President-elect Barack Obama steps out of the "Georgia 300" car during his train tour's whistle-stop in Wilmington. (AP photo by Brooks Kraft)
by Mike Dorning and Mark Silva, updated at 6:45 pm EST
President-elect Barack Obama, arriving in Washington Saturday night at the end of a 137-mile train journey evocative of Abraham Lincoln's arrival in Washington, used the trip as a pre-inaugural vehicle for calling on Americans to summon a new spirit of optimism.
Obama's arrival on the eve of an outdoor concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday marks the start of a series of celebrations leading to his inauguration as the 44th president on Tuesday. Along the way, he spoke of the hardships that Americans are facing, and invoked the spirit of the nation's founders as an inspiration for making "a new declaration of independence.''
"The trials we face are very different now, but they are severe in their own right,''Obama told thousands assembled in Baltimore, during the final layover of a train trip in which he also echoed Lincoln's own inspirational inaugural words.
"What's required is a new declaration of independence,'' Obama repeated along his route, making "an appeal not to our easy instincts, but to our better angels.''
The journey started in Philadelphia, where the president-elect called on Americans to "take up the work'' of the nation's founders anew. He stopped in Wilmington, Del., with a call "to pick ourselves up once again'' during an economic crisis.
The trip itself, like much of the celebration leading to inauguration, was modeled after another president who had traveled to Washington by train, Lincoln. The rhetoric as well was fashioned after a model, with Obama speaking of "perfecting our union.''
"When we Americans get knocked down, we always, always, get back up on our feet,'' Obama had said in Delaware, drawing on the life story of Vice President-elect Joe Biden for a message of revival in the face of adversity.
"We know that the American people are facing adversity, and the time has come to pick ourselves up once again,'' Obama said.
"This is the moment that we have to come together for the sake of our country,'' he said. "It was here in Delaware that the Constitution was first ratified... And now it falls to us to carry forward that American story to make it our own... to ensure that everyone in this country can make it if they try.''
Before he began, the crowd behind the rostrum sang Happy Birthday to the president-elect's wife, Michelle Obama.
The presidential whistle-stop drew an outdoor crowd of thousands in the hometown of Vice President-elect Biden, introduced by an Amtrak conductor here as "Amtrak's No. 1 commuter'' after three decades of commuting by train between home and his work in the U.S. Senate following the loss of his first wife and one-year-old daughter in a car crash many years ago.
"It's not everyday you get to do your daily commute with the next president of the United States of America,'' Biden told the crowd, with an introduction of Obama billing this trip as "the beginning of another longer journey for our country...
"The weather's cold,'' said Biden, wrapped in a red scarf and black overcoat. "A deeper chill of worry and concern have gripped the nation... Millions of Americans have been knocked down. Our economy is struggling. We're a nation at war. Sometimes, it's difficult to believe we'll see the Spring again. But I tell you, Spring is on the way with this new administration...
"This is more than an ordinary train ride,'' Biden told his hometown audience. "This is a new beginning.''
Riding a 1939-vintage, royal-blue "Georgia 300'' rail-car which presidents and candidates before him have used, Obama drew crowds along his path on a frigid winter day's journey.
Obama started this day-long, 137-mile train trip in Philadelphia, where he delivered a pledge "to take up the work'' that the patriots of American independence had started there.
In a "town hall''- styled opening rally at Philadelphia's 30th Street train station, standing before about 200 campaign supporters invited to his address, Obama declared: "We are here to mark the beginning of our journey to Washington, and this is fitting, because it was here in this city that our American journey began.
"We are here today not simply to pay tribute to our first patriots but to take up the work that they began,'' Obama said in Philadelphia. "What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives - from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry - an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.''
Before boarding the train for his "whistle-stop'' journey to the capital, Obama delivered a brief but inspirational address that evoked not only the fathers of American independence, but also the emancipator of slaves and protector of the American union whose model he would invoke all day, Abraham Lincoln.
"Starting now, let's take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union,'' Obama said. "Let's build a government that is responsible to the people, and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable.
