Hush, now. It'll be all right.
From the timing of
these first articles today, each of Republicans involved decided they didn't like President Obama's inaugural speech somewhere between the moment it ended and the pre-parade toasts. Although for a few of them, I think they decided they hated the speech long before Christmas …
“I would have liked to have seen some outreach,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential race. “This is the eighth [inauguration] that I've been to and always there's been a portion of the speech where [the president says] 'I reach out my hand because we need to work together.’ That wasn't in this speech."
Yep, that's going to be the theme. A bunch of Republicans wringing their hands at this darn president just being so darn
mean. Everybody knows inaugural speeches are about making Republicans feel better—that's just common sense.
“It did seem that he wasn't doing the kind of outreach that he needs to do if he wants to get things accomplished in a second term,” [Sen. John Thune] said.
That's great and all, but could we hear it from a more pronouncedly jerkish legislator? Someone who, perhaps, has spent the last four years turning the congress into a circus of conspiracy theories, pseudo-scandals, witch hunts, and other "
good theater"?
“The words were code for a progressive agenda. I’m hoping that the president will recognize that compromise should have been the words for today, and they clearly weren’t,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a frequent Obama critic who has zealously pursued a contempt case against Attorney General Eric Holder.
Ah, that's the stuff. Darn it, Mr. President, you've gone and made Darrell Issa sad. That's just
cruel.
More (and crazier) below the fold...
Here's former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer, tweeting wisdom that didn't seem to have anything to do with the speech at all:
“When Ronald Reagan was sworn in, Iran got scared. When Pres Obama got sworn in today, Iran yawned.”
You'll note Fleischer didn't mention Bush there, because even Ari Fleischer's not that dumb. Now
Reagan, on the other hand, scared Iran witless via something called Iran-Contra, which I believe was a program to something something something. Hmm. Maybe Reagan was a poor example for him to use as well. That's a shame, because if you're looking for pre-Reagan inspirational Republican presidents you have to skip all the way back to Lincoln, and I'm really not sure what Lincoln's opinion on Iran was.
New candidate for America's dumbest congressman, Texas' Steve Stockman, took time out from effing threatening to impeach Obama to gripe:
"Obama has offered only hopelessness, bitter personal attacks and politics as usual."
He then went back to studying how Obama nominating a new head for the ATF was probably an impeachable assault on our freedoms, because Steve Stockman is, as I said, off to a spectacular start in demonstrating to the rest of America why certain districts of certain states should probably just give up and nominate empty paint cans or burning tires to be their national representatives.
Not all Republicans were reduced to mourning by the president's cruel, viciously not-Republican-enough speech. Some, like Newt Gingrich, thought it was tolerable enough—even "classically American." Sen. Orrin Hatch also praised it, so expect Darrell Issa and Steve Stockman to announce plans to impeach and/or jail Orrin Hatch any day now.
Memo: When you win the election, you get to make the speech. It's one of the few perks of the job.