I don’t know about you, but for me it was an amazing day. Amazing. So many things I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I am so proud of this man and so proud that we worked our butts off to help him get elected.
Here is the C-Span full archive of video of the events of the day.
We cannot backtrack. We cannot.
Consider this an open thread. Cheers.
gogol's wife
I wish he could have a third term. And a fourth . . . etc.
Baud
Thanks to Obama, Americans are once again secure enough to act insane again.
khead
I am the CatDad. You – yes YOU – should go like my page.
Germy
What’s next for Obama?
Hungry Joe
I was disappointed in his inaugural address because at the end he didn’t point to Bush and Cheney, then say to the Secret Service, “ARREST THOSE MEN.”
eemom
What a great day that was. I’ll never forget the thrill I got for months afterward whenever I heard the words “the President”, and remembered that they referred to Obama, and no longer to….well, you know.
Even went to an inaugural ball to which I somehow got an invite, with eedad and another couple.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
@Hungry Joe: He sold us out, right at the very moment!
The worst part of that inaugural address is when he said, “I proudly stand as Bush’s 3rd term.” I was shocked.
Mnemosyne
@Hungry Joe:
I still laugh at Cheney in the wheelchair on Obama’s Inauguration Day. I still think it was a classic narcissist’s cry of, Why aren’t they paying attention to MMMMEEEEEE???!
I’m also still convinced it was my Chicago peeps who started the “Na Na Hey Hey” singing as Bush’s helicopter flew away since White Sox fans have been using that song forever.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
@eemom: did he show up to your ball?
NotMax
Also inaugurated again the next day, just in case, as the Chief Justice flubbed the wording of the oath on Jan. 20.
Wag
I agree that the past seven years have been bearable largely because of the President. Well tha and the fact the Sarah Palin isn’t the VP
Just read about her “speech” endorsing Trump in The Guardian. Best description of SP ever.
Go read the whole thing.
jackmac
So going to miss him. Ninth and finest president in my lifetime.
oldster
One of the greatest days of my life, too. This last seven years has been immeasurably better than the eight that the Supreme Court stole from us through Bush v. Gore.
And if they had not stolen it from us, 2015 might not have been the hottest year on record, either.
Scalia et co. have a lot of blood on their hands.
Thor Heyerdahl
I was all the way back by the Washington Monument. I had driven from Toronto to Delaware and taken an Inauguration special chartered Amtrak in from Wilmington. The Na Na Hey Hey singing was great.
As soon as Biden finished his oath of office and Cheney was no longer VP someone yelled out, “Now watch for a fucking spaceship to come down and pick up Cheney!”
David *Born in the USA* Koch
President Obama’s plaque on Mount Rushmore
☑ Landmark peace agreement with Iran
☑ Regulated CO2 – cut emissions by 30%
☑ Ended Bush’s war on Iraq
☑ Withdrew 183,000 of 188,000 troops fighting and dying in two Middle East quagmires
☑ Kept the US out of war in Syria, Iran, and Ukraine
☑ Repealed DADT
☑ Overturned DOMA
☑ Enacted Federal ENDA
☑ Endorsed Gay Marriage
☑ Set strong Net Neutrality regulations
☑ Raised car millage to 55 mpg
☑ Rescued the Auto Industry
☑ Prevented a 2nd Great Depression
☑ Ended Bush’s tax cuts for the rich
☑ Brought health insurance to 32,500,000 million people
☑ Normalized relations with Cuba after 54 years
☑ Stopped Keystone Pipeline
☑ Enacted Dodd-Frank financial reform
☑ Deferred to Colorado’s and Washington’s pot laws instead of using federal preemption
☑ Overturned the ban on stem cell research
☑ Saved millions of Latinos from deportation
☑ Enacted free contraceptives for women
☑ Enacted 6 weeks maternity leave for federal workers
☑ Extended Social Security benefits to gay couples.
