I want to thank all the speakers and performers for reminding us, through song and through words, just what it is that we love about America. And I want to thank all of you for braving the cold and the crowds and traveling in some cases thousands of miles to join us here today. Welcome to Washington, and welcome to this celebration of American renewal.
In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now. Our nation is at war. Our economy is in crisis. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs and their homes; they’re worried about how they’ll afford college for their kids or pay the stack of bills on their kitchen table. And most of all, they are anxious and uncertain about the future – about whether this generation of Americans will be able to pass on what’s best about this country to our children and their children.
I won’t pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our fundamental resolve as a nation. But despite all of this – despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead – I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure – that the dream of our founders will live on in our time.
Nie bez powodu leki na Efekty niepożądane, które mogą wystąpić podczas kuracji środkami na poprawę erekcji receptę powinny być zażywane zgodnie z zaleceniami lekarzy. Bezpieczeństwo stosowania potwierdza dokumentacja i rekomendacje środowiska medycznego.
What gives me that hope is what I see when I look out across this mall. For in these monuments are chiseled those unlikely stories that affirm our unyielding faith – a faith that anything is possible in America. Rising before us stands a memorial to a man who led a small band of farmers and shopkeepers in revolution against the army of an Empire, all for the sake of an idea. On the ground below is a tribute to a generation that withstood war and depression – men and women like my grandparents who toiled on bomber assembly lines and marched across Europe to free the world from tyranny’s grasp. Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King, and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character’s content. And behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible.
And yet, as I stand here tonight, what gives me the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us today, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you – Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there. It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; Latino, Asian, and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not – then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process. This is what I believed, but you made this belief real. You proved once more that people who love this country can change it. And as I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day I walk into that Oval Office – the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes; who ask only for what was promised us as Americans – that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.
It is this thread that binds us together in common effort; that runs through every memorial on this mall; that connects us to all those who struggled and sacrificed and stood here before.
It is how this nation has overcome the greatest differences and the longest odds – because there is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.
That is the belief with which we began this campaign, and that is how we will overcome what ails us now. There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help me reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today.
Transcript
Obama’s Speech at the Lincoln Memorial
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
1,711 replies on “The Longest Odds”
Fantastic speech.
I wish that Obama had inherited better times. But – conversely – I think that, given the times we have, he is the person that is needed.
Great speech. Not too long and straight to the point.
Spot on David. I couldn’t agree more. Hopefully, as all the indicators are at the moment, he will be the greatest President ever. Time will tell.
The New York Times.
.
White Like Me.
.
may need to be registered.
continued in The New York Times
Chris B at 3
What would Obama have to do to be the greatest President ever?
I have a few ideas of my own – things like (a) engineering an eduction revolution, (b) setting the framework for economic independence from the Middle East while simultaneously establishing a readjustment of realities about the Middle East and establishing and owning the Palestine right to exist, (c) reconstructing the principal of the rule of law (nationally and internationally) by deed and action, and (d) reconstructing the American healthcare status-quo.
Not too much to ask?
Politico.
.
Media execs prep for ‘news emergency’.
.
The Germany experience, would help to prepare Obama for the American experience.
continued on Politico
Catrina,
While I am a little wary of (c) – it can be done in different ways, not all of which I think are a good idea (I have an international law graduate in my room, and we discuss/argue about some of these things) – if he did all those things, he would certainly be the greatest President ever.
Personally, I think that (a) and (d) would be sufficient, provided that some progress is also made on (b).
Heck, (a) alone would make him one of the greatest. 🙂
5 Catrina A good start. I think he will mold world events as well. He is such a good multi tasker, that anything is possible. See it’s not only women that can multi task.
The way he is tapping into grass roots support. Means that at any stage one person coming up with an extremely good suggestion could change things dramatically. Obama is using socialism the way it is meant to be used. Thanks to the Internet. The Internet is one giant think tank.
David Gould at 7
Education (a) sets the framework for things down the line (the golden age etc.) – but without resolution of healthcare (d) the economic implications seem to me to be perilous (especially the funding model for retirement and the overall social security third rail thing). Part of enabling (a) and (d) is tied inextricably to the Middle East question (b) as this feeds into the economic impact on a country that spends 25% on military capability. But there is an overarching subject – the role role of the USA in the world – and that gets back to item (c) and the level of engagement of the USA in the international rule of law and it’s moral standing in the world.
So – as Rachel Maddow would say – “talk me down” on item (c).
From Crikey’s daily wrap of the Gaza conflict.
