs and strip malls and fast food, etc.
I’d love to see Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, and Wolfowitz tried in the Hague as war criminals, but that probably won’t happen.
Finally, I’d like to see the haters find the courage to look beyond their narrow-minded ideology and realize that we’re all in this together, that it can’t continue being us and them, that it’s our job to help each other.
I pretty much agree with everything you said, Jon. Do I expect miracles? Do I think he can lead us 100% out of the shitstorm left to us by Bush and his cronies? Hell no, I’m too old and cynical for that. But I’m excited to see what he CAN do with the time and tools he is given. I can’t help but think he will, at the very least, be able to set us on a path toward something better for our country and the world.
Bush was my governor before he was your president, and the guy who took over for him here in TX is no great shakes, so I have been a LONG time without a sense of hope for how things are going. Today I have HOPE, for the first time in a long time, and that’s enough for me right now.