Barack Obama inaugurated as president

Wake me up, when September ends / Live blogging the inauguration

20 January 2009 548 views 4 Comments

Barack Obama Hello World. At 11:30 am EST this will be your wake up call.

Not everything will change today. The grass won’t become greener, the sky won’t change to a clearer blue. Peace won’t break out around the globe and people will not suddenly change and become better.

But there’s hope. Today, after eight long, dark years Barack Obama will relieve George W. Bush of his presidential duties and assume the highest political office there is on the globe (no need arguing that). He won’t be able to change things in the blink of an eye, but he has got the potential to actually trigger changes that could make this world a safer place to live in.

I’ve been editing this post for a couple of days now, trying to figure out what to include and what to leave out. In the end, all the long sentences and paragraphs can be summarized in short: Barack Obama is not the savior many people would like him to be. He rather represents a different mindset, a different background and by that a new political era. How much he can actually achieve with the current economical, political and environmental turmoils remains to be seen. But I doubt he could do a job as bad as his predecessor, no matter how hard he tries.

My personal hope is that we will see a change in the way the US conducts foreign and internal policy, that it assumes a leading role in the fight against the climate crisis and that once more the US becomes an ally and a friend, ending a phase of international estrangement. Not at once, maybe not even in the next twelve months, but I hope that this changes will be brought on the way. That would be a tremendous success already.

For today, let’s celebrate the new US president, Barack Obama, and the hope that all of us might carry within us for his term(s).

“Because the alternative is too terrible to consider. Without the hope that things will get better, that our inheriters will know a world that is fuller and richer than our own, life is pointless, and evolution is vastly overrated.”
- Delenn, Babylon 5, »A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 1«

+++UPDATE+++
5:08pm: I am watching the preparations for the inauguration live right now. I went in to work early today and was at my desk at 7am to make sure I made it home early enough. I don’t get any channel on TV that is covering this in English, so I am following this on Cnn.com. The crowds in Washington DC are amazing, I have watched the space in front of the Capitol and the Washington Monument fill up since early morning. Just saw the vice presidents and their wives march in and gave a small cheer for former Vice President Al Gore.

5.16pm: And there’s Bill Clinton with Hillary Clinton, former first lady and soon secretary of state. Just put the champaign on the balcony to have it nice and cold in time. I am not gonna take a drink until this is all over (Obama is on his way to the White House), I am a little superstitious and don’t wanna jinx it. Oh my, George Bush senior looks very, very old.

5:22pm: Is’s interesting to follow this old ritual so closely. The stage where the inauguration is to take place looks quite crowded with all those current and former politicans. Well, at least they won’t be too cold there, I guess ;) I wonder how people react to when Pres. Bush (jr.) steps out. They cheered for Bill Clinton.

5:33pm: I am actually feeling a little sorry for Bush jr. I guess he knows he’s not terribly popular and I hope people will not make too much of a scene. This day is supposed to be about change and positive stuff. BTW, the Obama girls looked cute when they came out. It was fun to see how they couldn’t stop grinning at the cheering that greeted them.

5.37pm: Applause sounds moderate when Bush enters the stage. *lol* Hugs between former (and soon to be former) presidents Clinton and Bush.

5:39: Obama is slowly getting ready to hit the stage. Wow, he looks like he’s savoring every moment. Or maybe he’s incredibly nervous. I’d be! And as vice president-elect Biden enters the stage the crowds erupt, waving flags.

5:43pm: Sheesh, it’s incredible how many people get announced there before the actual players hit the stage. House leader, senators, who knows who else. But now there’s only one person left.

5:44pm: And there he is, taking the last steps (virtually) to finally claim the office he won in November.

5:45pm: The crowds are cheering his name and go wild.

5:48pm: Either facebook users are absolutely in the moment or the lines are slowly crashing under the strain. Comments are coming in slow. The first speech given spoke of how the words etched into the wall of the Lincoln Memorial have finally reached the White House. They cut to Obama and he *did* swallow hard. So true.

5:51pm: I don’t see much in praying in public that much, but I like what the preacher has to say about the importance of the moment, about the fact that an African American finally made it president.

5:54pm: WOW! Aretha Franklin!!!

5:55pm: And of course, as it must be, immediately the images change to patriotic. The flag, the amazed people listening, and more flags :) Must be a feast for every journalism class :)

5:57pm: Despite the plea to stand I will remain seated to blog that vice-president is being sworn in. DONE!

6:00pm: A musical piece by John Williams. THE John Williams? I only know the one who writes soundtracks. Is that the one? My respect to the musicians! I know how much you need agility in your fingers to play those instruments and seeing them doing that in the cold is truly a noteworthy job. And it looks like they are enjoying it a hell of a lot! Wow! Like it a lot.

