No, not since I blogged last, smartasses.
Today, we got our new president. Finally. Last October, I wrote this entry, shortly before Obama won the election. Needless to say, I was pretty happy about that. It's been a very long two and a half months waiting for him to take office, while Bush has lurched around and tried to shine the turd that has been the last eight years. But frankly, I would have felt that about almost any of the candidates on the Democratic side, and that's not because I love the Democrats a lot -- let's face it, they've been pretty mediocre in the face of adversity the last eight years.
Today though, something else happened that showed just how different Obama is, or at the very least, has the potential to be. It wasn't the massive crowds at the Inauguration. It wasn't the fact that Obama rejected basically every disastrous, right-wing, anti-intellectual, anti-science policy that the Bush administration put forward to the man's very face (seriously -- if you haven't watched his inaugural address, go do it now).
No, the thing that really stood out at me is because he called us on our bullshit.
It was pretty funny, actually, listening to the inaugural address, because the sort of things that Obama was saying were along the same lines as what my character has been saying in Eve about the way the Caldari State has been going (though obviously some of the details were slightly different).
Now, I know Obama isn't the first politician to give a speech like this. And I would have been a lot more impressed if he had given this kind of a speech six months ago. Think about it though -- when was the last time we had something like this? I know this is the first time I listened to a present-day political speech and really felt something, and that includes Obama's speeches during the campaign. People say Reagan was charismatic -- obviously I was too young to really take much from those years but I never saw him give anything like this. It's been 45 years since JFK was in office -- has it been that long, almost two generations, since we've seen someone like this?
Obviously, the proof will be in the pudding, as they say -- he's only been president for about 10 hours, so let's not start canonizing him yet. But for the first time in my life, I really do feel inspired by a politician (a living one, anyway). I've been a cynic for a long time, especially about politics -- mostly, I think, because I want to be an idealist and just know better. Maybe, just maybe, I don't know as well as I thought I did.
Today, we got our new president. Finally. Last October, I wrote this entry, shortly before Obama won the election. Needless to say, I was pretty happy about that. It's been a very long two and a half months waiting for him to take office, while Bush has lurched around and tried to shine the turd that has been the last eight years. But frankly, I would have felt that about almost any of the candidates on the Democratic side, and that's not because I love the Democrats a lot -- let's face it, they've been pretty mediocre in the face of adversity the last eight years.
Today though, something else happened that showed just how different Obama is, or at the very least, has the potential to be. It wasn't the massive crowds at the Inauguration. It wasn't the fact that Obama rejected basically every disastrous, right-wing, anti-intellectual, anti-science policy that the Bush administration put forward to the man's very face (seriously -- if you haven't watched his inaugural address, go do it now).
No, the thing that really stood out at me is because he called us on our bullshit.
"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age."Now, this might not seem like much, but contrast it with the last President, who, when confronted with the worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor, told people to go shopping, and gave the impression that forcing average Americans to make any sort of sacrifice was horrific.
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned."
It was pretty funny, actually, listening to the inaugural address, because the sort of things that Obama was saying were along the same lines as what my character has been saying in Eve about the way the Caldari State has been going (though obviously some of the details were slightly different).
Now, I know Obama isn't the first politician to give a speech like this. And I would have been a lot more impressed if he had given this kind of a speech six months ago. Think about it though -- when was the last time we had something like this? I know this is the first time I listened to a present-day political speech and really felt something, and that includes Obama's speeches during the campaign. People say Reagan was charismatic -- obviously I was too young to really take much from those years but I never saw him give anything like this. It's been 45 years since JFK was in office -- has it been that long, almost two generations, since we've seen someone like this?
Obviously, the proof will be in the pudding, as they say -- he's only been president for about 10 hours, so let's not start canonizing him yet. But for the first time in my life, I really do feel inspired by a politician (a living one, anyway). I've been a cynic for a long time, especially about politics -- mostly, I think, because I want to be an idealist and just know better. Maybe, just maybe, I don't know as well as I thought I did.
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