A wonderful day.

[David Kirk]

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at
last!"


Dave

[jmeloy]

has been too damn long. Time for this country to do something special TOGETHER!

[rugbysecondrow]

Blah, blah, blah, etc. etc

[jemoryl]

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at
last!"


Dave

Wait a minute! Your frames are now free?
OK, I'll need something around 58 cm...

[thwart]

If anybody has a tougher job ahead, I don't know who that would be...

1) Economy headed toward the worst crisis since the Great Depression

2) Renewed conflict in the Middle East

3) US forces deployed in 2 wars

4) Huge national debt

Can anyone possibly be up to this task?

Hope. I have a lot of that today...

[David Kirk]

I'm sorry I started this thread. I'm feeling excited about a new start and not political. I should have anticipated it would go in this direction.

Pete - feel free to put this to bed before it turns fully political.

Enjoy the day.

dave

[Pete Serotta]

We never get political on the forum,nor do we get excited about politics ;)

It is a new beginning "One of Hope". Where we go will be dependent on ALL of us! :hello:

I'm sorry I started this thread. I'm feeling excited about a new start and not political. I should have anticipated it would go in this direction.

Pete - feel free to put this to bed before it turns fully political.

Enjoy the day.

dave

[michael white]

it's snowing in the Deep South right now. A beautiful new day. Not much else to say.

[false_Aest]

I'm with ya Mr. Kirk.

The president has some hard work ahead and we're going through hard times--the deck might be stacked against him--but that doesn't mean we should ignore or "poo-poo" the significance of this day (no matter what your political leanings are).

If happiness is infective then positivity should be too. Here's to a new start :beer:

[Keith A]

it's snowing in the Deep South right now. A beautiful new day. Not much else to say.And that cold is reaching all the way down to Central Florida. We don't often freeze here in Melbourne, but it looks like the next two nights we will have freezing temperatures. I'm wondering if I will be able to commute to work the next two days...the warmest thing I have for my legs are knee warmers
http://www.htmlgens.com/smileys/cold.gif

[William]

http://206.47.170.43/channels/images/happy-face-istock-456.jpg

[avalonracing]

Don't sweat it, Dave. It IS a great day and it has been way too long in coming. O-B has the toughest job in the world and I'm sure that he'll be taking a lot of blame for fallout that will continue come for a while.

That said, he is appointing great people... Scholars, scientists, thinkers and respected politicians... He's off to a great start and he is still two hours away from post.

[joelh]

Both the President and the President-Elect have conducted themselves with a dignity through this transition that should be a model to us all. Lets hope that people that honestly disagree can find a way to work together for the common good.

It is great to see this part of our government work the way that our founding Fathers envisioned it 225 years ago.

[Climb01742]

there's only one way we, as a country, are going to solve what's ahead of us.

together.

[rugbysecondrow]

As I sit and watch the unfolding events on TV, I can appreciate the moment and I am optimistic about the opportunities that Obama will have to address some of these earier articulated problems.

That said, there is a certain redundancy regarding many of the over the top statements regarding Obama and his upcoming term.

The time for ceremony will be over shortly. Tomorrrow, it is time to get to work!

[avalonracing]

If I hear another interview with a person at the event who says "It is history and I just wanted to say that I was there" I'm going to lose it! :crap:

Sorry, I'm 20 minutes from DC and I just can't take that statement anymore. It has become as ubiquitous as "from Wall St to Main St".

Okay, I'll go back to being happy again. It will be done soon.

[michael white]

Both the President and the President-Elect have conducted themselves with a dignity through this transition that should be a model to us all. Lets hope that people that honestly disagree can find a way to work together for the common good.

It is great to see this part of our government work the way that our founding Fathers envisioned it 225 years ago.

plus one . . . three cheers for us!

[rugbysecondrow]

My sentiments exactly. I live in Howard County, MD and work in DC, so I am ready for this to all be over. No offense to those who might be excited, but I am ready for business as usual.