☑ Eliminated color coded terror alerts
☑ Rebuilt FEMA
☑ Appointed first 11 openly gay judges on Federal bench
☑ Appointed first Latina to Supreme Court
☑ Appointed first female Solicitor General
☑ Appointed first female Federal Reserve Chairwoman
☑ Appointed 41% of female judges to Federal Bench
☑ Ended rescission, pre-existing conditions, lifetime caps
☑ Enacted Fair Sentencing Act
☑ Ended federal criminal asset forfeiture
☑ Ended gender discrimination in the Military
☑ Enacted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
☑ Enacted Lilly Ledbetter Act
☑ Enacted Mathew Sheppard Hate Crimes Act
☑ Enacted Credit Card Reform Act
☑ Enacted Food Safety Act
☑ Eliminated banks from federal student loans
☑ Found bin Laden
☑ Captured Whitey Bulger
☢ Reduced Nuclear arms with Russia by 66%
☑ Provided crucial financing for Telsa’s electric car
☑ Negotiated Co2 reduction accord with China
☑ Expanded SCHIP and Pell Grants
☑ Syria surrendered their WMDs
☑ Enacted world program to secure loose fissionable material
☑ Saved movie “The Interview” from being censored and buried by Sony Pictures
☑ Secured release of POW Bowe Bergdahl
☑ Saved Yazidis and Benghazi from genocide
☑ Oil trading at 14 year low of $26 per barrel.
Obama has accomplished all this in only seven years, in the face unprecedented obstruction by the wingnuts and the corporate media.
the Conster
@Baud:
That’s exactly how I feel. When the country was in a true crisis in 2008, he was the only adult. He knew exactly what he was getting if he got elected, conveyed the smarts and temperament to calm a nation, and that’s why he won in a landslide. He’s been nothing but reviled since. He’s a great great man, and I don’t want to see him go.
FlipYrWhig
@David *Born in the USA* Koch: I’m still appalled that Donnie McClurkin sung the national anthem.
the Conster
@David *Born in the USA* Koch:
Thank you for this! It’s really truly remarkable. Also, anyone who hasn’t read Michael Grunwald’s deep dive about the stuff done by regulation – the green energy stuff, in particular, should.
The Nation He Built
Thor Heyerdahl
FYWP I can’t edit the comment. Stayed in Delaware since it was half the price of just about everything in Maryland – 2 star hotels on Baltimore wanted $250 per night.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
Greatest chart ever.
MomSense
One of the very best days ever.
Gussie
He’s a very good president, but the hero worship makes me nervous. He’s responsible for the deaths, in Pakistan alone, of between 168 and 200 children. I’m not sure that any other President could have done better. But this is a terrible thing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/obama-drone-program-anniversary_n_4654825.html
David *Born in the USA* Koch
NotMax
@jackmac
12th for me.
40th for efgoldman. :)
Elizabelle
I love Barack Obama. Best president of my lifetime.
May he have a long and healthy and productive life after.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
and vote for Baud.
Jeffro
Btw if y’all read Ross Douthat’s column today, it’s like…it’s like he finally realizes it’s over, and the barbarians have won. Kathleen Parker and Michael Gerson are in similar states of shock, denial, acceptance.
(and this is on top of David Brooks calling for someone…ANYone…to unite for sensible conservatism and fend off Trump and Cruz!)
David, we don’t really want you, but come on over to the sensible, quite middle-of-the-road side.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
David *Born in the USA* Koch
ThresherK
@Mnemosyne: Then he opened up his newspaper and found that missing $8000 and kept it, the rat. What a warped, frustrated old man.
Just wondering if anyone on Cheney’s immediate staff had the balls to tell him that Mr. Potter wasn’t the hero of the movie.
Linnaeus
When he started out, I figured he’d be good, but not necessarily “consequential”. He’s been both.
Linnaeus
@ThresherK:
I see I’m not the only one who instantly thought of Mr. Potter when I saw Cheney in the wheelchair.
dr. bloor
@NotMax:
Let’s face it, it’s been all downhill since Little Jemmy.
khead
@ThresherK:
Potter got his in the end at least.
Gussie
He is the greatest president of my lifetime, and also responsible for the death of 500-1000 civilians in Pakistan, including 200 children. I’m not saying anyone could’ve done better, but the hero worship makes me nervous.
rikyrah
@David *Born in the USA* Koch:
thank you, David Koch.
Felanius Kootea
@Wag: Something got mangled in that link.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
@Gussie: I’m sure glad no one worships Franklin Roosevelt
jacy
I remember the day very clearly, and sharing it with my kids. The only thing that had been more emotional up to that point was election night.
