I read a funny headline on yahoo the other day
"Obama breaks from Bush, avoids divisive stands"
You may recall that Bush came to Washington with hope of being a uniter and not a divider. I am sure that is what is referred to. Bush wasn't able to unite the parties or the people. We did get rid of Gore so I think it was probably worth tolerating the horrible No Child Left Behind and other horrendous Bush policies.
First line in the article
"Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush's unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands."
First, Bush was unpopular with me because he was too liberal and he and the republicans acted just like democrats. Spent way too much of my money on things I didn't ask for. But George Bush was right on fighting islamic jihadis and for that I love him and forgive a lot of his silliness.
Bush was unpopular with people that opposed him but that is to be expected. Obama is now unpopular with me because of his divisive partisan and ideological stands.
Second, Obama is divisive and ideological. That should be clear. Perhaps he doesn't seem that way to the liberal who wrote the article because he agrees with Obama. But I agree with Bush and not Obama. From my perspective this is the end of a presidency where people tried to get along. Now we have a president who doesn't care about being nice, saying, "I won"
President Bush was never that divisive.
Now Obama calls for an end to politics, just pass the stimulus bill. The stimulus bill is stupid. Note that people only want an end to the discussion if you are going to do what they say. Its only partisan politics when you disagree. No one ever says. "okay enough of this bickering, I'll do it your way." Imagine Obama saying, "I am tired of all this arguing, I am now in favor of winning in Iraq and jailing terrorists forever on Gitmo. I just can't take the contention anymore." What would the reaction be had President Bush said, "This is not a time for politics or divisiveness, by executive order all abortions are illegal. It is a time for unity, lets all be Americans and move forward"
As evidence of partisan ideological stands I give you the Mexico City policy. Over turned the day after the 36th anniversary of Roe v Wade, this policy forbid the use of taxpayer money to fund abortion overseas. Obama removed that ban as one of his first acts as president.
Other reasons I oppose Obama:We can use his own words against him.
Analysis of Inaugural Address: it is difficult to criticize because it is vague. I could interpret many of words favorably as they apply to history and the place of America in the world. Or they could be read as a communist declaration of "worker's paradise". I think he intended the latter, of course. Left will hear what they want without sparking the ire of the right. He declares the triumph of the individual in solving all past problems and then suggests the collective will solve all current problems. Collectivism is evil, don't forget.
Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, as delivered.
OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. 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. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we
will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.
How is science not in its rightful place? Did President Bush damage science?
We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. There is no such thing as global warming. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do. All this the taxpayer will fund.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. Free men can achieve much when not shackled by government
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works FALSE, it is far too big which is one of the reasons it doesn't work. — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Now we are into it. The purpose of government has nothing to do with finding wages, or healthcare or retirement. When government enters these realms it has gone beyond its bounds. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Capitalism can be virtuous. Free market is always better. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control The current crisis was caused by people trying to control the market, not by a lack of oversight — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. Welfare checks, welfare checks, stand in line to get your welfare checks
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. Whatever, are you referring to the Patriot Act? Just say so. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child (especially Muslims) who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. I thought we weren't supposed to create American Empire?
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. Tell the robber in your house that you are safe because of the justness of your cause and then see if he leaves because of your humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. Can you really list nukes and a warming planet on the same scale? Are these people more afraid of carbon than Iran? We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. Is he going to defeat the warming or the nukes?
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are a nation of Christians, non-believers, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus to be more correct. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; Perhaps a little but mostly by traditional western civilization, the greatest civilization on the planet. and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. True, because our way is the best
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. Please end the brutal traditions of your past and we can talk about the future. Please overthrow your tyrannical governments and we can be friends. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West we will kill you — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. (good line but I use the same rule against Obama. Socialism is designed to destroy, not to build.) To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, (is silencing dissent the same as the the call to unity, the end to debate, the end of diviseness? The fairness doctrine?) know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. What effect? For the world has changed, and we must change with it. What has changed? What change do you propose? What could you possible mean? This is either scary or just boring poetry
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
This next part is especially bad. It honors the individual but the federal government has no part in the successes he refers to. Why then is it the answer to all the problems?
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America
It is nice to have Jefferson's words completed that all men are created equal as Hugh Hewitt has written but to do so with a socialist may have been too high a price to pay