Gut wrenching stuff.
http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20090119-Gaza-doctor.html
Ah ha! I knew something else was going on in the world!
Sorry, Mars.
.
Information Week.
.
Evidence of the gas on the Red Planet raises possibility of biological activity.
It is hard to find evidence of anything else happening anywhere. 😈
continued on Information Week
It strikes me that Tony Blair had one last chance to redeem something of himself – like a real-life Darth Vader turfing the wrinkly old bastard (who looked remarkably like the current Pope!) down the shaft to save his son and his soul – by turning down the Bushwhaker Medal of Freedom. Instead he chose to stand there with the silly trinket around his neck staring lovingly at Emperor Shitferbrains like some little kid with a Stockholme Syndrome affection for a paedophile. May the trinket – bought and paid for by the blood of thousands – strangle the bastard.
He learned nothing.
As for Bush n’ Co being charged with anything. Get real. That’s one genie that Obama would never let out of the bottle.
13 Ferny Grover It’s either that genie or the prospect of the Neocon Republican’s returning with a vengance. Know this time they would be totally free to wreck greater havoc. Imagine the chaos in any country if police worked on that theory.
Chris B at 12
If you had watched episode 86 of The West Wing you would have know about this already.
That would give the Republicans carte blanche.
Good one Catrina.
Catrina,
My problem with international law in particular is that the UN is made up of countries who are intrinsically opposed to its stated aims, and it is in the UN that international law is largely made.
However, as a commited globalist I support the internationalisation of laws and the institutions to administer them.
I agree that the US needs to build moral capital and then spend it wisely, rather than in the ways that it has been spent – wasted – by the Bush administration. I think that Obama will able to accumulate lots of moral capital. My worry is that he will fail to invest – probably a better word than ‘spend’ – it due to how things turned out under Bush (I am concerned that the US will become more inward looking as a result of Bush).
I would be extremely surprised if Obama became more inward looking. All indications are the opposite.
After all he did live in Indonesia and he is a Muslim.
Chris B at 19
I’m actually expecting the US to go though a few years of introspection (and just between you and me I don’t think it would do much harm).
Chris B,
With the economy the way it is, there is likely to be – for example – more protectionism. My personal view is that in general the world is a much better place when the US is involved in it in a big way. Obviously, you need the right kind of involvement. 😉
In other words, I do not think that the mistake Bush made was trying to assert a massive role for the US on the world stage; I think that the mistake was that he did it poorly.
Obama could help reform the United Nations. As well as the International courts.
23 David Gould Poorly is a bad word to describe what he did. Disastrous would be closer.
22 David Gould Exactly.
Chris B,
I do not think that the UN is reformable. For me, it is like trying to make an organisation made up of criminals work more effectively. Why would you want to? The key is getting rid of the criminals – in this case, non-democratic states.
This is not to say that the UN, in spite of those non-democratic states, does not do good work. However, the UN is not the institution upon which we can build globalism.
I would be happier if Obama devoted his time to trying to get the US admitted to the EU.
21 Catrina. yes, but Obama is such a heavy reader that he would be well on top of that already. The people who should be doing it, the Neocons and the Republicans, will not do it. They think they are/were right.
David Gould at 27
So what your saying is that any state that is not democratic is criminal?
I would be happier if Obama devoted his time to trying to get the US admitted to the EU.
.
Me too. Or form some sort of joint venture. (I’m a bit vague about that).
My expectations of Obama are significantly less than most, I feel. 🙂
If he manages to succeed with education and helps solve the global financial crisis – as much as that can be solved by one government – then he will have done brilliantly.
Catrina,
It is an analogy. However, any state that is not democratic certainly in breach of this:
“Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”
Thus, they could certainly be held to be breaching international law. Given that the UN is an international organisation, nations that are not democratic and who participate in the United Nations could indeed be described as ‘criminals’.
Great speech. Great man. and only hours to go…
Obviously, however, it is impossible to ascribe criminal status to a nation. But the fact that nations sit in the UN that blatantly defy and try to wilfully obstruct that organisation’s intent demonstrates an intractable problem with that organisation.
It is really exciting thinking of the possibilities of the Obama Presidency.
One and a half sleeps to go. Have you been good?
I know I keep on harping on about Fareed Zakaria’s show, but it really is pretty good. Last night he had on 4 past presidential speechwriters. Peggy Noonan commented on how important Obama’s inauguration speech will be – because Obama is a man of words – his success has been built on his use of inspirational words, that he largely penned himself. It’s a large part of how he is currently defined in our eyes. Speechwriters and pundits alike will be hanging on every one of them this week.
