Will Wilkinson - Latest Comments in Inauguration Liveblog

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

patty — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:17:26 -0000

Don't quote me, but I think the hamsters we want to harness were all gathered in Aretha's hat.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:18:03 -0000

Hey, why'd you stop in the middle of the inauguration? It was getting really good!

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Kevin B. O'Reilly — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:41:26 -0000

Enh. I liked your commentary. "Facebook us, Kenya!" Classic.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

DMonteith — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:51:32 -0000

But of course.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Sol — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:47:39 -0000

If you mean the song with lyrics something like "Dance, dance, whomever you may be", then that's just a different set of words to the tune of "Simple Gifts", and the piece at the inauguration seemed to be a John Williams arrangement/bastardization of part of Aaron Copland's arrangement of "Simple Gifts". (That is to say, Copland's ballet "Appalachian Spring".)

If instead you are implying some sort of Michael Flatley involvement, I must have missed that bit.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Yogi — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:36:41 -0000

"Facebook us Kenya" had me hanging on to my chair so I didn't fall out.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Greg N. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:20:35 -0000

I take it back. Just watched it again and it the "nonbelievers" part was on par with the others. I wish he had started with us, though.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Greg N. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:17:51 -0000

Even watching the speech with my class, I couldn't help but say out loud, "say atheists, say atheists, say atheists" and then give a "woo hoo!" when we got "nonbelievers." That said, and maybe I'm making this up, I thought I heard him kind of toss that one in as an aside.

THAT said, I'm convinced Obama isn't religious in any meaningful way, which is to say in any way that doesn't help him politically. And that's something.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

B_ — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:16:45 -0000

I've been trying to think of an atheist benediction for weeks now. The best I can come up with are only slightly more eloquent than "drive safely and don't forget to tip your server."

But maybe that would be OK.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Tim — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:13:58 -0000

I agree with that as well. As one of those non believers - who doesn't make a big deal when believers assert their right to invoke god - I was very happy to hear it. It was a pleasant surprise.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Will Wilkinson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:56:49 -0000

I agree! Woo!

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Will Wilkinson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:56:23 -0000

You're right. The romance of politics drives me crazy in a way it doesn't for most people. So I know I do look like a jerk. Obama's speech was indeed sober and appropriate. That's part of what I meant about his being boring, which I really hope he keeps up.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

RonCo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:54:30 -0000

Also (I forgot to add) just his use of the word "nonbelievers" was worth the whole show. I can't recall another President even acknowledging that they exist. Obama 2nd inaug program item: atheist benediction! Change we can believe in! So to speak.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

RonCo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:46:47 -0000

You're being kind of a jerk today, Will. This ironic, cynical tone was amusing when you were dissing the pathetic campaign debates. But surely a bit of civic pride is in order as we watch the first African-American inaugurated as President--in a city where, as he noted today, his father would have had trouble getting served lunch not that long ago? Do we really need a pants-wetting media to manage our emotions on this one? Even if Obama's rhetoric didn't rise to the level of the guy whose Bible he was using, it was sober and appropriate.

The poem did suck, though.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Will Wilkinson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:21:59 -0000

Yeah. FREE MARKET hamsters.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Will Wilkinson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:21:15 -0000

David, I don't put everything into every blog post. During the campaign I clearly stated my preference for Obama over McCain mainly for the reasons you mention. And I don't especially care about marginal tax rates .

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Will Wilkinson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:21:09 -0000

Also, I believe a couple posts down I express my unironic enthusiam over GWBs departure. Isn't it OK if I hate everybody?

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

webgrrl — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:14:32 -0000

"Wall Street Hits Session Lows After Obama's Speech

Stock indexes extended losses and hit session lows on Tuesday after President Barack Obama's inauguration speech provided few new details about measures to tackle the growing economic crisis."

-- NY Times

Sadly, it appears as if the President's first act in office was to drive a low market down further. Or at least be unable to halt its slide. As we say on Wall St. "even a dead cat bounces once." Thus the market has compared Obama to said cat and come up. . .er, down.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

DMonteith — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:05:37 -0000

"A new foundation for growth. Restore SCIENCE. Harness the sun and the tides and hamsters. Some question the scale of our ambitions. They simply forget that we can DO ANYTHING. All your objections no longer apply, so don’t try to object cynics.

Aren't you the guy who thinks continued economic growth into the infinite future has an even chance of coming to pass? I thought surely you'd be on the hamster bandwagon.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

ed — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:04:01 -0000

I just found something even more boring than the inauguration: the New York Times inauguration liveblog! Why did they bother?

http://thecaucus.blogs.nyti...

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Ben — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:55:17 -0000

Well, 1) talk is cheap, and 2) a President believing that the rule of law and human rights exist is a floor for what makes a President acceptable. Acceptable here meaning "who should not be indicted."

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

David Stearns — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:29:50 -0000

Couple things: First, the worst part of the speech was when he called for all lines between factions to dissolve. Aren't we supposed to live in a pluralist, cosmopolitan country where there are different groups of people, all holding hands and living together happily?

Second: Why aren't more libertarians creaming their pants over the fact that we've now got a president who seems to be pretty clearly repudiating torture and holding individuals indefinitely w/o any need for evidence or process, just so long as he deems them evil enough? Sure, redistribution bad! Big stimulus bad! But isn't this the kind of crap we *always* get from politicians, and given what most people would actually demand of politicians pretty unavoidable? And isn't being tortured and held w/o the writ of habeas corpus a *way way way bigger* threat to liberty than scary marginal tax rates and the stupidity of the SS system? Yes, it sucks that the president can interpret the constitution any way he wants, but GWB happened to interpret to mean that he can do whatever he wants, while Barack interprets it to mean that he can't. That should be great news to libertarians, no?

And yet Will, unless I'm missing something, the only thing you can bring yourself to praise about the man is how much it means about us that we have progressed to the point where we can vote in a black man as president.

In short: all politicians suck balls, but some definitely more than others. Seems to me like BHO actually has some things to actually recommend him. (none of this is to say that I'm not totally on board with your instinctual rejection of a lot of the collectivist boilerplate and hysteria surrounding the man.)

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Kevin B. O'Reilly — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:13:21 -0000

"Uniformed cynicism"? Where's my uniform, damn it!

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Corey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:07:37 -0000

What? Poetry that doesn't rhyme? Is the 19th century over already?! Though my sympathies to having to listen to "poem voice" at Iowa.

Re: Inauguration Liveblog

Tim — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:50:10 -0000

Wow, you really are a prick sometimes. Perhaps one day you'll escape from you uniformed cynicism. Perhaps one day your self entombment in a shroud of protective emotional distance will end, and you'll enjoy things such as this for what they are. It's too bad you couldn't enjoy this, it was plainly put...nice. Your reaction has a stench of bitterness that I can't figure out. I'll be back though.