Thank you Mr. Bush. Not for the global economic catastrophuck nor for the two quagmires in southwestern Asia. Not for the gutting of environmental protections or the destruction of New Orleans or the muzzling of scientists. Not for making us a torture state or a nation that spies on its citizens. Not for Dick Cheney or John Ashcroft or Sam Alito or John Roberts or Don Rumsfeld or Alberto Gonzales. Not for busting unions or outing spies or using your Attorney General to rid yourself of political enemies. Not for the lies and the secrets. Not for abstinence-only sex education or faith based initiatives or children left behind. Not for ruining America’s credibility in the world or using fear to destroy the morale of the nation.
No, thank you for screwing up the country so badly that we were willing to take a shot on this guy.
In your own way, Mr. President – unintentionally no doubt – you made the country willing to do something historic, something optimistic, something courageous. Something hopeful.
That being said, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.
I’ve been a little unenthusiastic about the inaugaration. Seems a bit inappropriate to be spending millions for parades and balls at a time like this. Seems like a waste of a perfectly good work day for a new president who the country – even the world – is imploring to straighten things out. But listening to the podcast of Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC this evening reminded me of the way I felt on November 5 and just what it will mean when Barack Obama takes the oath later today. So, let’s enjoy it. But come Wednesday morning, Mr. President, it’s time to get to work. You got my vote to do a job – a huge job, thanks to the previous employee. It’s time to get down to business.
——————–
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by Sherrie
20 Jan 2009 at 21:38
Love it.
I feel the same way though, all my students are asking me today if I am watching the inauguration. I am excited that the new presidency will finally begin, but I can not get so excited about the excess of spending by politicians, no matter who that politician is.
Having said that, it is a historic moment, albeit overshadowed by the financial, environmental and social mess he has to step in and try to fix. One big party before the hardest four years of his life.
Sherries last blog post..She Drops Her Bike
by Agnes
20 Jan 2009 at 23:12
What a post!
Favourite line:
“That being said, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
Can’t say I’ll miss George Dubya all that much either.
by Erin
20 Jan 2009 at 23:20
I won’t even attempt to script anything as perfect as this post. You have said everything, beautifully. I am giddy with anticipation. If I was a smart person, I wouldn’t be reading your blog at 11:45pm I would be in bed so that I could wake at 3am to watch the inaugaration live. But I will watch it replayed tomorrow and I will likely shed a tear, maybe two. I thank you for this post. I couldn’t have said it better. And I thank you too Mr Bush… Now get the hell out!
Erins last blog post..Anthem
by The Unbearable Banishment
21 Jan 2009 at 00:22
It felt like this day would never arrive. Now, in just three short hours, a new president will be sworn in and we can start rebuilding what the previous administration has destroyed. President Obama. It felt good to type that.
by courtney
21 Jan 2009 at 01:27
It’s the end of an error.
I’m okay with a little pomp and circumstance, but come tomorrow, it’s bidness time.
by mjrc
21 Jan 2009 at 01:33
i think you should think about the money being spent on the inauguration as obama’s first job creation program! seriously, he’s generating some economic stimulus just by getting sworn in.
i was at the gym this morning and watching the tv screens and when he and michelle exited from blair house to head over to the church, i almost had to stop. i am overcome with emotion today. of course, i am an incredibly emotional person to begin with, but this is really something of an entirely different caliber.
i’m going to watch the actual swearing in at my neighbor’s house–and she’s a republican!
mjrcs last blog post..A Golden Age May Be Overstating It, But It Is a Brand New Day
by Joe
21 Jan 2009 at 01:53
Brilliant. I’m submitting this to Digg.
by Damon
21 Jan 2009 at 02:02
Outstanding post. Historic day. Enough said.
Damons last blog post..Reinventing Dad’s Dad
by Gypsy
21 Jan 2009 at 05:47
Ahh, I loved it.
Gypsys last blog post..Clarification
by arizaphale
21 Jan 2009 at 08:02
This should be a press release
to: Bush
from: the rest of the (sensible)world.
arizaphales last blog post..Best Shot Monday: Sunset Over Baudin Beach
by lora
21 Jan 2009 at 11:12
this is a great post. you’re missing a great day in america.
also, i don’t have your email to reply to your last comment, but thank you. i’m a pretty good mom (I better be, I tell people how to parent for a living!). it’s just horribly amazing what feelings and repressed crap can be dredged up when you let your guard slip a bit. jesus.
loras last blog post..’tis a gift
by lora
21 Jan 2009 at 11:12
this is a great post. you’re missing a great day in america.