When I read the speech above, I am transported back to when I visited the Lincoln Memorial. It is such a special place – it has the feel of hallowed ground. I wish I was there.
Jen at 33
I’ve been fighting off a bunch of testosterone ventilating males – where have you been?
Obama’s job won’t be easy with Annie Oakley running around calling Afghanistan a narco-state. The next 4 years should be a hoot coz that woman can’t help herself. 🙂
Bush’s first instinct was to withdraw from the world and let it sort it’s own problems out. This all changed after 9/11 of course. I don’t think Obama will want to do the same thing, I think he’s going to give multilateralism a good honest go.
HusseinWorm at 39
I’m not worried about Annie Oakley – in fact there is something I like about the equation.
I AM NOT A TESTOSTERONE VENTILATING MALE! Please explain? 😈
Ah Chris, begosh and begorragh.
It be dat dere estrogen ye’ve been ventilating then aye?
Running and ducking for cover.
Good Cop/Bad Cop you say, Catrina?
The problem is on all the Islamic media it will be the bad cop that get’s all the coverage. If Obama is dumb enough to think he’s going to get way with that stuff then there really is not much hope.
WHO ME I NEVER VENTILATE! 😈
David Gould at 32
“Article 21.
Here at Politic 101 everyone has a right to take part in the governance of this site.
Everyone here has equal access to the public services the Politic 101 provides.
Politic 101 does not hold votes on who has administrator privs. Is that a bad thing? The introduction of new contributors is an open process. It’s not democratic but its open and fair.
I think some reassessment is in order.
43 HusseinWorm No he’s not. So there will be no problem. This guy is so talented, that I am confident that he has a well thought out plan for ME peace.
In reagard to the UN and the EU. The EU could be the start of a whole new framework of a new UN. Name and all. As countries reach a set standard they would be allowed in. Saudia Arabia for instance would never get in in the present form. Huge economic intensives would be necessary.
Cat – sitting through Tales of Despereaux – about a mouse who had honesty and courage and could change the world when all else were mired in cowardice and 😉
Oh, and a princess with longing in her heart 😥
And just for the record the Bush Administration is guilty of actions that have led to the death of literally hundreds of thousands based on fabricated evidence. It has sanctioned torture and committed breaches of the Geneva Convention. It has illegally wire-tapped and incarcerated it’s own citizens. If they can go Clinton over a tasty cigar, they can investigate these bastrds – legal sanctions or not we need a Truth and Reconcilation type of commission that allows the facts to be found and aired. It is the only way to prevent this happening again.
Your confidence is my hope, Chris. A bit of studied and forthright professionalism is what is needed now. We need alot of it actually.
…and evil (don’t know where that went).
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
After the Inauguration is done and dusted I will be doing some DNS changes. For those of you who don’t know what that means – don’t worry. For those of you who do know what this means I have a fall-back plan that involves reverting changes to the status-quo. All up – this is something that will happen probably next weekend.
DNS- Do Not Stalk??
Got it,
Do Not Spit!!
btw hiya Ferny – where have you been???
52 53 I love it when you talk dirty Jen. 😈
I remember when a friend of mine used to call herself a computer bimbo. At one stage she tried to put a CD into a 5 1/4 inch drive.
.
Jen 5 1/4 inch drives are all in museums now.
She was training to be a lawyer at the time.
Jen at 52-53
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_system
But “Do Not Spit” sounds so much better!
🙂
51 Catrina Sounds good. Something, that will be helpful for Politic 101?
Chris B at 59
Nope – actually I’m planning on taking us into a never ending war with no returns.
😉
39
HusseinWorm Says:
Obama’s job won’t be easy with Annie Oakley running around calling Afghanistan a narco-state.
Actually HW, that’s a sad but fairly apt description of Afghanistan at the moment.
The awful irony is, that when the Taliban were more fully in control, they basically wiped out the opium trade by a fairly brutal policy of shooting anyone who grew it.
Of course, one of the reasons they did so, was to cut off the funding of the northern warlords, but It also made a good propaganda tool about the “purity” of Islam.
Since then, the destruction of the Buddhas at Bamiyan, the persecution of women and all the well documented extremes of Wahabist doctrine seem to have rather spoiled their public image.
Plus they now need the money for arms etc and so it’s back to open opium season for all. 🙁
The whole thing’s a bloody mess and Obama’s responses so far, have been less than reassuring. WTF Rudd thinks he’s doing over there I really can’t fathom.