"Let's all of us do our part to rebuild this country,'' he said, with words that clearly point to the theme that will emerge from his inauguration as the 44th president on Tuesday. "Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the beginning.''
As the train pulled out of Philadelphia, onlookers waved from overpasses. As it passed though the city's neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs, small crowds of people bundled against the cold were gathered along the tracks and waved as Obama passed, many of them holding American flags.
With his train ride and his ceremonial arrival in Washington, Obama was evoking the same historical imagery that he employed to kick off his presidential campaign: The spirit of Lincoln.
In his journey to the capital, Obama is re-tracing the final stages of the train trip that Lincoln made to assume the presidency, beginning the fanfare for an inaugural celebration in which the Great Emancipator will be an unmistakable presence.
Obama's train carried his traveling party of supporters to Wilmington, Del., to pick up Biden and wife Jill, and headed for another stop and public rally in Baltimore, Md., along the way to Washington. They would arrive in a chilly capital on the eve of a star-studded inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial.
With an official theme for the festivities taken from the Gettysburg Address, Obama will appear at the martyred president's memorial for a televised concert on Sunday and take the oath of office on Tuesday on a Bible used by Lincoln - and even attend an official inaugural luncheon featuring favorite Lincoln foods.
Lincoln is in some ways a natural fit as model for a tall, skinny politician from Illinois who, like the 16th president, shows a gift for oratory. It is all the more so for a president whose barrier-breaking election can be viewed as the fulfillment of the long struggle for racial equality begun by Lincoln's emancipation of the slaves.
Obama's frequent use of Lincoln references goes back to his presidential campaign announcement speech on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., the site of Lincoln's famous "House Divided" speech.
During the campaign, the Obama operation used references to Lincoln to respond to criticism that the freshman senator had little national political experience and reinforce the historic nature of his candidacy without emphasizing his race.
Now, a political team that has been unusually adept at associating Obama with historic figures -- his campaign also invoked John and Robert Kennedy and, more discreetly, the Rev. Martin Luther King - is again turning to Lincoln as it sets the stage for the Obama presidency.
The pomp and circumstance of inauguration presents a moment when the public is unusually open to placing an incoming president in the broad context of American history, and the Lincoln presidency offers an example of strong presidential leadership seeing the nation through grave challenges.
The parallel has limits as a political tool, but still can help prepare the public for sacrifices and patience through difficult moments ahead as Obama confronts dire economic circumstances, two wars and the threat of terrorism, says Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist.
"They're trying to get people to focus on the history of the presidency in times of crisis," Devine said. "If they can make that comparison valid, that will give him the leeway to do the things he needs to do. He's going to have to do things that are unpopular."
The upcoming bicentennial of Lincoln's birth next month adds resonance to the parallel, with a slew of books on Lincoln pouring out, several television documentaries scheduled and celebrations planned around the country.
Since his election, Obama also has encouraged analogies to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led the nation through the Great Depression and World War II. Obama has told reporters he was reading a biography of Roosevelt and aides have let it be known that Obama is studying Roosevelt's first 100 days, even the words and tone Roosevelt struck.
But Lincoln is the predecessor whom Obama has most consistently and most directly invoked since he began his campaign for the White House. He closed his campaign announcement speech with words from Gettysburg, calling for "A New Birth of Freedom" - a phrase that has now become the official inaugural theme - and made no fewer than three references to Lincoln in his victory speech at Chicago's Grant Park.
When CBS anchor Katie Couric asked Obama last January what book besides the Bible he would find most essential in the Oval Office, he answered with a Lincoln biography: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
He turned again to Lincoln during a "60 Minutes" interview shortly after election when asked how he was preparing for office. "I've been spending a lot of time reading Lincoln," Obama responded. "There is a wisdom there, and a humility about his approach to government."
But the Obama operation's sometimes heavy-handed attempts to invoke Lincoln and his supporters' efforts to compare him with a president that many historians consider the nation's greatest leader has struck some as anything but humble.
Princeton historian Sean Wilentz wrote last year that comparisons of Obama to Lincoln are "absurd" and "tortured."