also, i don’t have your email to reply to your last comment, but thank you. i’m a pretty good mom (I better be, I tell people how to parent for a living!). it’s just horribly amazing what feelings and repressed crap can be dredged up when you let your guard slip a bit. jesus.
loras last blog post..’tis a gift
by father muskrat
21 Jan 2009 at 13:32
W meant well. O has yet to accomplish anything outside of the insulated worlds of academia and politics, so we’ll see. I’m about as hopeful as a cynic can be, but at the same time, there are a lot of us who are completely altering our retirement planning because of the imminent collapse of the American dollar continued unchecked governmental deficit spending is going to give us (not that W refrained from signing any pork-laiden bills), and O has already said to expect trillion-dollar annual deficits for the next several years. Ideals are great if they can be paid for. Otherwise, we need to keep utopia to storybooks and do the best we can with what we can afford.
father muskrats last blog post..through a toddler’s lens
by mickey
21 Jan 2009 at 13:48
Yes.
by heather
21 Jan 2009 at 15:24
You need to draft this post as a petition. I would like to have W read it once a day.
(The ceremony made me and 25 first graders really happy today.)
heathers last blog post..Angry, disappointed, but, not surprised
by chris
21 Jan 2009 at 15:32
See now I don’t think W meant well at all. Obama made mention of serving a cause greater than your own good. I think Bush served his own good and that of the US with little regard for everything else..
Yes with Obama, it’s all talk at this point but at least he’s starting out saying the right thing.
Chrisw this was great and perfectly succinct. I also totally agree that only when things get really bad to people get really brave about innovation.
by kitty
21 Jan 2009 at 21:04
I also believe Mr Obama even removed a split infinitive from the oath. Well Dressed. Politically Sound. Snappy Dancer. Promulgator of Good Grammar. How can we go wrong?
by mongoliangirl
22 Jan 2009 at 00:02
You have such a good point (as usual)! Maybe Bush should rethink is whole plan to have history view him kindly by simply saying, “I got Obama elected!”
Hummmmmm…
mongoliangirls last blog post..Primed to Pump the Shit Right Outta My House
by Angel
22 Jan 2009 at 01:04
You know what scares me most about all this? That people have set the bar so high for Obama that he won’t be given any slack. That they’ll expect perfection from day one, and that’s just a prelude to failure for the guy.
We’re excited and hopeful and frantic, but let’s remember he’s just a man, and this mess is going to take a while. Most likely we aren’t going to like some of the extremes he’ll have to take in order to get us all back on track.
If we remember that, he might actually get the job done.
by Jason O.
22 Jan 2009 at 05:50
Ironically, most of the charges that were filed against Bush in
by Here In Franklin
22 Jan 2009 at 05:53
Vetoing stem cell research–as a cancer survivor, that was definitely my favorite.
Here In Franklins last blog post..Heidi and Me
by Jason O.
22 Jan 2009 at 06:14
oops, con’td from above:
…the post make his Presidency a lot like Wilson’s, the original progressive: The Palmer raids, The Red Scare, in general the circumvention of constitutional protections to pre-empt a threat…admittedly more real than perceived in Bush’s case given September 11. In terms of the sacrifice of “science”, look back at the eugenics craze of the progressive era and Wilson’s embrace of this wacky concept. Again, similar to Bush. The word “neocon” was thrown around a lot…IMO Bush was “Neo-Wilsonian.”
Most of the left’s criticisms of Bush’s foreign policy were risible: Blood for oil, revenge for his father and other tropes. The best 2003 criticism of Iraq ironically came from so-called “paleo-cons” who argued (properly) that the preemptive invasion of Iraq was a breach of the almost two century old post-Napoleonic “international system” framework created at the Congress of Vienna.
I believe that the current economic downturn is more like 1981-82 than 1932, but I hope that Obama projects the optimism and confidence of FDR and Reagan during their respective first terms.
Jason O.s last blog post..MBB: Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee on ESPN Tonight
by Jill/Twipply Skwood
22 Jan 2009 at 07:22
Oh yeah!
You know, it would have been good if we could have done it without the spending of millions, but I think it needed to be done. 
Jill/Twipply Skwoods last blog post..Oh Happy Day!
by NATUI
22 Jan 2009 at 09:12
I have to echo mjrc. This inauguration saved our asses here in DC. Where hotels and restaurants are foundering in other cities, our local economy has been saved. For the time being, anyway. That is the main reason I had no issue with the pomp and circumstance. We saw first hand how spending money helps stimulate the economy.
One of my favorite parts of the whole day was how congenial Bush and Obama seemed. Bush kept clapping him on the back, and the smiles and animated conversation just could not be faked. It was nice to see both parties conduct themselves with such grace.
