Inauguration Day--Wake Me When It's Over

Like the drooling sycophants on every television network sans Fox News, I too am eagerly awaiting the Inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th—the sooner it gets here, the sooner it will be over. I have witnessed hype before, but this tireless barrage of coverage of Obama’s coronation is stupefying. And talk about the "Audacity of Hope"—am I the only person in the world who finds it troubling and arrogantly presumptuous of Obama to use President Lincoln’s Bible for his swearing-in ceremony? I defy anyone to find me one accomplishment of our President-elect that would justify even mentioning him in the same breath as Abraham Lincoln, and campaigning doesn’t count. No other President has ever used President Lincoln’s Bible for their inauguration oath, and I cannot comprehend why Barack Obama suddenly believes that he is worthy of this unprecedented honor. And what other politician could get away with this? Can you imagine how the press would have reacted if George W. Bush had decided to use President Lincoln’s Bible at his 2001 Inauguration? The pundits would have been disgusted and outraged at that neophyte elevating himself that way, but not so with Obama. I am sensing that underneath the cooler-than-cool exterior that has apparently impressed so many Americans, Obama isn’t blessed with a whole lot of humility, and I suspect that his self-confidence may border on hubris at times. All throughout the primaries and the general election, I would look at Barack Obama and listen to his speeches, and I kept wondering who this man thinks he is. Where I come from, people like that are mighty prone to getting taken down a notch or two.

Contrary to what the commentators are espousing, I don’t believe that America’s problems will magically disappear on January 20th. I don’t believe that we even know the extent of our collective economic plight at this point, much less any solutions. And just because the President-elect’s proposed stimulus package has his name on the label does not guarantee that it will succeed. But what in the world are the Obama apologists going to do if our economic crisis worsens in spite of the trillions of dollars in debt we are incurring? I’m sure that the media will have a long list of culpable misfits to blame—primarily George W. Bush, of course, but Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barney Frank will make convenient targets as well. If this downturn continues to spiral, I predict that the mantra for the mainstream media will be: "But you know that the President can only do so much."

It’s going to be a fun 4 years…