"To say that a guy who hasn't served a day in the presidency is Lincolnian is ridiculous," Wilentz said in an interview last week. "Lincoln didn't even become Abraham Lincoln, at least as we know him, until he was president."
Obama is not the first incoming president to try to establish connections with celebrated predecessors. Bill Clinton summoned Thomas Jefferson by arriving in Washington for his inaugural via Monticello, Jefferson's home. Shortly after taking office, Clinton made a pilgrimage to Franklin Roosevelt's Hyde Park home as he sought to build support for a jobs program.
Though Obama is the first president to take the oath of office on the Lincoln Bible, several recent presidents have been sworn in on the Bible used by George Washington, among them Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.
Lincoln used the very train trip that Obama is re-tracing to do the same thing, traveling during a stop in Philadelphia to Independence Hall to give a speech connecting his vision for the country to the principles of the founders. Lincoln often invoked Jefferson, a favorite of his, according to David Blight, a Yale University Lincoln scholar.
That sense of history and of his predecessors was an important facet of Lincoln's political genius, Blight says. And it is a trait Blight also sees in Obama's public speaking, particularly addresses that the president-elect gave in Philadelphia on race relations and in Selma, Ala., on his generation's relationship to the civil rights leaders of the 1960s.
"It's an ability to see historical circumstance," Blight said. "Presidents always invoke history. Candidates always invoke history. But they often don't do it in a meaningful way, because they don't know how. This guy does."
If Obama's interest in the past includes a fascination with Lincoln, so much the better, argues Goodwin, the author, who was invited to Obama's Senate office to discuss the former president.
"There's no better mentor for a president to look to than Lincoln's leadership," Goodwin said. "Somehow, Lincoln has gotten into his heart and mind, and that can only be for the good."
Comments
Watched it on C-SPAN...it was great!
Posted by: lochnessmonster | January 17, 2009 10:39 AM
This nation may never see another leader of Lincoln's unique stature. Sean Wilentz is spot on. Obama is no Lincoln, and Lincoln wasn't even Lincoln untill he was tested. Obama is skinny, has big ears and is from Illinois, though, I'll give him that much.
.
Yes this is the most shameless self aggrandizement I've ever seen in a pol. But more to the point, he's setting himself up for a fall from a precipitous height.
.
Obama has shown that he has trouble marshaling the Congressional forces in his own party, let alone from across the aisle (yes, experience matters). And Team Obama has belied the hype about it's intelligent competence so far, with it's "foolproof" vetting that isn't, and by mishandling the Blago-Burris fiasco.
.
So it's likely that the Obama Administration's achievements will fall short of the Lincolnesque hype. In which case he's handing the opposition a ready-made campaign theme: Barack, You're no Abe.
Posted by: MJ | January 17, 2009 11:11 AM
And by the way, Lincoln didn't have a teleprompter.
Posted by: MJ | January 17, 2009 11:21 AM
Obama is certainly one to embrace symbolism. But the trip is also about generating public good will for his agenda - and his stimulus. Politics isn’t out of reach here, but the historical aspect of the trip and the moment definitely takes center stage. Very exciting is all you can describe it as.
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | January 17, 2009 12:00 PM
Here’s my third and final rewrite of ‘Strange Brew’ by Cream. (Disraeli Gears, 1967)
I like to call it 'Bush Brew III.
My apologies to Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and E. Clapton, again.
Enjoy!
