11:57a.m. -- And this is it for W. We won't see him for a long time. W is about to get on the helicopter that will take him to Andrews and then on to Dallas. An ending to a Presidency we've never really seen, this isn't like Nixon—he left in disgrace and odd circumstances. W leaves differently... unpopular, yet some how revealed. History has yet to judge him and will probably be unkind to him, and at the moment no one is really sad to see him go.
But as W. hugs Obama and gets on the helicopter, he disappears, maybe forever since if history is unkind to him, no one will want his opinion.
The Bush Era is over. That's it. It's finally over. The helicopter lifts off... what an odd moment. Just like that he's off.
George W. Bush is leaving Washington, D.C.
11:50a.m. -- If you want to read some more on what I've said about this movement that Obama has started and what he means... check this out from another blog.
11:46a.m. -- NBC for a moment speaks of Harold Washington... I fully believe that without Washington, Obama isn't up there right now. Obama came to Chicago during Washington's tenure as mayor of this great city. But it was such a racially charged time in this city, just over twenty years ago, but Washington over came that, he won, and the young Obama realized and understood what it meant—if Harold could do it then I can do it.11:42a.m. -- People are leaving as the ceremony ends... but what a country. What a fucking country. Where else in the world could a viable minority be ELECTED as the leader of the country?
I know, I know, we have a long way to go still. And we haven't elected a woman President... but were in Europe could a black or yellow or brown or red or blue or green man be elected President directly?
11:28a.m. -- This is a speech to the country asking—even demanding—us to be responsible and calling us to service. Government isn't the problem, but it can't save us on its own. We are all in this together, and sitting back and waiting for something to happen isn't enough. And with that, he wraps up. Not a long speech, short and simple, to the point, and he asks very little. He asks us to be realistic, to be responsible, to give, and not to take, that we are one, the United States of America, and to hurt one of us it to hurt all of us.
There wasn't a JFK or FDR moment, I didn't hear a timeless one liner, but it was a hell of a speech. Conservatives can't complain, if anyone should be upset by this address, it's the leftists since Obama's message is about individual sacrifice and responsibility... something we that was never asked from us during the Bush years. We're all in this together.
11:23a.m. -- Addresses the Muslim world and then dictators and the Third World and finally the First World... "the world has changed and we must change with it"... he has spoken of the American spirit a few times now, it's a striking image. Obama goes on to say that the government will be there, but you—America—are those who will really save us all and undertake it with the American spirit.
11:19a.m. -- Obama calls for new energy plans and better schools and says we will do it... "the question isn't if our government is too big or too small, it is if it works." And he says that the government will be held accountable. I'm not saying this because I have a policy degree, but this is truly the first President who has an idea of public policy, an understanding of economics, and the power of statistics... a shot of W. he looks distant, as if he isn't too upset that he's leaving D.C.... "We are ready to lead once more" and the crowd cheers... Obama is basically saying that Bush's foreign policy was wrongheaded... to the terrorists: "you cannot out last us and we will defeat you."
11:14a.m. -- NBC's cameras continue to show blacks in the crowd... "we must pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and begin remaking America."
11:10a.m. -- Obama speaks of confidence—and a lack there of—in America. Calling the challenges real and we will meet them. He's going after Bush's policies... and calls for unity as a country. "The time has come..."
11:08a.m. -- Obama starts his Inauguration Address. Has the hype and expectations for a speech ever been so high? If he doesn't hit a grand slam it will be a disappointment. That's pressure, my fellow Americans.
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