57 replies to this topic

[shadow_Uzumaki]

Ugh...school, no paused moments for his speech too! Grr...have to see it on the internet '

[Dormin]

They let us watch it at lunch at school (live in Canada)

I don't see the big deal about Obama. I understand he inspires people, and people are excited coz he's African-American, but he hasn't done anything yet. The way people act, you'd think he's becoming a god or something...

While he hasn't done anything, his potintnal to help this world is outstanding.

Here is a man, who by just being elected regained the trust of the globe (Espec the EU) brought fear to Al quida, and most importent of all united his nation and brought startling number of people to vote, thus strengthing the US democracy.

His election showed the world the US arent done yet.

And for me pearsonly he brought hope about my country as well. After long weeks of this sanseless war in Gaza, I beagn to lose faith in my country, but seeing this man, who 60 years ago wouldn't have the right to even sit next to a white man, now becomes the most powerful man in the world.
has he said in his speech "our country is young" it made me understand, my country is also young (only turned 60 now) and it will too, have it's time to right the wrongs of the past, and until then, I will never lose hope.

[Sakura~Kitsune]

I was at school... almost able to stay home, when my mom remembered that I had finals today...

DARN YEW, FINALS! D8<

A group of different classes were able to go to the auditorium during 6th period (mostly the Global classes), to watch the inauguration... and I heard from lots that his speech was simply amazing. Loads of us were hoping that we'd be able to watch it over the big screen but my chorus teacher had to be cruel and not let us go! (We were doing nothing today, just vocal exercises... making us sing to high Bs and Cs - argh! A soprano can only go so high after recovering from sickness >.>)

Still, I got to see it when I made it home. Hurraaah for television recordings~ XDDD

[Nee-sama]

While he hasn't done anything, his potintnal to help this world is outstanding.

Here is a man, who by just being elected regained the trust of the globe (Espec the EU) brought fear to Al quida, and most importent of all united his nation and brought startling number of people to vote, thus strengthing the US democracy.

His election showed the world the US arent done yet.

And for me pearsonly he brought hope about my country as well. After long weeks of this sanseless war in Gaza, I beagn to lose faith in my country, but seeing this man, who 60 years ago wouldn't have the right to even sit next to a white man, now becomes the most powerful man in the world.
has he said in his speech "our country is young" it made me understand, my country is also young (only turned 60 now) and it will too, have it's time to right the wrongs of the past, and until then, I will never lose hope.

Now that is inspirational, thank you for that.
I have to work all day long and can't even watch T.V there or at home, I'll have to watch it on the net later.


I keep overhearing people complain about Obama (around me, not in H&E) for republican or otherwise personal opinions... and I think it's rediculous. Every president has done some good and some bad for this country, Obama will be no different. Let's all just celebrate being around to see history being made, it's a fantastic thing.
I heard on the radio about a 106 year old black woman who is being flown to the inaguration ball. This is a person who grew up being told that she is a second rate citizen and was forced through segretation. Well today she is celebrating the election of the first black president in the U.S at his very own celebration.

[Sakura Blossoms]

Well today she is celebrating the election of the first black president in the U.S at his very own celebration.

And *that* right there is truly my only real problem with all the hoopla and hype surrounding Obama and his election, right now. Obama isn't America's 'first' black President. He is half white. Obama is America's first mixed President, but try to get the media to state that little fact anywhere >.>

And Dormin, I agree with Nee-sama. That was a very wonderful and inspiring post

Which is the whole point of Obama's election. He inspires hope in people from all over the world, and that is the first step needed for people to want to change things for the better. Hope. Because without it, you have nothing. You are hopeless.

[Nee-sama]

Oh I didn't even realize that, but still that is a victory over discrimination. Mixed racial people were segregated just as much, if not more, in the past right? Maybe not anymore since the states has become a melting pot of any and all ethnicities.

[Lid]

I cut class today to watch the whole thing with my mom. His speech was really incredible. The parade on right now is really long lol

[Illjwamh]

I watched it at work on the giant pull-down projector screen in the auditorium (I work at a theatre). I'm not sure what the diagonal measurement of the screen is, but it's 42' across.

I was impressed with and even somewhat inspired by his speech, and I hope his presidency lives up to its full potential.

Also, they stole our pianist for that John Williams piece, but that's okay because it sounded really good.

I don't see the big deal about Obama. I understand he inspires people, and people are excited coz he's African-American, but he hasn't done anything yet. The way people act, you'd think he's becoming a god or something...

You mean he's not??

[psycho666]

I missed one of my classes watching it in a coffee shop, some speech eh? My coffee got cold. But I drew a little picture of Obama in a James Bondish sports car, 'cause I saw the car with the flags and stamp and everything and it just wasn't savvy enough, I'm afraid. It's time for change.

[Dark]

I was cuddled up in my bed with food.



It was amazing overall, and VERY well organized and executed.