♩
Bush brew, tortures your mind for you
He's the Prez of war in white phosphorus red
It worked so well there's 5k American dead
Boo-Hoo,,, all based on lies it is true♬
Bush Brew, blind fear did it to you
On a vote in the mid-term way back in '06
The Dems whipped his ass, with some real cool tricks
Ha Ha,,, rub some salt in the cuts
Bush brew, stir up those right-wing-nuts
Bush and Cheney even K-K-K-Karl Rove,
They were roasted in a 'change we need' stove
Repubs lose,,, but the wounds they will stay
Bush brew, goodbye to your 401K
No pensions SocSec nor medical reform
It's a cluster %#$& called the perfect storm
Cons won!,,, the Reagan project is done
Bush win, now we all need some gin
Obama, Joe Bidden even Al Franken
Won the 08 race, it was a real spankin'
Boo hoo,,, the joke is really on you
Bush's check, the whole country's a financial wreck
Bush Brew♬
Bush Brew
Bush Brew, killed what's inside of you
(Bluesy play out)
Posted by: C.Morris✈ | January 17, 2009 12:24 PM
Yeah, he's real good at the "imagery" part... most scams are. It's what got him elected, and people are so in love with the wishes they project onto this self-proclaimed "blank canvas" that they will look past almost ANY reality that intervenes... like Blago, Rezko, Wright, Pgleger, Ayers, Richardson, other cabinet members from La Raza and the Socialist International... those are all just "distractions" from all the vital coverage of Obama's puppy vetting process and how he likes to play basketball.
After all, our intentions SHOULD be suspect if we ask to know any details, right?
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/2008/12/rezkos-singingwhats-he-told-feds.html
Posted by: Reaganite Republican | January 17, 2009 1:27 PM
Shure hope the out of work Taxpayers didn't have to pay for this circus...
Posted by: Inky | January 17, 2009 1:34 PM
I hope the locomotive on that train was made in his home state. Makes me wonder if he has a clue there was such a manufacturer in his backyard and they could probably use a hand in funding the next generation clean loco. It would be a safer bet with tax dollars then something like corn and ethanol.
Posted by: TheDownward Spiral | January 17, 2009 1:42 PM
Who does Obama think he is? By this obvious stunt he is making the huge mistake of letting people be a part of the inauguration build up. Next thing people will start thinking they shouldn't be spied on and who knows where that could lead. You have to keep people in fear so you can do whatever you want and train tours don't put fear in anyone.
Posted by: Karl | January 17, 2009 1:59 PM
Pleeease. We know the "Messiah" is coming. Rejoice in the splendor of the 150 million "hail Caesar" inauguration, remember you crucified Bush's over spending 40. Those poor homeless, shunned and placed in the back of the bus, coerced out of town, out of site. Reminds me of the 1968 DNC in Chicago and Mayor Daley tactics. The massive "carbon footprint" of this event must have the "greenies" appalled, not a squeak out of Nancy. Obama should have used Lincoln's old coal fired locomotive for his train. That would have made the whole spectacle over the top. When are we to get the sneak previews of the inaugural gown? We wait in breathless anticipation. With such a gigantic ego stimulus package the MSM has put together, I sure hate to be disappointed.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | January 17, 2009 2:18 PM
What a showboat...what did you expect after all the Hollywood cronies got him the most money at their fundraisers did they not??? This man is not interested in being president.. he's interested in showbiz.. why didn't he just go to Hollywood and get a movie contract?.. Obama's ego is even bigger than Bush's if that's possible remember Bush on the aircraft carrier.. he fancies himself as everything but what he really is a Con Man.. hiding his past.... making sure he is only asked the right questions... sound like anyone else that was elected?? Be afraid, be VERY afraid.. and for God's sake keep the camera's on him since he loves to play to them...
Posted by: Independent Voter Joliet | January 17, 2009 2:25 PM
It may well be Obama's respect (if the word fascination is too strong) for President Lincoln that is responsible for Obama's oratory strengths.
Clearly, Lincoln was a unifier in the most obvious sense; the nation was divided against itself in the Civil War and there's no doubt that the perfect storm of major problems and issues that Obama must address as he takes office are among the most pressing this country has had to deal with.
While Obama alone certainly has limited ability to solve these massive problems single-handedly, it's that public speaking skill to inspire and motivate (and unify) others that is one of his greatest assets in such a huge undertaking.
David Portney
Posted by: David Portney, Public Speaking Training "Wizard" | January 17, 2009 2:31 PM
So it's likely that the Obama Administration's achievements will fall short of the Lincolnesque hype. In which case he's handing the opposition a ready-made campaign theme: Barack, You're no Abe.
Posted by: MJ | January 17, 2009 11:11 AM
"Obama calls for "a new declaration of independence'' from divisiveness"
Unfortunately Barack, when you reach out to the radical right they thank you by biting off your hand (see above).