I was never so proud of my country, never so full of feelings that anything was possible. And although things haven’t been perfect, good gravy, but am I proud of our president. I feel privileged to have existed at this time during history, and to have contributed, no matter in what small ways, to having his presidency become a reality.
And even when things suck, and dog knows our political environment sucks balls, this happened. A difference was made. Differences were made small and large. I am confident that Obama has done the best he was able, and a lot of times, that was pretty fucking able.
Felanius Kootea
@Felanius Kootea: Okay here is the link.
Cacti
Obama has been one of the greats, and I doubt I’ll see his like again in my lifetime.
Now, if we can just keep the emo progs from turning everything back by nominating George McGovern for a second time.
Eric S.
His first inaugural was the first time I ever heard a national politician positively speak of my kind (atheist). I think he used the phrase “people of no faith.”
It was a little thing and he went on to do many, many more and more important things but that validated my support for him in his senate and 1st presidential campaigns.
Linnaeus
@Cacti:
I don’t think you need to worry much about that.
JPL
Today Jeb reminded us what came before
Jeb! reminds crowd that his dad and brother have been president. “I’ve seen how it’s done the right way and how it’s done the wrong way.”
Thanks to Dave weigel
Iowa Old Lady
@David *Born in the USA* Koch: That’s an amazing list. I’m going to save it to show to people who claim Obama disappointed them and did nothing.
Since this is an open thread, caucuses are Feb 1 at 7 pm. My town has scheduled a vote on a school millage for Feb 2. How does that make sense? People will have been up late politicking the night before and their political energy will be spent. Only old people will vote, and the millage will be defeated.
gwangung
@Gussie: Unlike other folks, I get the feeling Obama knows that…and broods about it. One if the reasons why his hair us gray.
Gussie
@David *Born in the USA* Koch: I’m sure glad about that, too. Even though the fight against al Queda is peanuts when compared to the WWII, I -still- think we should try to acknowledge that even Great Men–or maybe especially Great Men–often have the blood of innocents on their hands. That doesn’t discount all the good that they do, or the fact that they’re a lot Greater than I’d ever be. But that’s a lot of dead children. Trying to remember them isn’t all bad.
Thor Heyerdahl
@Gussie: Just about every US President has experienced non-American civilian deaths at the hands of Americans overtly or covertly.
He’s likely a lot closer to the Michael Douglas line from “The American President” than almost all of his Republican predecessors. “You’ve just seen me do the least presidential thing I do.”
Gussie
@gwangung: I agree. I think he’s a very good man, and one whom we should emulate in this respect.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JPL: if Bush ! and Bush II were an Oedipal loop-de-loop, adding Debbie makes it a tilt-a-whirl, with Barbara as Pennywise the Clown holding her paw on high speed button
Elizabelle
@JPL: i’m laughing
gwangung
@Linnaeus: No, I worry about emo profs throwing a tantrum and not realizing we will NEVER get anyone so competent in the White House in our lifetime.
Baud
@JPL:
ThresherK
@khead: I would be disappointed if nobody referred to that skit. I remember seeing it live and it stunned me, then made me howl.
I remember Jessie Jackson’s tears of relief and joy, because the entirety of white America finally had another black person to go to when they wanted an explanation or apology for something a black person said or did.
Culture of Truth
Full confession: Although I knew may people high up with Team Hillary, I joined the Obama campaign early in 2007. So yes, January 2009 was pretty amazing.
lol chikinburd
An awesome day, and so much done since, and of course so much yet to do.
If I’ve learned anything in the last two weeks, it’s that, when faced with a seemingly insurmountable set of tasks, what you do is what you can. Obama’s done what he can. He wasn’t going to be able to end four-plus centuries of racism or build us an NHS. He chipped away and did what he could, and that’s been remarkable.
(Had a better day myself, after getting some needed help and getting a big chunk of estate business done.)
Linnaeus
@gwangung:
Even if they do, it’s a relatively minor problem. The much bigger challenge is getting people to the polls, especially those who aren’t normally inclined to vote.
Iowa Old Lady
I was home alone on 2008 election night. I watched the scene in Grant Park with tears in my eyes. It was a moment I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. It was history and I knew it even as I watched.
Baud
Nate Silver is getting old.
JPL
@Baud: lol
Cacti
I remember seeing Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and thinking to myself:
“That man could be the first black President of the United States.”