[Orenji]

I got out of four classes, all we did was watch it.

But when the time came when Obama was actually inaugurated, just.. wow.

I must say, I teared up at his speech.

[Kirby]

You know though, my friend (Demonic_Wonder, actually), told me that there was one president who's grandfather was black o.o

They let us watch the Inauguration at lunch, although I wasn't planning to. It was an amazing speech, but I wish the audience would quit interrupting him.

DID YOU KNOW: Joe Biden was president for 5 minutes on Tuesday, January 20th 2009. You see, Bush's Term ended at Noon, and Joe Biden was sworn in at noon. Since there was no proper president at the time, Joe Biden was the most powerful man in the world, for the 5 minutes before Obama got sworn in. Don't argue with me though. Argue with the commentators on CBS


Also. Obama made a mistake in the beginning of his oath

Edited by Auni, 21 January 2009 - 01:38 AM.

[Sakura Blossoms]

You know though, my friend (Demonic_Wonder, actually), told me that there was one president who's grandfather was black o.o

Again, he wouldn't have been black. He would have been *mixed*.

DID YOU KNOW: Joe Biden was president for 5 minutes on Tuesday, January 20th 2009. You see, Bush's Term ended at Noon, and Joe Biden was sworn in at noon. Since there was no proper president at the time, Joe Biden was the most powerful man in the world, for the 5 minutes before Obama got sworn in. Don't argue with me though. Argue with the commentators on CBS

Lol, thats lulzy XD

Also. Obama made a mistake in the beginning of his oath

And no. Obama didn't mess up. He had the whole thing memorized. The Chief Justice swearing him in changed the beginning of the oath, which throw Obama off, and when the Chief Justice realized what he had just done to Obama, he quickly stopped, and he then said what he was *supposed* to have said the first time, and Obama followed. So, it wasn't Obama's fault.

[Lid]

Barack and Michelle's dance at the first ball was nice I thought

[shadow_Uzumaki]

Barack and Michelle's dance at the first ball was nice I thought

I honestly mentally just went SQUEE!!! God, they're so sweet to each other....


And looking at clips of people's reaction to Obama's inauguration around the world, it's like Obama's the positive light this world needs right now.... Even North Korea's hoping for a better future in Obama. I do hope he succeeds in his term(s?) similar to the likes of Lincoln, Washington, and other great presidents.

May the Force be with him, and remember, "Yes we can."

Edited by shadow_Uzumaki, 21 January 2009 - 02:11 AM.

[Onionhead Attacks]

I'd like to say that I was at home or somewhere with a television to watch the inauguration, but I wasn't. Instead I was throwing clay around and later writing a report due tomorrow. But that's okay, that's what internet is for!

[Dark]

I LOVED her gown for the ball. I was like OMG.

*fangirls*

[shadow_Uzumaki]

For those who wanted to read it:

Obama's Inaugural Address --Click here to view--

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

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.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we accept as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].'

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Super long!

Edited by shadow_Uzumaki, 21 January 2009 - 02:38 AM.

[Sora no Kitsune]

We were watching it today in class and when they started taking calls, for some reason, everyone started cracking up at the crying guy from Iowa. I didn't find it that funny but hey, we're at that age were every little stupid thing seems funny.

[Nate River]

Now that is inspirational, thank you for that.
I have to work all day long and can't even watch T.V there or at home, I'll have to watch it on the net later.


I keep overhearing people complain about Obama (around me, not in H&E) for republican or otherwise personal opinions... and I think it's rediculous. Every president has done some good and some bad for this country, Obama will be no different. Let's all just celebrate being around to see history being made, it's a fantastic thing.
I heard on the radio about a 106 year old black woman who is being flown to the inaguration ball. This is a person who grew up being told that she is a second rate citizen and was forced through segretation. Well today she is celebrating the election of the first black president in the U.S at his very own celebration.

I don't understand your complaint. Are you saying it's ridiculous for people to complain about him for Republican or personal opinions...? You're going to have to elaborate. For people who complained about Bush did they not do so based on their personal opinion of him and his policies? Why would that not be equally ridiculous aside from the fact you may not agree with his policies?

There are people who do not like Obama. There are those that do not like his policies. I do not like his policies. I wasn't inspired or impressed. It was a good speech, but I didn't find it all that remarkable. I'm not going pretend that I did nor am I going to pretend that I'm excited about his Presidency when I'm not. It would be insincere of me to express excitement and joy when I don't feel any of it.

I don't see how the historical nature of it suspends their right to criticize a man with which they don't agree. If the first black President had been the conservative Michael Steele or Clarence Thomas would it be fair to criticize Democrats who disagree and complained simply because of the historical nature or would they too be asked to celebrate a Presidency for which they do not feel excitement? Would you have celebrated and suspended criticism of Sarah Palin had McCain won simply because of the historical nature of that achievement? I doubt it and I wouldn't expect or ask you to do otherwise.