My favorite quote, " I came here to witness this historic change in the future of the universe".

[David Kirk]

Yes Obama has some hard work in front of him. No doubt about that. These are truly extraordinary times and they will require that Obama also be extraordinary.

But it doesn't end there. We all need to be extra-ordinary. We need to be "beyond the ordinary". We all need to believe that things can change, that we want things to be different and better and that we will be willing to sacrifice toward that end. Waiting for Obama to do it while we all watch from the sidelines is a sure recipe for disappointment. If we believe it's possible and act toward that end we have a chance for it to be better.

If folks think that it can't be different, that we aren't really better people than our recent actions have shown us to be, that we don't want better for ourselves, our kids and the rest of the planet then we will get what we asked for.

If we can picture it, it can happen. If we can't, it won't.

Today is indeed a very good day.

dave

[konstantkarma]

My favorite bumper sticker, recently seen near Philadelphia......"01-20-2009, the end of an error".

Here's to hope, and a bright future for our children. :)

[npla2112]

A great, momentous day for this country. God Bless America!
:hello: :hello: :hello:

[LegendRider]

From The Onion:

Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job

WASHINGTON—African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America. In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation's broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it. Said scholar and activist Mark L. Denton, "It just goes to show you that, in this country, a black man still can't catch a break."

[Tobias]

there's only one way we, as a country, are going to solve what's ahead of us.

together.And by tomorrow morning we’ll all agree that carbon is better than steel. ;)

[Tobias]

If I hear another interview with a person at the event who says "It is history and I just wanted to say that I was there" I'm going to lose it! :crap: I would love the media to mention his mother's roots a bit more. I find it disrespectful to her to focus so much on father.

[1centaur]

We need to be "beyond the ordinary". ...better people than our recent actions have shown us to be dave

We won't be beyond ordinary because in the aggregate 300MM people will by definition be ordinary. More importantly, we the ordinary people have not shown ourselves to be something by our recent actions that we need to be better than, any more than did any previous generation. It would be great if the people in Washington were smarter, more visionary, better organized and better meaning than ordinary people (history suggests they usually are not), but in their superiority they must proceed on the assumption that they are dealing with an ordinary population that will act in ordinary ways. Uppermost in that list of ordinary ways is that economic motivations will rule. The economy must thrive for society to thrive, and that thriving must occur at all income strata (to the extent consistent with such income). Get that part wrong, and none of the rest will matter.

[RPS]

Uppermost in that list of ordinary ways is that economic motivations will rule. The economy must thrive for society to thrive, and that thriving must occur at all income strata (to the extent consistent with such income). Get that part wrong, and none of the rest will matter.I agree 100 percent, but also think that belief will find great resistance. That's why we are all not going to agree on as much as some would want. It has nothing to do with Obama being black or not, it's about what his policies are about. And on that I agree 300 million won't agree.

[Tobias]

Some think markets are nervous over uncertainty over economic policies. Thus far it seems not everyone is optimistic.

[Richard]

Better to be "nervous over uncertainty over economic policies," than depressed over the certainty of the disasterous policies that got us here.

[Steve in SLO]

IMHO, The inauguration was wonderfully done and after some initial missteps, Obama gave a beautiful inaugural speech. He touched briefly on just about every important aspect of the challenges that lie ahead, and placed some repsonsibility back onto the everyman--very important. Politics aside, I think we have a Leader now.

[sspielman]

Artist's rendering.....

[Bradford]

Blah, blah, blah, etc. etc
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.

[Tobias]

Better to be "nervous over uncertainty over economic policies," than depressed over the certainty of the disasterous policies that got us here.I couldn’t agree with you more. Except maybe for who should be held responsible for cratering the economy in the first place; and since you and I will never agree on that there is no point in debating. For today I just see markets reacting poorly – NAS down over 4 percent at present.

IMO it’s naïve to expect that all of a sudden we will unite behind the president. No doubt we will unite behind him as our president, but we will not unite behind him regarding policies. If a person didn’t like his ideas before the election, why would they like them today? That’s more wishful thinking than reality.