It just came a bit sooner than I expected.
Mike J
Anybody checked out “The Bern Identity: A Search for Bernie Sanders and the New American Dream” by Will Bunch yet?
Use the balloon juice amazon link to look for the ebook.
Cacti
Also can’t believe how Sasha and Malia have grown from kids into young women during that span of time.
JPL
@Cacti: When I watched the speech, I had the same feeling as you. In 2007 when Senator Obama gave a campaign speech at GA TECH, I sat there and listened to him, and walked away knowing he could be President.
We are so lucky.
HRA
This is a very nice tribute to a most deserving President Obama. Thank you for posting it.
SiubhanDuinne
@khead:
Done.
trollhattan
@David *Born in the USA* Koch:
Chuck Tawd wrote that?
Obama’s Charleston eulogy is the most moving speech-sermon-testimony I will ever witness.
trollhattan
@Baud:
A lot of that going around.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
It was partly that, I’m sure, but even more I think it was Cheney’s way of saying “Fuck you, I’m not standing up for a ni-clang.” It was a vaguely plausible excuse for being totally disrespectful.
Mnemosyne
@Gussie:
I think you’re confusing conservative hero worship and liberal hero worship. To paraphrase Al Franken, conservatives loved Bush the way a 4-year-old loves his mommy, thinking that everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad. Liberals know you have to acknowledge the bad with Obama but also that the bad does not outweigh the good.
Jim
I cried. The inauguration was one of the best days of my life, and I’m forever glad I lived to see it. It was the United States that I’d always believed in. Simple as that.
trollhattan
@Linnaeus:
I saw that fucker and said “Where’s the white cat?” And yet, Cheney lives still, a free man available for any Sunday chat show. Am only slightly relieved to know Lizard will never have a political career. What a piece of work she is.
Mike J
Bill Clinton speech in Concord today. Note the scoreboard in the high school gym.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Cacti: I said, “I’ve just seen the first Black President”; but like you I didn’t think it would be in 4 years.
Betty Cracker
Wow — Maddow just played a clip of remarks by Bill Clinton. He has aged shockingly — looked like a frail old man. I hope he’s okay.
the Conster
@Jim:
What you said, word for word.
Jim, Foolish Literal
@trollhattan: Am only slightly relieved to know Lizard will never have a political career.
Please to be touching piece of wood near you. As glad as I was to see her fall on her face, I wouldn’t count her out in the future. Wyoming is blood red and (I imagine given its size and media markets) a cheap race for a candidate who would have more or less limitless resources. And both her grandfathers is Satan.
the Conster
@Betty Cracker:
He’s been a vegan for a long time – he looks like he could use a steak or three. He sounds really feeble too. Hill is not going to get the dynamic schmoozing Bill, and that’s probably a good thing.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Please to be touching piece of wood near you. As glad as I was to see her fall on her face, I wouldn’t count her out in the future. Wyoming is blood red and (I imagine given its size and media markets) a cheap race for a candidate who would have more or less limitless resources. And both her grandfathers is Satan.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Betty Cracker: It’s weight loss.
gogol's wife
@Betty Cracker:
My husband is really worried that something might go wrong with Bill, and that will throw Hillary off.
I’m trying not to worry about anything. I’m ready for a woman president (D). I didn’t realize it until recently.
Mai.naem.mobile
I don’t remember the day that much – Arethas crazy hat, FLOTUS’ cool Jackie O style coming through. Kist a huge relief that W was gone. I love Obama. I don’t care if saying that makes me sounds like the stupid Bush fans. It’s a pity the GOP have obstructed souch. So much lost opportunity for this country. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think he’s perfect. The healthcare rollout and the VA scandal were awful. He didn’t bargain as well as he could have in the beginning. Obamacare is personal for me and several extended family members. Health Insurance and self employment in a red state is stressful. I am hoping he goes the Jimmy Carter route and not the Bill Clinton route. If HRC wins she’s got some yuuge boots to fill. Unless we get a trust buster like TR in the next few years ,I’m pretty sure will be the best president of my lifetime.
Baud
@gogol’s wife: The Village would claim Hillary did something to Bill for sympathy votes.
