Anticipating President Barack Obama's First Inaugural Address
Wednesday January 14, 2009
While presidential inaugurations are joyous celebrations filled with pomp, ceremony, parades and glitzy parties, the new president's inaugural address is what lingers in historical memory long after the streets of D.C. have been cleaned and the ball gowns put away.
Barack Obama's inaugural address is highly anticipated due both to his poetic eloquence and to his consistent reliance on speech-making as his primary form of communication with the American people.
What will Obama say? Will he communicate some grand new programs or initiatives? Will he coin a clever catch-phrase, reminiscent of John F. Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask you what can for your country"?
My hope is that newly inaugurated President Obama will deliver an updated version of his famed uplifting speech at the 2004 Democratic National convention, in which he soaringly declared:
"Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation — not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy.
"Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'"
Certainly, Obama plans to continue a central message of an inclusive presidency, one that seeks to reunite our fractured country after the devastating divisiveness of the Bush/Cheney years. Obama's presidency will seek to fairly govern all Americans, not just those who voted for him, in great contrast to the Bush era.
Obama's non-policy speeches are also usually eloquent, big-picture orations, long on grand concepts, but short of details. (For a person who touts himself as a pragmatist, his speeches are stunningly devoid of pragmatic language.)
Beyond that, I, like you, can hardly wait to witness the swearing in of Barack Hussein Obama, and especially, to hear the ringing oratory that will be recorded as the first public words of the 44th President of the United States.
While you anxiously await January 20, 2009, savor some of Barack Obama's remarkable landmark speeches from his two-year presidential campaign:
- Obama's Brilliant Speech Announcing 2008 Run for the White House - "That's why I'm in this race. Not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation. I want to win that next battle - for justice and opportunity. I want to win that next battle - for better schools, and better jobs, and health care for all."
- Obama's Stirring Iowa Primary Victory Speech - "We beat back the policies of fear and doubts and cynicism."
- Obama's Primary Season Victory Speech - "... I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton."
- Obama's Uplifting Election Night Speech - "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there...
"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long."
(Photo taken on Jan 14, 2009: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Monday January 12, 2009
Thank you, readers, for the emails, both at About.com and via Facebook, congratulating me on my reelection this past weekend to a
second two-year term as Delegate to the California Democratic Party.
My micro-campaign... which included filing qualifications with the state party, a brief speech, fliers, and some hand-shaking... gave me renewed appreciation for the massive rigors and stresses that face all candidates for public office.
I heartily encourage each one of you to make a difference in your community and state by getting involved in grassroots Democratic party politics, which is organized by your state party. For your convenient reference, I put together a Link Directory to 50 State Democratic Parties.
State Democratic organizations are VERY anxious to hear from you, and have volunteer opportunities ranging from major, hands-on organizational projects to important online tasks and telephoning that can be done from home in your spare moments. (Some also advertise a few choice paid positions open!)
Obama's campaign taught that each one of us truly matters in this urgent movement to change the course of our great country post-Bush/Cheney. You really can make a difference!
So start the New Year by connecting with your state Democratic Party today to do your part.
After all, the United States was created to be "Government of the people, BY the people, and for the people."
Progressive Activism Events, January 2009 - In D.C. and Beyond
Friday January 9, 2009
Come each January, progressive activism begins the year with renewed liberal vigor and a busy schedule crowded with events, conferences, state Democratic party elections, and training for new activists.
This year in Washington D.C., with the media spotlight on the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, progressive organizations are planning more than 50 major events to bring dramatic attention to urgent issues.
Among subjects being highlighted by progressive activists in D.C. during January 2009 are Guantanamo, the continuing Iraq War, torture, war profiteering, health care, Rick Warren's inaugural involvement, and immigration reform. The calendar also includes three inaugural balls for progressives and the netroots community.
For a complete list and links to further details, see Progressive Activism Calendar for D.C. - January 2009.
As for my chosen venue of new-year activist involvement, I am running for reelection to a second two-year term as a Delegate to the California Democratic Party State Central Committee. The election is this Sunday, January 11.
I'm working on my speech, recruiting family to distribute hand-outs, and have been endorsed as part of the progressive slate supported by the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party, Progressive Democrats of America and SoCal Grassroots. (If you're eligible to vote in CA Assembly District #72, I would appreciate your support!)
Just two years ago, the California Democratic Party had a tough time finding people to fill these positions. In contrast in 2009, liberal activist reponse in California has been "overwhelming," thanks to the energizing presidential primaries and election, and after Barack Obama's landslide victory.
Which is all to say... it's time for you, too, to get involved! Just because the '08 election is done, doesn't mean our progressive grassroots work is done. On the contrary, our work to repair post-Bush/Cheney America has just begun. And it will take ALL of us!
If you plan to be in Washington D.C. for the January 20, 2009 inauguration, or at anytime in January, plan to participate in some of the exciting events at Progressive Activism Calendar for D.C. - January 2009
You can find events closer to home by contacting your local Democratic Party office, or by visting the websites of the organizations linked in my D.C. article.
And if your activism is primarily online, start at Change.org, an impressive, wildly popular site that aims at "informing and empowering movements for social change around the most important issues of our time."
Happy New Year! Now let's each get busy doing our part to save this great country.
(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Democrats in the 111th Congress: Opportunity for Unprecedented Influence
Tuesday January 6, 2009
Today, the heavily Democratic-controlled 111th Congress, which will serve for two years, is sworn into office.
Per Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:
"The 111th Congress will hit the ground running in January with an ambitious schedule that corresponds with the opportunities and challenges that we face as a country. The opening days of the Congress will be intense."
By all rights, 2009 and 2010 should be years of unprecedented Democratic influence in Congress:
- Democrats hold 256 House seats (59%) to 178 held by Republicans, which is a Democratic pick-up of 21 seats in the 2008 election cycle. Democrats have gained 54 House seats since 2004.
The seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel will be filled by Illinois special election in April 2009.
- Democrats hold 57 Senate seats, assuming that Franken from Minnesota and Burris from Illinois are seated after legal challenges. Also, both Independents, Lieberman of Connecticut and Sanders of Vermont, plan to caucus with Democrats.
Senate Republicans occupy only 41 Senate seats, a catastrophic drop of 14 seats in four years, and 7 less seats than in the 110th Congress.
- For the first time in almost a decade, Congress will be working with a Democratic administration.
And top Congressional Democrats are experienced, longtime leaders, well-seasoned at navigating rough political waters.
Interestingly, most Senate and House Committee Chairs are more liberal than Obama's cabinet picks for the corresponding areas, which could lead to tensions, particularly on domestic policy, between Congress and the Obama administration.
Now, if Congressional Democrats can only get past their unproductive soap opera ways, and get down to the urgent business of changing the wayward course of our post-Bush country, as Speaker Pelosi urges...
(Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