[Richard]

Well...I agree with much of that last post, Tobias, but what I can't see is how you can attribute today's market to the uncertainty of a new president. I seems much more likely that the cause is simply a continuation of the current inexorable slide that we each attribute to different party's policies.

[djg]

and I mean that in an entirely non-partisan way.

[RPS]

Well...I agree with much of that last post, Tobias, but what I can't see is how you can attribute today's market to the uncertainty of a new president. I seems much more likely that the cause is simply a continuation of the current inexorable slide that we each attribute to different party's policies.From what I heard, and also reported on CNBC, IMO it appears some investors were taken aback by the comment in his speech that can be taken (albeit by parsing words) as a possible attack on prosperity.

As some may recall, there were questions about whether or not he has socialist ideals; and his choice of words didn’t help. Whether concern is deserved or not is up to each of us to interpret.

His comments may have fuel fear again of anti-wealth, anti-Wall-Street, pro-union, big-government, etc… And to make matters worse from an economy standpoint, some democrats are starting to state that tax cuts are more effective than spending to reignite the economy, which goes against BO’s trillion dollar stimulus plan,

Markets don’t like uncertainty, and right now there is very little clear direction where we are going (not that it’s his fault since he’s been president a few hours).

[fiamme red]

From what I heard, and also reported on CNBC, IMO it appears some investors were taken aback by the comment in his speech that can be taken (albeit by parsing words) as a possible attack on prosperity.Down with prosperity! :banana:

[Climb01742]

haven't the last few months been an attack on prosperity?

[1centaur]

To the extent one can characterize today's market, I'd say it's a continuation of a common trading sentiment which is "buy the rumor, sell the news." Many have talked about selling post inauguration, and some presumably started that selling early. The news out of the financial sector happens to be pretty bad in the last 7 days, which does not help.

To the extent markets perceive Obama as all about getting people to serve the community via taxation, non-market wages and lowered expectations/hopes of a comfortable non-government-funded retirement, they will react badly. I don't think we're there yet. Love it or hate it, the freedom at the heart of capitalism is strongly embedded in more than just Republicans after generations of its praise, so I expect the great art of Washington compromise to blunt most of the sharp edges that markets fear. That's not to say that there won't be a creeping form of Euro-socialist thinking edging irrevocably into our future, but we'll be like frogs in the pot of water with its temperature gradually being raised and the markets will adjust to that.

[Ray]

Y'all know how I feel. I've been enjoying and rejoicing in every detail of the day. Yeah, tomorrow the hard work starts (or continues, it sounds like they've been hitting it pretty hard during the transition) and it'll depend on all of us acting more responsibly than we have and than we may be willing/able to. And I've never been terribly optimistic and won't start now.

But from a purely selfish standpoint, I like being able to sleep at night because we have people in power who may not get it all right, but are at least heading in a direction I fundamentally agree with. And since they're sweating the details, I don't feel as much obligation to constantly sweat them myself. Rather than spending a good chunk of the last eight years worried that we were headed in fundamentally the wrong direction. I realize that a lot of you feel precisely the opposite, but that's how I feel anyway.

I too had gotten sick of hearing / thinking / reading about the historic nature of this presidency. But during the various ceremonies over the last couple of days, every time I see an elderly (or not so elderly) black person simply overcome by the emotion of the moment, I'm overcome again myself. It IS a hugely important moment, whether he ends up being a great president, a terrible one, or the more likely outcome of somewhere in between. It will not end the race problems we have in this country, but it will fundamentally change the way a lot of whites look at blacks and the way a lot of blacks look at whites, and it may just be the beginning of the end of the race problems in our country. In any case, I believe its a very very good thing.

-Ray

[avalonracing]

Face it, it is all Obama's fault!! Everything has been going just great until the last 4 hours.

Since Obama took office the economy has tanked, the world has become pissed at us, healthcare has become unaffordable, the military has become over-stressed, jobs have gone overseas, banks and auto companies have become insolvent and people have been losing their homes.