60
Cat
For you, Princess Catrina, we will blindly follow and spit wherever you command. 😆
NYT: Pinch Me
I can’t think of any time in my lifetime that something like this has happened. I know its trivia – but its something all the same.
paddy at 62
*hugs*
Don’t you just love those men who get down on their knees and do whatever you tell them!
NYT: Shocked and Grieving Gazans Find Bodies Under the Rubble of Homes
Paddy @ 61, it’s an apt description from a western point of view, but from the Afghani point of view, most of the opium is produced out in the wilds of Helmand province which the Afghani government has no control over. The province is supposedly being patrolled/protected by the British army at the moment. To call a country a narco-state, is to imply some state/government involvement in the drug trade which the Afghani government has rightly taken offence at.
It is understanding these kinds of distinctions, and being able to view an issue from the other guy’s point of view which sorts the gun-slingers from the professionals when it comes to international relations. Clinton is EPIC FAIL on international relations and Obama’s judgement must be questioned while she remains in his administration.
63 Catrina The world really cares.
The whole world is watching.
Chris B at 68
Maybe it’s a spectator sport.
Chris B at 67
Or perhaps the world a collection of tribes where each tribe is dealing with a bunch of things that influence their respective status-quo. Maybe what each tribe cares about is the potential impact (for better or for worse).
The Democrats have finally redeemed themselves for 1968. Notice Guantanamo Bay gets a mention again.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2gnnm60WAo
Whoops wrong one!
But still fun to watch.
# 69
The general populace is a peace loving community and would love to get on together. Obama has tapped directly into this and is by passing the “normal channels” with his grass roots support. Going by the polls Obama has a near 80 percent approval world wide. I believe he is tapping into this.
Obama is subverting the dominant paradigm. Which is in his case the political system.
66
HW
On Clinton, I fear you’re right and hope you’re wrong.
As to the Narco-state view. There are plenty (but certainly not all) of politicians in Kabul who are creaming their share off the top of the opium profits. That’s just a reality of the region and the fractured nature of Afghanistan.
I really wish I could feel more hopeful, but puppet regimes in Kabul have a lousy record for offering Afghani’s anything more than token help.
The historical record of filling that poor benighted country with foreign troops who don’t speak the language, is frankly appalling.
So unless Obama can come up with a modern day Alexander, Genghis Khan or maybe Shah Durrani ………Then I think the “great game” is well and truly fucked. 🙁
As always, the poor bloody Afghani’s are the meat in the sandwich in an ongoing power struggle between their various belligerent neighbours.
Move it right along, folks, nothing to see here but a few loose genies.
Sun Jan 18:
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/tonyauth;_ylt=AtuPJqSp5SgUS1OGMbsNsy7V.i8C
Chris B at 73
Get a grip – Obama is a politician who is working the paradigm. If he wasn’t he would be a woose – a.k.a. ineffective. The political system is a set of rules and only when you understand the rules can you play the game. It’s not about being good, bad or indifferent – it’s about the things you can do within the context. What Obama has done is to change his personal context and in the process he has shaken some mirrors on the public reality. The dominant paradigm remains and Obama has introduced some variables.
Let’s not get too excited.
76
Catrina Says:
Oh bugger that Princess…Let’s have a *HUGE* party and remember that tomorrow is MLK day……There was a miracle on the Hudson on Thursday and GWB will no longer be POTUS at 3.30 am on Wednesday our time. Yippee!!!!
75 Enemy Combatant Spot on!
76 Catrina Maybe he is working and changing the system for the better. But he is definitely not going by the rules. With his 3 million contributors to his campaign and 13 million subscribers, he is able to take over the Democrat Party and bring influences to bear unheard of in he Democrat Party. eg particularly the southern Democrats or the conservative area of the Democrat Party.
PS who thought we would be bored after the election? With nothing to do.
54 Jen
Hiya darlin’. I snuck in the door and thought nobody cared. Consider yourself hugged.
As for where I’ve been: same place. I’ve just taken a break from the blogosphere to spend time with family, vegie patch, Toby the blind poodle and Les Paul.
And Chris – you’re suggesting that Obama would bring criminal charges against his predecessor. There are enormous problems with that including, but not limited to, determining what laws have been broken and which court would have jurisdiction. And that’s before we consider the political implications which are huge for Obama and every president who follows him.
‘Taint gunna happen. Time to move on.
Catrina, BHO has the juice to be able to shift the paradigm rather than merely work it.
In total accord with your (a), (b), (c), (d) at #5.