JPL
@Mnemosyne: That’s true.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mike J:
Scoreboard is genius. I wonder whether it originated with someone at the high school, or with the campaign itself. There must be a fair number of h.s. and college gyms as venues for Bill over the next few months — they could, and should, do this every time.
raven
So no one remembers the bitter cold and the people who got stuck in that tunnel?
BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: They should have run up the score a bit.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: I thought you were born a few months after GW died.
liberal
@David *Born in the USA* Koch:
LOL. The second part of that, at least, has been shown to be propaganda. What he and Hillary really accomplished was the overthrow of a secular dictator, who was replaced by a bunch of religious nutjobs. Great work!
SiubhanDuinne
@BillinGlendaleCA:
You may be missing the fact that Bill (visitor) was POTUS #42 and Hillary (home) will be POTUS #45. The score needs to stay exactly as is.
Iowa Old Lady
@efgoldman: I don’t know about the band thing. My son was in college by the time we moved here, so I’ve never been closely involved with the schools. Except to vote for millages, of course. They’re an automatic yes for me.
agorabum
@Gussie: can’t we just have one thread of feeling good before resuming the lefty circular firing squad?
eclare
@HRA: Agree. Also remember seeing him at 2004 convention, and thinking, wow.
Matt McIrvin
@Jeffro: Those guys will all be talking about the homespun genius and high moral character of Donald Trump a week after he accepts the nomination.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin: Count on it.
qwerty42
An amazing president. I had a good deal more, but had to delete it as so many sentences were incomplete. I doubt his equal will come in my lifetime.
mike in dc
@Cacti:
I don’t think the two are comparable, unless you are suggesting that nearly the entire Democratic establishment will conspire to undermine the nominee’s campaign, should they win the nomination. Because that’s what happened to McGovern.
Glenn Dexter
catclub
@BillinGlendaleCA: That Jan 2001 Onion headline:
“Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is over,”
I hope 2017 does not bring a repeat.
eemom
@Gussie:
@liberal:
Tell us what you would have done better under the circumstances.
In the alternative, go fuck your pious ass selves.
TaMara (BHF)
Thank you, you guys. This was more than I even imagined this thread would be. I needed a little uplifting tonight.
Zinsky
One can only wonder what the man could have accomplished with a non-racist, rational, responsible Congress.
Calliope Jane
Cried election night, cried during the speech. A family friend was in DC and brought back souvenirs for me (and my uncle in Chicago made sure to get me a button). I was glued to CSPAN the whole day. And I was glad that Ted Kennedy got to see it, although he got sick at the luncheon. I’m not sure I’ll see as good a president in my lifetime and I’m grateful I got to see it and live it and contributed in some small way to getting him elected.
David *Born in the USA* Koch
casino
Omnes Omnibus
I watched the inauguration in the office on an old TV with no cable. To this day, my memory tells me it was snowing heavily.
eemom
@Omnes Omnibus:
It was cold as shit at the main event here in deecee. Didn’t stop the crowds…..though I must admit, I opted for weeping with joy in the comfort of my home.
SiubhanDuinne
Here is one more reason, as if we needed one, to love this man.
redshirt
It’s felt really good to trust completely the ruling power in DC. I’m going to miss that.
Barry is the only politician to get me to participate in actual election stuff. I knocked on doors! Best President by far in my lifetime and I doubt I’ll see a better.
arrieve
@Thor Heyerdahl: I was back by the Washington Monument too! I don’t remember seeing you. What I do remember is how cold I was. And how much I didn’t care. And that I thought I would cry when he took the oath of office but instead I started laughing, and hugging everyone around me. And then I cried. A great, great day.
Emily68
I was at a party a week or so before the inauguration and we were all talking about where we’d be when we watched. One guy was going to be on a plane and he’d miss the whole thing. When the big day came, my husband & I were right there in front of the TV and when (I think) Di-Fi told everybody to stand up as the swearing-in was at hand, my husband said, “We better stand up, too.”
AxelFoley
@David *Born in the USA* Koch:
Damn, what a list of accomplishments!
AxelFoley
@Gussie: You’re like a broken record now.
AxelFoley
@liberal: Upset emo alert!
Momstheword11
So sad it is coming to an end. I love you Mr. President and First Lady and First Daughters.
What a wonderful 8 years!
Thank you for what you have done and I would march into hell for you, gladly.
Just wish you could be cloned and we could have you for 8, no 80 more years!