[Steevo]

It is a great day for all Americans. I think its great that hope replaces fear and unity replaces division. Science returns to the forefront and leadership for all again takes root in the White House. This is a great day. We have a leader who will try to inspire all of us to find something greater than our individual selves. Today has me feeling more optimistic about the future that I have in a long time.

[slowgoing]

from the perspective of global warming alone, today is a great day.

[Climb01742]

about the markets today...don't ya'll think that the piss-poor shape virtually every bank in america has gotten themselves into just_might_have something to do with the dow today? not one of them has been forthcoming about the toxic crap hiding in their balance sheets. take a peep at bank stocks today. not much mystery.

[RPS]

haven't the last few months been an attack on prosperity?Absolutely not -- at least from my perspective.

As long as I can still afford to walk (forget drive or ride) to the local McDonalds and buy a burger so I don't go to bed hungry, I'll continue to feel lucky. Things can get a lot worse -- trust me on that. And the assumption that it can't happen here because we are Americans is amusing -- and frightening at the same time.

No doubt the economy cratered under Bush's watch, but I personally don't think he was responsible for most of it. By the time anything was known about credit swaps that took the banking system to the edge little could be done. Not that I supported Bush, but no president could have stopped the house of cards we fabricated out of thin air that became the housing mess.

The fear conservatives have is that America can slip into socialism which in theory can be far worse than anything we have seen in this country. The fact that Bush did an awful job does not preclude Obama doing worse. So fear/concern can be rational based on real danger; it's not theoretical.

[RPS]

about the markets today...don't ya'll think that the piss-poor shape virtually every bank in america has gotten themselves into just_might_have something to do with the dow today? not one of them has been forthcoming about the toxic crap hiding in their balance sheets. take a peep at bank stocks today. not much mystery.In some cases their market value is less than what we the tax payers have already sunk. :rolleyes:

[rnhood]

the drop today is due to banks to some extent and, to some extent the massive democrat stimulus plan being tossed around. Basically we are selling debt to pay for this stimulus and, the buyers of this debt are beginning to get turned off due to it's sheer size. So bonds return are dropping. This stimulus plan needs to include info on how the stimulus spending will eventually pay back this debt.

[spiderman]

is particularly high
at the brink of uncertain times...
...i just was thinking about the last time
i checked out of a house
when i was active duty military...
the night before 'the commander' was to return
to his home that we were renting
i really wanted to make things right for him.
so, i grabbed some touch up paint
and went around after filling all the nail holes
sanded and touched them up!
my wife noticed the next morning
that i had used the wrong color paint... :mad:
she had one of those God moments
in the midst of her anger...
and was filled with a sense of God's divine love for me.
wonder if there's anything like that going on
in this particular dwelling??
i wrote a poem yesterday
that seems to be even more true to me today.
it follows as my signature:
;)

[jbrainin]

The final goodbye

[RPS]

The final goodbyeHumor to unite all Americans?

[michael white]

it's true, the cartoon might be over the line for a supposedly nonpartisan audience . . .

[csm]

cute cartoon but I am disgusted with the attitudes of folks in regards to the actual shoe-throwing incident overseas. sad that Americans feel such hatred towards a man that they've never met.
regardless of your political affiliation, Bush was your president. and as such deserves a little respect. that the shoe thrower is in prison with only a broken arm and a swiss lawyer trying to get him political asylum speaks volumes over the professionalism of the secret service.
I didn't vote for Mr Obama but am excited to see our country's founding ideals at work. and I hope for EVERYONE'S sake that he is successful.
and I hope that nobody throws shoes at him.

[avalonracing]

To put what is probably the thread locker (although it is true)

DUDE! We blew their country up! No wonder they are pissed. We have no idea what these people have been through.

A quote from the BBC:

With his second shoe, which the president also managed to dodge, Mr Zaidi said: "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq.

[PCR]

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at
last!"


