Rick Warren gave a lovely invocation. And after all who could quibble with the beginning?
Let us pray. Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.
History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
I can’t recall the Sh’ma being uttered before at an Inaguration. The full text is worth a read — very inclusive and eloquent. An excellent choice, it turned out, by the President.
I know that David Brooks and David Gergen has written recently about Obama’s governing more left than they had thought he would — but I can’t find or haven’t seen where Chris Buckley has had second thoughts. I’ve read here and on NRO comments about it but can’t find any actual column or comment by him. Would love to see it — does anyone know what he said or where to find it?
Alix, http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-01/the-audacity-of-nope/full/
CK
Thanks so much. But now that I’ve read what Buckely has said, I think he should have included more mea culpa. For my tastes his writings have always been a little too clever, too forced — I felt that way even before he became a turncoat.
The Obama Administration and especially the Congressional Democrats actually don’t care about 2009, since they can blame this entire year on Bush, or so they think. All they care about is that economic conditions in the first week of November 2010 will seem slightly better than they are now, so the worse things are this year, the better for them. It’s the election cycle, stupid. That is all the Dems care about — not the country, not the economy, not the financial system. It is becoming transparently obvious that their cynical pieties immediately contradicted by their unprecedented radical legislative action are starting to lose the center of American politics. When the MSM start picking up on this, which should occur in the next few weeks, watch the shrill personal attacks from the Obama Administration against all who dare say a contrary word reach a raucous crescendo. This Administration’s political capital is eroding, and will have all but vanished by April Fools Day.
With all respect, Jennifer Rubin errs in thinking the Michael Steele-Rush Limbaugh clash can be ignored. The last thing the Republicans and Conservatives needs is for Limbaugh to become the voice, mind and face of the Right.
The Palestinians did Israel a huge favor in making Arafat, Mr. Palestine. For Limbaugh to become Mr. Republican/Conservative would be as devastating.
The two are of course not comparable in their views, ethics and emotionality, but just as Arafat’s face, manner and personality stigmatized his side and caused a spontaneous revulsion, so would Rush Limbaugh.
rush really hurt the gop’s chances in 1994 didn’t he?
Jennifer, “the fate of the free market system” was decided when we elected a follower of black liberation theology.
We don’t have the votes to stop him, we don’t have the votes to stop the men from Chicago, who are determined to remake the whole of The United States in the image of the machine from the Windy City.
We don’t have the votes.
All we can do is warn, sound the klaxon, beat the drums, sound the trumphet. But we can’t ever delude ourselves that we presently have the votes to stop this thing cold.
We don’t have a reliable number of votes in the Senate. We don’t have men and women of principle and character therein to stop this thing, to filibuster it.
What we have to do is prepare to retake the Mountain West, we have to make sure the South is a SOLID South. Every single state that goes reliably Republican MUST field a Senate delegation that is Republican.
It all starts in the Mountains. The people and the communities the creepy community organizer from Chicago scorns.
Obama is deliberately destroying american financial and economic strength.. nobody is dumb enough to fail to see what’s happening.. he wants it to happen, he’s doing everything that I would do if I wanted it to happen.. and it’s all working great.
regarding Rush and Steele, Rush was pure Rush at CPAC and then on the Hughley show Steele pulled back the curtain and showed us who he is… no possibility that was ‘error’… you don’t accidentally say the OPPOSITE of what you think… ‘inarticulate’, no he used very good words.. they were just the WRONG ONES for an RNC chair to use.. sounded more like a LIBERAL…
gasp. I”m shocked, shocked that Steele sounded liberal.
Yes Rush did very well in 1994 when the previous democratic administration over-reached, as this one has. Rush is right now challenging the GOP to stand up and show a spine. The efforts of the administration in going after Rush is to try and scare away a GOP political challenger from emerging. Michael Steele is singularly incapable of leading the GOP. His comments were stupid and do damage to the GOP’s ability to attract viable opponents to our political adversaries. Rush is a commentator, who by the way pegged Obama and his minions correctly from the beginning. That the more learned members of the conservative movement didn’t figure that out is a testament to their own elitism speaks mountains. And in their embarassment decide to go out after a guy who never has desire to run for office because he knows that isn’t who he is. That he seems to be the only person who can eloquently describe what conservatism means is the reason the GOP is in the wilderness.
Jennifer was one of Michael Steele’s biggest cheerleaders. So it’s kind of hard for her to state the obvious: he’s in way over his head. Steele is almost laughably bereft of clue, but the saving grace for the GOP is that he will probably be irrelevant. The way the economy is crumbling, the Repubs will have few problems winning the 2010 elections…even with their braindead RNC chairman.
How hard is it to say
“What the President and his party are doing is far more important to the country than anything Rush Limbaugh might be saying. When the President pursues the wrong policies, it’s our obligation as Republicans and conservatives to say so.”
“If you want to debate something Rush Limbaugh said, you should get him on your show and take it up with him directly.”
These Republicans who think there’s something to gain by criticizing their own are fools.
I love the chutzpah of the Left. They done such a good job destroying the economy that now they want to tell the R’s how hopeless the R’s position is.
What is dismaying is that the the R’s give it the slightest breath of interest. If anything, they should do just what the Left says not to do.
But the more important point is that none of this Left/R banter matters. The American public — or at least that part of it that still pays taxes — is slowly coming to see the incredible stupidity/perversity of what Number One is doing. Once inflation arrives, There Will be Election Blood. There’s a name for it: the return of the Reagan Democrats. And I have a feeling that their first victory will be over Specter and whatever D runs for his seat.
Every major choice the Dems have made since their ascension has been poor. Why should this one be any different? Trying to use Rush to demonize Republicans will not make America forget about its plummeting economy and the $20 trillion rock Obama has tied onto it.
We have to ask, who is doing more to stem the socialist tide in America, Rush Limbaugh or the Republican Party organization? Until that organization shows signs of forthrightness and achieves success in anything, the answer has to remain Rush.
Those who say Rush’s approach is over-simplistic should fill us in ASAP on whatever details they can—if they can!