Posted by: lghd | January 17, 2009 2:33 PM
The "great" Americans are out in force today. It's good to see America has your support. Did you ever play well with others?
Posted by: bill r. | January 17, 2009 2:34 PM
We really should start choosing our leaders in the manner of "American Idol".
Posted by: Peter O | January 17, 2009 2:44 PM
Nice. Glad they're commanding the agenda for a change. But. What about this B.S. bailout #2? How come Circuit City , a 60 year old company couldn't get funding? That was a FORCED bankruptcy. And it occurred after the first bailout of these thieves. Why are we bailing out the banks? Why no clamor to end the Iraq War now? Why the saber rattling re: Afghanistan?
Posted by: Bail out Americans $5g per adult, 10 g per household oughta do it. | January 17, 2009 2:55 PM
Prez-elect Obama seems so "rooted", so comfortable with himself and the path he is on. Someone compared him to Tiger Woods, who is speaking at the mall event tomorrow by the way, in the way they both have the ability to remain calm in the midst of a storm.
Obama seems to be winning over converts by the day, especially after they have met with him one on one. Former critics/cynics are close to gushing about this most impressive man. The only one's who are angry are the nuts on the far rightwing and who cares what they think. They're never happy unless they're in charge and that's exactly why they aren't in charge anymore.
I expect to be in a constant state of:
1 - joy
2 - champagne
3 - proudly wearing an Obama shirt
until Wednesday morning.
We deserve this joy -- and then take a deep breath, get back to work supporting our new President in his quest to turn this country around and pull it out of the ditch that BushCo put it in.
Posted by: Zena | January 17, 2009 3:09 PM
You guys in the press are REALLY exploiting this guy for profits and worshipping him.
Aren't you supposed to be just reporting news?
No wonder your industry is not taken seriously any longer.
Posted by: Rich E | January 17, 2009 3:27 PM
All the train wrecks in Chicago the past few days. Let's hope for a safe ride.
Posted by: lucy | January 17, 2009 3:51 PM
It's truly amazing - he's JFK, FDR, and now Abraham Lincoln all wrapped up into one! Wow - talk about an egomaniacal loony-toon. I bet his followers are eating it up with a spoon.
Brings a whole new meaning to being on the wrong side of the tracks... Farewell economic freedom. The train of socialism is coming.
Posted by: suzie | January 17, 2009 4:15 PM
The Bush presidency has been the most incredibly destructive presidency probably in the history of our nation. Look at the results. Look at what Obama has inherited. What America has accomplished in the last two elections is to repudiate Conservatism in its entirety. George Bush and his Republican cronies have succeeded in doing only one thing the past eight years: they have made the word "Republican" a dirty word.
Bush is the face of failure. Obama is the face of hope.
Bush is the face of the past. Obama is the face of the future.
Bush is the face of dumbfounded ingnorance. Obama is the face of a keen mind.
Good Luck President-elect Obama!
Posted by: Senaca Doanne | January 17, 2009 4:17 PM
mj ... do you realize how small and petty you guys look? every 4 years we have an election and that is followed by an inaugural celebration of the winner. but whine if you must.....
Posted by: Flo | January 17, 2009 4:30 PM
For sure The "Messiah" has arrived in Washingon.
Time will tell if his cloak is "Empty".
Posted by: Inky | January 17, 2009 4:31 PM
Are these the same ankle biters complaining about a "showboat" that had tears in their eyes as Bush landed on the carrier to anounce victory in Iraq? I love the smell of sore losers....it reminds me of victory. Booyah!
Posted by: bill r. | January 17, 2009 4:37 PM
Obama took a train?
I thought the Messiah-elect was going to ride a donkey into Washington while his followers throw palm leaves in his path.
Posted by: Ben R. | January 17, 2009 4:37 PM
We really should start choosing our leaders in the manner of "American Idol".
Posted by: Peter O | January 17, 2009 4:38 PM
The "great" Americans are out in force today. It's good to see America has your support. Did you ever play well with others?