Dave

I couldn't have said it better! :banana:

[bironi]

and a beautiful day.

[cadence90]

A wonderful day,
and a beautiful day.

I completely agree. Amazing. Uplifting. :)


And to get away from banking and shoes, here's a cool story of this guy, Ryan Bowen, who rode his bike from Los Angeles to attend the inauguration (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jX5ZLjhhA_c2sdV7d1RWSkzj4ovg). Very cool.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-12/44001487.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-12/44001511.jpghttp://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-12/44001513.jpg



And here's 44, riding in Chicago. I bet he's better at hoops.... ;)
In any case, may his Presidency be wonderous and successful!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/10/bicycle_2.jpg

[andy mac]

the drop today is due to banks to some extent and, to some extent the massive democrat stimulus plan being tossed around. Basically we are selling debt to pay for this stimulus and, the buyers of this debt are beginning to get turned off due to it's sheer size. So bonds return are dropping. This stimulus plan needs to include info on how the stimulus spending will eventually pay back this debt.


just to remind y'all there's life beyond the 50... read the headlines elsewhere...

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/

:(

[witcombusa]

Blah, blah, blah, etc. etc

+1

[Tobias]

Nothing much has changed really. Watching Geithner’s confirmation hearing demonstrated that clearly.

Regarding not paying his taxes he either lied or is incompetent, yet his explanation (really excuse) that it was due to an honest mistake using Turbo Tax was questioned by Republicans and accepted by all Democrats – right down party lines.

How can the man who is supposed to be smart enough to figure out how to fix the economy not know (instinctively) that he has to pay taxes? In the “it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission” he paid back taxes on two of the four years for which he was caught, and only after he was nominated did he pay taxes on the other two years.

His integrity is now in question. Personally I hope he lied, because if he can’t pay his taxes correctly like most Americans even if Turbo Tax didn’t prompt him, we are screwed. At a minimum he should have know his limitations and hired an accountant.

I’m waiting for Turbo Tax to come out and make a statement regarding this obvious oversight on one of these two parties. :rolleyes:

[DukeHorn]

There's some beauty is seeing how a President with

(a) two houses of Congress controlled by his party for 3/4s of his terms
(b) a Supreme Court with 7 justices appointed by his party
(c) international good will after 9/11
(d) who deliberately requested fewer investigators/regulators for the EPA, SEC and the FDA
(e) privatized a good portion of our military duties in Iraq (and the resultant "disappearance" of just a few hundred of millions of dollars)

is judged blameless of the current economic crisis.

So exactly how much do you need to be in charge in order to accept blame? I mean "Mission Accomplished" and the lies about the Nigerian yellow cake aren't his fault either, eh? I guess in some folk's bizarro world, we found WMDs in Iraq, captured bin Laden and managed to link Saddam to 9/11.

At this rate, I guess Ken Lay at Enron was also innocent.

[93legendti]

Nothing much has changed really. Watching Geithner’s confirmation hearing demonstrated that clearly.

Regarding not paying his taxes he either lied or is incompetent, yet his explanation (really excuse) that it was due to an honest mistake using Turbo Tax was questioned by Republicans and accepted by all Democrats – right down party lines.

How can the man who is supposed to be smart enough to figure out how to fix the economy not know (instinctively) that he has to pay taxes? In the “it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission” he paid back taxes on two of the four years for which he was caught, and only after he was nominated did he pay taxes on the other two years.

His integrity is now in question. Personally I hope he lied, because if he can’t pay his taxes correctly like most Americans even if Turbo Tax didn’t prompt him, we are screwed. At a minimum he should have know his limitations and hired an accountant.

I’m waiting for Turbo Tax to come out and make a statement regarding this obvious oversight on one of these two parties. :rolleyes:

Juan Williams wrote an interesting article about our new President.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249791178500439.html

[Ray]

Fruck all of this noise. This administration and this president won't be perfect either.

It was STILL a wonderful damn day!!!

Thanks Dave,

-Ray