i think it's a cult of personality in an optimistic, positive way. people are optimistic about his potential. he may lose it, sure, but for right now, after the past 8 years that we've had, the only thing we can do for now is hope for the best. obama is a cultural icon for real, concrete reasons so far, in my opinion, so i have no reason to lose my hope until he does something that makes me lose it.

 

and like i said before, republican or democrat, conservative or liberal, two things that i think should be universally appreciated are the peaceful change of power from one party to another and the huge step that has been taken forward in the realm of racial equality. regardless of party politics, i can't think of any reason why those two things don't make this a historical, revolutionary day that should be celebrated.

well said! :clap:

*stumbles in* Hey everyone! I just returned from the inauguration- it was the most incredible experience of my life! I had a ticket wayyyy up front, but unfortunately my view was blocked by the stupid risers :angry: I still had a great spot and was right in front of a Jumbotron, so I didn't miss anything :D I haven't looked through this thread yet, so I'm not sure if I should post my pictures here, in the old thread, or in a new one, but I DO want to share them!

 

Right now I seriously need to go warm up, eat, and rest a little bit, but then I'll come back with stories and pictures galore ;)

The federal government is currently over $60 trillion dollars in debt. Over the next couple of years it is projected to add over $3 trillion to that figure. The government pays off the debt by selling bonds, which are documents that promise a return based on the future productivity of American taxpayers.

 

I'm not a conservative or a liberal, I'm just pointing out that you guys might need to reevaluate what you think the government is capable of doing. Remember that although Obama and McCain racked up a lot of votes in 2008, they both lost the election. Most Americans chose not to vote, because they recognized that neither candidate would make a difference.

 

Yes, Zoe (aka Notlost92) was posting links to her pics and vids on another thread about the inaguration. But that's cuz she lives there :P

 

I'm uploading my pics now :nice:

 

Not only was FORMER PRESIDENT Bush booed, but people were also singing "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" for about 5 minutes. People also booed FORMER VP Cheney. We started a chant when Teddy Kennedy walked out, and lots of Obama chants... we were quite vocal, I can't believe they blocked us out! :mean:

well, it does sound a bit mean-spirited...Not really what the inauguration should focus on.

i don't think that's the reason most americans didn't vote. sure, some didn't vote for that reason, but i think a lot of americans didn't vote because they didn't have enough comprehension of the issues and the proposed solutions to make a call on who to vote for. i would think that a greater number of americans didn't vote out of ignorance than didn't vote out of a calculated decision about what difference it would make.

 

i agree with you in that i think the government is capable of SO much more than it does. but what do you propose to solve this problem, then? what's your idea that is realistic enough to work AND to be supported? candidates like ron paul etc have some great ideas, but i don't believe that their policies would prove any stronger or more beneficial even if they miraculously got enough support to be put in office, i think they would change too much too drastically too fast for the american people to keep support and everything would crumble. as much as i would like our government to change the way it runs, i'm a firm believer in the process of getting there, rather than just a fast, drastic change. i for one believe that obama is a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction of the changes i think you're saying that we need. i don't think the road can be too short to getting to the drastic changes we need, because the chances of the changes sticking with a drastic change are smaller.

Oh, no I thought the booing and "goodbye"-ing were wrong, I meant the "Ted-dy, Ted-dy"s and "O-ba-ma,O-ba-ma"s shouldn't have been blocked out! I hate Bush as much as anyone (more, actually), but I thought it was immature to boo him :rolleyes:

 

EDIT: I agree Chelsea... I think it's very wrong to assume that people didn't vote because they didn't think either candidate would make a difference.

oh, gotcha. ;)

^ Yeah, I told the people around me to "be civilized" :P most of us who had tickets and were on the Capitol were better behaved, though, because it felt much more serious and important up there than I think it did a mile back among two million other people...

Alright, I just have two pictures for now:

 

My "golden ticket" :P

 

 

 

 

and my view:

 

 

 

oh wow that thing is in your way!:lol:

^Tell me about it! We were so pissed off when we first got there, but then we realized that we were still at Obama's inauguration! And we still had a better view than about 2 million people, so we couldn't complain.

yeah, as much as i hate bush, i wouldn't have booed either. i just think that's more disrespect than is due at an official sort of thing like this on such a miraculous day, and when he's out of office anyway. i think the turning the backs thing at bush's second inauguration was ok, but that's different. i wouldn't have clapped, but i feel like not clapping is less severe and less immature and disrespectful than booing.

i feel a little bad for him because he was booed:\

 

^Tell me about it! We were so pissed off when we first got there, but then we realized that we were still at Obama's inauguration! And we still had a better view than about 2 million people, so we couldn't complain.