Posted by: bill r. | January 17, 2009 2:34 PM
I couldn't agree with you more, bill.
The angry Republican partisan clowns on here don't stand a chance against Obama. Obama is a 21st century politician and Republicans don't even begin to understand him. He keeps them off balance all the time. He did the same thing to the Clinton's during the primary and they are not political neophytes or without political talent--but they are still 20th century pols.....and McCain in the general election? Gramps didn't even lay a glove on Obama.
It will be fun watching Obama and his team operate the next eight years.
Posted by: John E | January 17, 2009 4:57 PM
I watched it on C-SPAN...it was great!
Posted by: lochnessmonster Saturday Morning--10:39 am.
________________________
What a drone! I'm still laughing.
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | January 17, 2009 5:02 PM
With a little help for my friend.
The fear of
the darkness
again disappears
when my
memory lives,
saving the pleasure
of a natural life;
and a thanks
overcomes, like
a delicate bird
near a shining
fountain.
Francesco Sinibaldi
Posted by: Francesco Sinibaldi | January 17, 2009 5:19 PM
This quintessential Obama -- all style, no substance. And the style is copied from someone else, because he has no original thoughts.
Posted by: Liz | January 17, 2009 6:03 PM
Bitter, cynical Republics, thanks for your support. Obama doesn't need to be Lincoln, he just needs not to be Bush.
Posted by: dt | January 17, 2009 6:05 PM
To everyone who says we're headed to socialism- just because the free market took a poop and the fed has to step in with a bridge loan, doesn't mean that capitalism has failed forever. It is a stronger force than socialism. Hope this memo lets the Rush Limbaugh economists sleep better at night.
Posted by: Brian Pellin | January 17, 2009 6:29 PM
Obama invoking Lincoln is called 'the audacity of inspiration'. It's ok even for presdients to have role models. The haters will pray for his downfall, criticize his every move, but I know he will make things better for all of us.
Posted by: raj towne | January 17, 2009 6:44 PM
A song for the Republican losers on here:
One Republican loser to another says
I'm lucky to have met you
They carried Bush
Now no one cares what they think
Unless it is about us
Cause it is now our duty to completely drain you
A travel through a tube
And end up in your infection
Chew your meat for you
Pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss
From our mouth to yours
We like you
With eyes so dilated
We've become your pupil
You've taught us everything
About a poisoned apple
The water is so yellow
We're a healthy student
Indebted and so grateful
Vacuum out your leftover fluids
We chew your meat for you
Pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss
From our mouth to yours
We like you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2uJXA4UsOI
Congrats Prez-Elect Obama and Democrats Everywhere!
IT'S PARTY TIME, BUSH IS GONE FOR GOOD!
Posted by: dano | January 17, 2009 6:52 PM
Much better for Oblama to be ridden out of town on a rail. Disgusting pompous ass that he is.
Posted by: Humphrey | January 17, 2009 7:04 PM
This quintessential Obama -- all style, no substance. And the style is copied from someone else, because he has no original thoughts.
Posted by: Liz | January 17, 2009 6:03 PM
Very true- Probable the best coment on this paticular Blog.
Posted by: Inky | January 17, 2009 7:22 PM
Don't worry. Obama is no Bush. Obama doesn't have any of the experience, humility, or nerve that Bush had.
Posted by: John | January 17, 2009 8:19 PM
"Obama doesn't need to be Lincoln, he just needs not to be Bush."
Posted by: dt | January 17, 2009 6:05 PM
.
Chuckle head, Obama himself foolishly raised the bar way too high. But even without comparing him to America's greatest president, just not being Bush (America's worst) isn't good enough. Not by a long shot.
.
So if Obama & Co. are as smart as their promotion says, they'll tone down the specious Lincoln comparisons ASAP. Otherwise, this may bite them in the heinie.
Posted by: MJ | January 17, 2009 8:32 PM
Bush sucked and Republicans are drinking Hater-Aid.
Posted by: Logic Prisoner | January 17, 2009 8:43 PM
People have lost their homes, they are starving, they are unemployed, they are is sad shape and the Messiah is taking a needless Choo Choo ride to make them feel better. Thats gonna help put bread on the table...