But I’d really like to see PEOTUS show global as well as domestic leadership on Climate Change (the huge majority of scientists who place our biosphere in great peril speak as one on the issue) and forment a surge to renewables as a priority in his first 100 days.
Nicole Bell misses the point. This skit is not meant to be funny, it’s all about educating Americans about what was done under their flag.
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/snl-torture-teh-funny
Catrina. I was a bit harsh using subvert the dominant paradigm, but changing the system he is.
Prithee tempt me with some odds, O soothsayer so certain.
🙂
Great to see you again, Ferny. Hey! You look terrific. Missed our little stoushes. Is it a strat or a tele, you once mentioned that you were big on Knopfler. Gonna see Jeffie on the 29th at the convention centre?
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/65201
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/65483
——————————
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/65422
Well there I was thinking it was “the miracle on the Hudson”.
While all along….it was really this!!
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/us-airways-violates-federal-migratory-bird-laws/
Powerful Pageantry:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=-u4PkFn2NJc
Hiya Eckie!
Did we have stoushes?? I thought our camraderie was always heartfelt and cordial.
As for my electric guitar (as distinct from my beloved Maton Coolibah acoustic), it’s neither a strat nor a tele (these 2 fine instruments being Fender and Les Paul being Gibson – though admittedly my Les Paul is a much more affordable Epiphone. Vintage sunburst. Nice.)
You want odds against Bush being indicted for anything?? What’s a number for ‘utterly impossible’?
86 Enemy Combatant Too late I’ve already done that one. See #37 of the last post. Snap.
Not one given to leftist fantasies, this US Constitutional lawyer gives his opinion on how matters should proceed re the crimes of the Bush Administration.
“Binding US Law Requires Prosecutions for Those Who Authorize Torture”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/18-5
I’m glad your not given to left wing fantasies, neither am I. Oh, and I have save that page to my favourites. I’m sure there is someone who will be very pleased with that information. Maybe he’s a left wing US Constitutional lawyer.
Chris B, you definitely were the source. See what influence you have? My offrering was both pathetic and derivative. Have donned hair shirt.
Ferny, “stoushes” in only the the most playful denotation. Heartfelt and cordial sums it up for me too.
OK, prosecuting BushCo crimes is not gonna happen while the economy is RS. It’ll take a long time for the nation to come out of intensive care. Over the next couple of years a whole lot of documented BushCo malfeasance might surface that missed the recent ShreadFest at 1600 Penn. Emails unerased etc.
If a couple of SCOTUS heavies cark it or retire and some balance restored to the Big Bench then a blooded DoJ rottweiller like Patrick Fitzgerald (who nailed Libby) might be unleashed to remind certain parties that no matter how many signing statements a C-I-C can scrawl, no one is above US Constitutional Law. Not even POTUS.
I’ll take 66/1 on criminal proceedings being lauched in The Kid’s first term. Winnings to say, Guide Dogs for the Blind, a perfectly wonderful organisation.
🙂
I’ll take those odds Eckie. I have a dog who needs a guide dog of his own!
As for Bush crimes. Torture may be a possibility. I’ve seen the legal advice given to Bush and have argued the lawyers who gave it should be struck off. But there are others who believe those lawyers “got chalk on their shoes” (as one leading US legal academic put it back in July). It’s a football analogy of a player who uses the entire field including running down the line. He was of the view that the advice was close to the edge but still within the bounds allowed by law.
I think that’s bollocks, but his argument was well considered. It won’t be a one-sided argument.
Just to get the prick in the dock under oath and sweating would be justice in itself, Ferny. It would send a mighty strong message to all who would approach the land’s highest offices with mendacity in their hearts.
The other genie that’s staying in the bottle is nationalisation of the banks, and Krugman points out that propping them up with taxpayer’s bucks and pretending the corpses are alive is just voodoo economics. (Both British and US major banks are essentially bankrupt by the way).
Krugman shows how tepid the Obama remedies are because they fail to wipe out the shareholders and do it right. He’s sure this will end badly, and we all know who gets screwed over, once again:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/opinion/19krugman.html?_r=1
Nationalisation of the banks. If the governments start forcing that issue will Australia have to follow suite? 😈
Just in case i lose my job because of the global meltdown i have sent my resume off. Hoping to get an interview soon.
Annie Oakley knows where to get a gun.
http://www.vbs.tv/full_screen.php?s=DGFE2305DC&sc=1363196
94
Concur EC.
ABC1
9.50 pm: MADE IN CHICAGO: THE MAKING OF BARACK OBAMA
Got to go watch a program.