NATUIs last blog post..Bedtime Shenanigans
by Florida Girl In Sydney
22 Jan 2009 at 12:06
AWESOME! So well said. Really fantastic. Ditto from me.
Florida Girl In Sydneys last blog post..A Million Miles Away
by Teri
22 Jan 2009 at 12:57
Well said. I was thinking yesterday that the inauguration wouldn’t have been nearly as hopeful or special if all of W’s crap hadn’t happened. Not that I’m thankful for the hole we’re in, but just observing, I guess, that sometimes the highs don’t seem as high if we haven’t been knocked to our knees. I think of it more in terms of yin and yang. Inevitably every cloud has it’s silver lining and every silver lining has its cloud. I’m rambling. Yeaaah, we’re done with W. On to better times!
Teris last blog post..Presidential Bliss
by eden
22 Jan 2009 at 19:58
What an AWESOME post, I just love it. So very true.
Hope you are well, Free Man XO
edens last blog post..The Ghosts Aren’t Real
by yellojkt
22 Jan 2009 at 22:15
Amen!
yellojkts last blog post..My First LOLPrez
by Father Muskrat
23 Jan 2009 at 00:31
I’ve come back a few times to see if Chris is going to respond to some of these comments. He’s probably too wise to bother with it.
I’ll say with confidence that none of the folks who loathe W so have ever met him or deployed in support of this awful, waste-of-time-and-effort war we hear so much about. Having done both, my opinion is more valuable than is those of the haters. Of course, it’s also more valuable because it’s mine.
All that being said, I don’t think he was one of our best Presidents. I just don’t think he’s the villian he’s been made out to be.
Father Muskrats last blog post..through a toddler’s lens
by admin
23 Jan 2009 at 06:22
Hey folks, slow to respond, sorry about that!
Sherrie – I’m OK with the money. I think in some ways I’m being a bit bitterly jealous because I can’t be there!
Agnes – Not many people will.
Erin – I couldn’t get up for it – which is ironic considering I’ll often get up for a football game. I just knew that it would be replayed at a reasonable hour.
TUB – President Obama. You’re right! Feels good.
Courtney – End of an error indeed!
by admin
23 Jan 2009 at 07:53
MJRC – Good point. If nothing else, Wonkette showed pictures of the streets of Washington after the inaugaration and they were trashed! Maybe they can employ some extra cleaners to get things back in order.
Joe/Damon/Gypsy – Thanks!
Ariza – I wonder if he knows or cares that people are happy to see the back of him.
Lora – I know, I kind of wish I were closer on days like Tuesday.
Father Muskrat – How do we know that Bush had good intentions? What evidence is there to suggest that?
As for Obama, I’m as wary as anyone. He spoke beautifully and convinced the country that he was the man for the job. Now he’s got it and I’ll be as skeptical of Obama as I was of Bush. He’s got to perform or he won’t have my vote in four years.
Heather – It’s great that 1st graders were watching. Since we don’t teach Civics anymore, the kids need every opportunity to learn how their government works.
Chris – I’m with you on this one. I think Bush lied and brought personal vendettas with him to the White House. I think Iraq – and the thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis that died there was largely about daddy issues.
Kitty – No, they screwed that up. Had to do it again the next day.
Mongola – That may be how history remembers him.
Angel – Bush had the soft bigotry of low expectations. Obama has the harsh reality of high expectations.
by admin
23 Jan 2009 at 08:06
HIF – Don’t forget children’s health care. That was a nice one as well.
Jason – Ah, my favorite conservative reader. Well reasoned, my friend. I’ve not heard the Wilson comparisons before, solid. I’m not sure about the economy. We’ll have to see. Certainly it’s not as bad a collapse as ‘32, but we’re kind of in uncharted waters here.
Jill – Well, whether or not we needed to, it was done.
NATUI – As for the congeniality, I wonder how congenial Bush felt after Obama blasted him in the speech. Or maybe he didn’t pick up the reference.
Teri – The U.S. has an opportunity right now to make some changes. Another thing we can thank Bush for is that he’s screwed up so bad that Americans may finally get some health care and infrastructure repairs.
Eden/FGIS/Yello – Thanks.
Father Muskrat – You guilted me into it, I was being lazy. I have no problem with Bush personally. I don’t know him, so can’t make any judgements. But whether or not he had good intentions is irrelevant. He was a complete disaster as a president – internationally, domestically, economically. He’s crippled the country and is responsible for the untimely deaths of thousands and thousands of people. I don’t care about his intentions. It’s his actions that I care about.