What a waste..
Posted by: City Guy | January 17, 2009 9:53 PM
While there is a comparision in a common issue like lincons bible and george washingtons ,then there is a clash of two thinkings who is not so good .Better escsape from this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: punnya prasad poudel | January 17, 2009 10:04 PM
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.
Posted by: Bob Dylan | January 17, 2009 10:11 PM
Does anyone care that this inaugaration is costing the tax payers 1.5 million?
Posted by: Watcher | January 17, 2009 10:40 PM
So if Obama & Co. are as smart as their promotion says, they'll tone down the specious Lincoln comparisons ASAP. Otherwise, this may bite them in the heinie.
Posted by: MJ | January 17, 2009 8:32 PM
Self Proclaimed Smart Guy,
If Obama can clean up even 1/4 of the mess that Bush and your beloved Republican party have made the last eight years he will be deemed a success whether morons like you like it or not.
Posted by: Leo Deux | January 17, 2009 11:25 PM
Much better for Oblama to be ridden out of town on a rail. Disgusting pompous ass that he is.
Posted by: Humphrey | January 17, 2009 7:04 PM
You're confused Slick,
"Pompous Ass" is the guy (Bush) who just got run out of town on a rail. You Repuglicans are going to be out of power for a loooooooooooong time....might as well quit crying and get used to it.
Posted by: Leo Deux | January 17, 2009 11:32 PM
It will be interesting and fun to watch the GOP shrink to a few nativists haters, a couple of religious nuts, and the Limbaugh's and Hannity's of the world in the next few years.
As long as the Greedy Oil Party continues to offer huge outsized tax breaks for the filthy rich and nothing for everyone else, the extremist nuts will be the only one's left carrying the GOPer banner from now on.
I think it's going to be a while before we hear about the big tent Republican party.
Posted by: R I P - GOP | January 18, 2009 12:14 AM
Apparently not, because of our genius, President Bush, the Iraqi War is costing us, upwards of 2 Trillion Dollars, and nobody seems to care. Unfortunately, that is only the monetary side of his stupidity !! I know you were screaming blood murder, about those costs !! What a pathetic party, the Bush-Republicans have devolved into !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | January 18, 2009 1:19 AM
CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK TO PREZ-ELECT OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN!
I’d also like to say toodles to the boy king, Bush Jr.
It’s been a laugh havin’ you around. But don’t take my word for it – ask the families of the dead, the orphaned, the displaced, the unemployed, the homeless, the bankrupt, the hungry, the sick and the dying, the maimed by combat, the terrorists you’ve created and encouraged, the Katrina victims, and everyone else who will always remember you as the punchline to one incredibly unfunny joke.
Buh-bye Prez Chimpy...and don't forget to take your stinking Republican party with you when you leave. You both won't be needed for the next 20-25 years.
Posted by: Gina S | January 18, 2009 3:37 AM
Does anyone care that this inaugaration is costing the tax payers 1.5 million?
Posted by: Watcher | January 17, 2009 10:40 PM
Dosen't seem that way but they, the taxpayers, will fell it in the next four years.
Posted by: Inky | January 18, 2009 6:55 AM
You end divisiveness when people feel taken care of. We need cradle to grave health care. We need to END the standing military system we now have. The no bid contracts. The contracting out of military jobs (like janitorial and food prep) to buddies. The use of torture. We need to stop giving bankers citizen's hard earned dollars. They hide their funds off shore. NOT ONE MORE CENT unless and until each citizen gets a personal rebate check not of $500, but more like $5,000.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=13130
Posted by: NO BAILOUT for bankers would end the divisiveness. Enjoy the show. | January 18, 2009 8:14 AM
Does anyone care that this inaugaration is costing the tax payers 1.5 million?
Posted by: Watcher
-
Yeah, it's an economic stimulus. Think of all the people being employed to stage this event, all of them of the working class. Not a banker in town is getting a dime of that 1.5 million, and the wages being paid will go right back into the economy. You have to be a republican to think this is a bad thing.