6:05pm: Now we get serious. Obama is being sworn in! Please stand!

6:06pm: WOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Ok, he stumbled, but I guess he’s excused for being nervous! A new president! Congratulations!

6:07pm: President Barack Obama ready to address his nation and hopefully also us millions watching around the globe! Crowds are wild!

6:08pm: Very decent move of him to thank former president Bush. Oh no! Ok, the coverage just crashed shortly.

6:10pm: He addresses the current indicators of crisis. He also mentions the peril our planet is in. Did you hear that, Mr. Gore! Way to go!

6:11pm: Of course, after the negative stuff comes the positive aspects. (noteworthy to who have to make speeches themselves) Quite the speaker he is (do I sound like Yoda?).

6:14pm: There were the Tuskegee Airmen! And it’s great to hear Obama reassure the American people that there is a chance to overcome the current troubles. “Restrore science to its rightful place. Harness wind, sun, soil to fuel cars.” There you go!

6:18pm: It’s moving to see the faces of the Americans listening to their new president. There is so much hope there, so clear pleas that he can actually fulfill the hopes they have in him. Some look like they are not believing what they are hearing.

6:18pm: “We reject as false the choice between our security and our ideals.” End of torture! We hear you! We hope you stay true to these words. ”American is the friend of every nation… and we are ready to lead once more” Welcome back in the family of countries.

6:21pm: “Know that your people will judge you by what you can build, not what you can destroy.” Wow! That was a grand message. I am really touched by his words, they are amazingly wise for such a young man.

6:27pm: Great speech! Now get him into the White House safely! (No, that’s not just me wanting to pop the champaign finally.)

6:28pm: Elizabeth Alexander, poet, takes the stage.

6:30pm: I like the words, but – sorry – she really is not a person who can read poems. She may be a great writer, but someone else should have read it.

6:34pm: More prayer. But that is actually nice. And it rhymes. Addition: This prayer is really, really good, even in the eyes of me being an atheist. True words.

6:38pm: I think that’s the first time a prayer actually made me laugh! I hope that will be available as an audio download. National anthem. I will stand in respect.

6:40pm: And off he is. Me is eying that bottle of champagne.

6:43pm: Okay, they just said the parade will take a couple of hours. American friends, I hope you will forgive me if I crack the champagne open now and leave you to watch the parade. BTW, nice Starbucks add on CNN.com after the inauguration.

Folks, here’s the new WhiteHouse.gov page. Doesn’t it look beautiful?

White House Gov page on Jan20,2009, at 6:45pm European Standard Time

4 Comments »

klti said:

But I doubt he could do a job as bad as his predecessor, no matter how hard he tries.

I don’t think that anyone could be worse than Dubya, maybe except for Gaius Baltar or a cylon. :mrgreen:

I think it would be illussional to expect everything to get perfect now, after all it’s the same capital, the same political system. I mean, he kept the DoD guy, and hired a RIAA Lawyer for justice department.

I hope we see some movement in the critical areas, only time will show how it all works out.

Reply

Starstuff Reply:
January 20th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

While I realize that the much proclaimed ‘change’ won’t happen overnight, I do have hopes that things will change – namely the “same political system”. Of course, they won’t change the constitution, but maybe there will be a new way of thinking and conducting policy. For example, not seeing everyone as an enemy first (and treating them like that).

About the “DoD guy”: I am actually pleasantly surprised to see that Obama has gone out of his way to incorporate members of the previous administration in his team. He has also sought the advice of Sen. McCain on issues regarding national security. The New York Times had a great article about that the other day. It shows that Obama is smart enough to recognize that fact that in times like this, you need people with background in this business and in certain offices. Completely changing everything might do more harm than letting some people stay. And actually working together with his prior rival is something that has no precedence and shows strength of character, in my eyes. How many people would have rather made mistakes or bad decisions instead, not wanting to be seen relying on someone from the other party?

If this is how Obama’s presidency will look like, it looks pretty good from this perspective.

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# 20 January 2009 at 9:29 am

Jarsto said:

RE: the 6:06 comment. The reason he stumbled was that the chief justice didn’t read out the words right. It’s supposed to be “to faithfully execute the office of president” not “to execute the office of president faithfully”. So it’s not really much of a surprise that he stumbled over an oath he wasn’t expecting to take with quite that phrasing.

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Starstuff Reply:
January 20th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

Yeah, the commentators said so afterwards. I was already surprised at the long pieces they had to repeat until I figured they had probably rehearsed it before. I would stumble as well if something like that would happen. But it broke the tension, didn’t it :)

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# 20 January 2009 at 7:31 pm