I was going to take my kids to the inauguration, and proudly cheer Obama on... but that was before Rick Warren.
The truth is, if Mr. Warren had said the things he's said about gay people about ANY other group, there is no way on earth he'd be leading the invocation. Apparently, there is special dispensation, even in our overly Politically Correct world, to disparage gays.
To add to that, Obama now wants tax cuts - even for the rich! Tax cuts DO NOT stimulate the economy. Massive public works projects like the WPA of the 1930's do. Although Obama also wants to invest in those, it is scandalous that he wants to enshrine more of these greedy, nonsensical tax cuts.
Like asking Warren to do the invocation, these are a bone to the Right Wing. Mr. Obama seems so intent on 'compromise' that he's betraying the Left.
But: one does not 'compromise' on Hate Speech! Would Mr. Obama be compromising if Rick Warren had said black people were equivalent to people who practice incest and bestiality? Or if he'd said that women were equivalent to pedophiles?
The civil rights struggle was not won through compromise. It was won by people who stood up for their principles and said 'no, this is NOT acceptable'.
Maybe Hillary's disparagement of Obama as an empty vessel that we pour our dreams into was not so far off after all.
I read 'Dreams from my Father' and I loved it - but could that man really be the same guy who decided, among all religious leaders: ministers, pastors, imams, rabbis and priests, that Rick Warren was the most suitable person to give this signal honor to?
It seems to me like a cynical move by a too-political animal who either was never as earnest as he appeared in his book, or has evolved away from that humanity.
Then there are his picks to fix the economy, the usual suspects who, among other things, helped implode Citigroup through risky investments.
Gates stays on at Defense... and the list goes on.
I am getting the feeling that I was sold a bill of goods.
Or worse yet: that I sold myself a bill of goods, imbuing Obama with a liberal mindset that he never had.
Change is looking impossible to me, with these actors and these policies.
Maybe you simply cannot become president of the United States without selling your soul, your values.
And so, a little poem for the inauguration:
This poem was written by someone who contributed close to the maximum $2300.00 to the Obama campaign, and wants a refund.
THE HONEYMOON IS OVER BEFORE THE WEDDING HAS BEGUN
or alternatively: WE GOT FOOLED (AGAIN)
He offered great promise
Reflected our deepest desires
Like a polished sun
We never questioned
Whether he believed
What we believed
Whether he would do
What we thought he ought
We just knew he would
Then he sanctified Hate Speech
But only against one minority
And since I'm not gay
I guess it's OK
Then he hired the usual suspects
Who got us into this financial mess
But since my 401K is already vapor
I guess it's OK
Then he offered more tax cuts
Even to the rich!
And my mouth went dry
And I started to tremble
And I found myself humming
Like an automaton
'Meet the new boss
same as the old boss'
Nothing sells like mediocrity