1/20/09: So This Is Christmas...

...and what have you done?

"The Church of Liberalism, in the Name of the Father,
the Son, and Barack Obama"

I have always had a wistful feeling about the first two lines of John Lennon's song quoted there. I live, eat and breathe politics; my year is four times as long as a calender. As this is inauguration day, I don't know what to say.

I managed to catch the beginning of the inauguration, but I couldn't watch the entire thing because I had important preoccupations -- like, say, work -- that thwarted the rest of those plans. It's fine, though, because I would only have gotten more frustrated.

This is supposed to be a joyful day like any inauguration day, not just because of who is leaving or coming in to office. I only find myself angry as the futility of it all.

Today someone wished me, "Have A Superfluous Day!!" because they know that I enjoy linguistics and wordplay. Well, I sure as hell did have a superfluous day, even more so than my regular schedule... Really, that's what it is all about: Posers.

People naturally want to be accepted, be part of a group. Humans are social animals. It ticks me off. One of my favorite quotes -- it is actually kind of ironic if you think about it -- is here, by Oscar Wilde:

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” -Oscar Wilde

It is the truest words to have ever been spoken. I doubt many of you are as cynical as I am -- maybe you, Abby -- but I'll try and paint it like I see it.

It is cool to vote for Obama, hence, he won, much like Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch have done so well in the clothing sector. It is cool for teenagers, college kids, and young adults to wear this brand-name designer clothes so they do well. Simple economics, right?

Anyone remember when Gap was the latest thing? They've since been beat down into a regular clothing brand where they once were the premier style. How about artists like Britney Spears and Eminem? They were both very popular when Bush first took office, in the early 2000s, but they're never played on the radio anymore. Fashion and music trends come and go.

Heck, if everyone else votes for Obama, it must be right! Since the inventions of mothers and bridges, mothers have been telling their children, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it?"

The logical answer to that is, "Depends if there's a polling station at the bottom."

In Georgia, Saxby Chambliss (R) was running against two other oppontents -- Democratic and Libertarian -- for a hotly contested Senatorial seat. According to their silly rules down there, if no one captures more than 50% of the vote, they have to have a runoff election. I think Chambliss got something like 48%, the Democrat got 44% and the Liberatiran the remaining 4%.

They had the runoff between Chambliss and the Democrat with Chambliss winning handily. Naturally, the voter turnout was depressed because it was just a random election for only that position, but something interesting happened: blacks, who voted Democratic, had a turnout that was next to nothing. Why? Since they were no longer coming out to vote for their man, Obama, they didn't vote in the runoff.

I didn't see statistics, but I'm more than willing to bet that Democratic turnout was down over a larger percentage than the Republican since, A) Obama had already been elected, B) Republicans were fighting against a 60-seat majority. I know that most people only really care about the presidential race, but really, if I haven't illustrated my point...

Anyway, I started this last night (Inauguration Night) and didn't have the opportunity to finish it, so here I'll continue along the same topic but with a day behind me.

I seem to alternate between two viewpoints. The first is the angry partisan that I turn into every time a significant political event rolls around, and the second is the conservative who tries to voice what's best for the country.

See, watching the Inauguration I'll admit the I was angry with what was going on. Now that Obama is no longer President-Elect, I accept and respect him as my president. Look, I don't care if you dislike the man, but you have to have respect for the office, and he's currently sitting in the chair.

I'm happy now that Obama is locked in as president that he is, indeed, President. I truly believe that while he may turn out to be incompetent, bumbling, or inconclusive, he really wants what is best for the country. The difference between him and I is what, exactly, that is and how to go about getting "the best." Though we're still grumbling about some of the stuff that Clinton did, the country is still more or less in line. I've come to be convinced that no single president can do too much irreversible damage to the office or country.

I'll still make fun of Obama, chastise him when he screws up, berate him when he acts like a pansy-lib, and criticize any missteps, but I still respect him. Even in the dark days of 2006 when the tide turned against Bush, I still respected him. I am disgraced when I hear songs like Pink's "Dear Mr. President" or see ads for the show "Lil Bush." (Watch entire thing.)

Look, those bumper stickers that say "I'll Give Your President The Same Respect You Gave Mine"? They're witty, but don't put them on your car. They make you as bad as them... and that's bad.