 

ya that's true but at least you could hear him:smiley:

I don't get why so many people wanted to be there even if they couldn't see anything. Just watch it on TV. It's no different except you'll actually see what's going on.

i feel so honoured to be here, in america, for this history. sure, school sure is not washington d.c., but australia sure is far away. but now i realize that it doesnt really make a difference for this event. by reading this thread, i realize that, far or close, the world, in its own way, united for this event.

I was happy when Bush was elected, but after opening my eyes I woke up to what he was. I hope people will wake up to what Obama is.

I didn't boo for Bush, but I sure as hell wasn't clapping! No one on the Capitol really booed, it was just the giant mass of people on the Mall that got a little out of hand. I loved the parts of Obama's speech that attacked Bush's policies, though, those were incredible!

 

The second Obama completed the oath today, I burst out sobbing and couldn't stop for about 10 minutes! I cried through his whole speech too- the whole morning was so surreal and incredible, I think we were all in shock. And wait until I tell you guys about the Metro and the security lines, I think I'm going to have nightmares about them for years :stunned: :P

 

EDIT:

 

I don't get why so many people wanted to be there even if they couldn't see anything. Just watch it on TV. It's no different except you'll actually see what's going on.

 

I could see and hear exactly what was going on, and I wouldn't change the experience for the world! To be there, at that moment, with all of those people... It's indescribable! But I can understand where you're coming from :)

I'm sure everyone in China is very happy and most of Asia.

I was happy when Bush was elected, but after opening my eyes I woke up to what he was. I hope people will wake up to what Obama is.

 

i don't believe that just because one president was a disappointment, the next one will be too. he won't fix everything, but i'm giving him a chance to start us down the right road.

 

I don't get why so many people wanted to be there even if they couldn't see anything. Just watch it on TV. It's no different except you'll actually see what's going on.

 

it's about the experience. if you had the chance to go to a coldplay concert that was also being broadcasted live on TV, would you pass up the chance to go to the concert? maybe you would, but i think most people wouldn't. there is something about actually being there and hearing it and feeling it all live with thousands, and in this case MILLIONS of other people that feel the same way. that's why i love concerts so much, and that's why i'm so sad i couldn't go to this in the way i wanted to go. i can't even describe what seeing obama in person (and shaking his hand and stuttering when he asks you a question) is like--it was the most epic thing that had ever happened to me, in addition to him being elected on the 4th and inaugurated today. the hope is so much more contagious in person, or at least i think so. to each their own :wink:

 

there's also something to be said for lots of people wanting to be part of history. i wish i could have been there even just to say i was there and part of the most momentous, historical day in decades.

I was happy when Bush was elected, but after opening my eyes I woke up to what he was. I hope people will wake up to what Obama is.

Bush was a bad president. But Clinton wasn't. Why don't you give Obama a chance before throwing him in with Bush?

 

You said you misjudged Bush at first. Perhaps you're also misjudging Obama

i don't believe that just because one president was a disappointment, the next one will be too. he won't fix everything, but i'm giving him a chance to start us down the right road.

 

I like Obama over Bush, but unless I see real change soon, I'll be correct in saying he's just like Bush. But don't get me wrong, I'm happy he won over McCain and like him better then Bush, but I get mad when people don't understand what he's been saying he wants to do is exactly what Bush has been doing. Now I can only hope he back tracks on what he's said and does the opposite, for that would be change.

 

I just find the notion that he is like a god to everyone quite sad and funny.

 

I just find the notion that he is like a god to everyone quite sad and funny.

Anyone who worships anyone else as a god is quite sad, unless it's in a joking manner.

 

I don't see Obama as a god or savior, I see him as a decent and hard-working and honest man who will do his best to help the country. And I see him as someone a lot smarter and more in control than Bush.

Bush was a bad president. But Clinton wasn't. Why don't you give Obama a chance before throwing him in with Bush?

 

You said you misjudged Bush at first. Perhaps you're also misjudging Obama

 

Clinton was bad but not as bad as Bush. Clinton allowed the "glass steagall act" to be repealed. He helped further the economic decline were in now, it's just started to surface in the early 2000's. But he helped the decline of producing in America. Remember the Tech bubble and recession? Bush just pushed back to a later day(now). Bush inherited bad economic conditions from Clinton whose roots started in teh 70's with fiat money, decline in producing and increase in consumption. Bush took a bad situation and made it worse.

 

So from Nixxon to now, our presidents have been horrible, were just NOW seeing the consequences of their actions on a massive scale, more is to come if we don't restructure our economy.

 

So Clinton bad president, but Bush was worse, but both were bad and partially responsible for the modern economic crisis.