On Politics. Well, it is done. He is now President Obama and the resistance, the loyal opposition must go to work. His speech is, of course, good speechifying, but he made his first mistake in his first sentences. He is the forty-fourth president, but only forty-three men have taken the oath. Grover Cleveland was sworn in twice in non-consecutive terms, making him the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth president. Obama began by saying that forty-four men had taken that oath. So we have mistake number one. And we will be watching for the rest of them, and we will oppose him at every turn that takes this country away from the foundational, conservative principles on which this country was built. The economic principles are the real tripping point, but they grow out of a misguided understanding of what has made this country great and what the principles are that will ultimately preserve her.
His "New Era of Responsibility" is undermined by the government's promise of rescue from hardship and of guarantees against failure. Responsibility is only supported by the ultimate need to survive on our own, not by looking to government for a handout. These are interesting times, indeed.
Over all it was a good speech; however, it is what he takes his words to really mean and to what degree he is actually able to carry them out that is important here. Unfortunately, I believe that the meaning he places on words like "freedom", "liberty", and "responsibility" may not be the same as a conservative might place on them. We'll have to wait and see.
On the positive side thought, this peaceful transfer of power is perhaps the most remarkable of American experiences, and today added to that is the fact that a black man who once would not have been allowed to work in the White House except as domestic help is accepting that mantel of power. I need to look up the exact circumstance, but in 1939 black singer, Marian Anderson was forced to sing on the steps of the Lincoln memorial because she was not allowed in Constitutional Hall, the concert hall in Washington, D.C. Today a black man will live in the White House as president. It is a historic moment.
The ideologies of the man, however, are Marxist, and because of that vigilance will be required to preserve this nation. Whether his policies reflect his ideology or simply political expediency remains to be seen. There is no division of power that occurs when one party controls the White House and the other controls the Congress. If he can get the Congress to go along with him, he has an open field down which to run the ball. I have absolutely no doubt that he will take full and complete advantage of that.
Also, the stock market is down today which is not being mentioned anywhere. Hopefully, someone will get around to noticing at some point today.
I am going to quit before I depress myself any further and go read the Faerie Queene, that 16th century best-seller by Edmund Spenser. More on that later.