Posted by: Bruce Y | January 18, 2009 9:10 AM
"Self Proclaimed Smart Guy..."
Posted by: Leo Deux | January 17, 2009 11:25 PM
.
Quite an obsession you've got there eh, JE? I've told you this before, but it looks like you still haven't gotten it so here it is again --
.
I have never proclaimed myself smart nor, as you often put it, "smarter than everybody else". I'll state for the record that I'm neither of those, and I'm sure other bloggers here would agree with me.
.
However, make no mistake about it; I'm smarter than you by a factor of at least several 100. And I'm not bragging about that, because everybody is smarter than you are, including my Labrador Retriever.
.
Got it?
Posted by: MJ | January 18, 2009 10:35 AM
Get over it people. It's time for change. All the hate you spew here will be transformed to the pom poms you'll carry when the economy the war messed up becomes a surplus. It's time for a new day. Give the man a chance until he messes up like every other president has.
Posted by: Michael Tillery | January 18, 2009 11:53 AM
Get over it people. It's time for change. All the hate you spew here will be transformed to the pom poms you'll carry when the economy the war messed up becomes a surplus. It's time for a new day. Give the man a chance until he messes up like every other president has.
Posted by: Michael Tillery | January 18, 2009 2:55 PM
Hopefully Obama can fix the SC.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-chapman-0118,0,3675693.column
Posted by: C.Morris✈ | January 18, 2009 6:23 PM
* * * * *
Posted by: Michael Tillery | January 18, 2009 11:53 AM
.
I’ll be more than glad to give Barack Obama a break. I don’t hate the man. I’m just a bit skeptical of our chances of success with the direction he is taking. For everyone’s sake I hope he succeeds. We will see about the pom-poms, however. That smacks of just a bit too much hero worship for me.
.
Obama has an awful lot of stuff on his plate. That’s why I agree with MJ’s point that it is counter-productive to build up everyone’s expectations of Obama at this juncture. If Obama achieves even a fraction of some of the good stuff he has set out to do, he will have done well. Raising everyone’s expectations will only lower their esteem for him if and when he doesn’t deliver. Some failure is inevitable in a government system that has checks on power and functions on compromise. Not a single President in my lifetime has ever accomplished everything he set out to do, and certainly not all he had promised. Good Presidents are good because they deliver on their most important promises.
.
Some of us would just like our fellow citizens to view Barack Obama for what he is: A man who is about to become the next President. He is not God; he is not a savior; and he is not a super-hero. If you do that, then you too will give Barack Obama a break. A little realism goes a long way in tough times.
Posted by: John W. | January 19, 2009 2:39 AM
As some are disqualifying comments as being from democrats or republicans, here is a true indy take.
I wanted a Harry Truman style president, the most modern incarnation as a candidate being Ross Perot, Paul Tsongas, or Michael Bloomberg (note that method is not necessarily the same as ideology). Instead we got a charismatic to clean up after an idiot, who really only got elected because of the idiot. The Truman types fix things, the Kennedy and Reagan types make people happy while getting us into Vietnams and economic cancers (debt).
BTW- the only reason we had surpluses in the 90's was becuase there was just enough political competition beyond the duopoly (perot) to scare the two sides into responsbility ...for two years. Even Clinton admitted that.
Bush and Obama...two juntas we will be lucky to survive
Posted by: Peter T | January 21, 2009 8:20 PM
As some are disqualifying comments as being from democrats or republicans, here is a true indy take.
I wanted a Harry Truman style president, the most modern incarnation as a candidate being Ross Perot, Paul Tsongas, or Michael Bloomberg (note that method is not necessarily the same as ideology). Instead we got a charismatic to clean up after an idiot, who really only got elected because of the idiot. The Truman types fix things, the Kennedy and Reagan types make people happy while getting us into Vietnams and economic cancers (debt).
BTW- the only reason we had surpluses in the 90's was becuase there was just enough political competition beyond the duopoly (perot) to scare the two sides into responsbility ...for two years. Even Clinton admitted that.
Bush and Obama...two juntas we will be lucky to survive
Posted by: Peter T | January 21, 2009 8:27 PM