Obama Pens Essay for Washington Times Front Page

[DeepModem Mom]

Barack Obama Essay: Martin Luther King Day
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 19, 2009


(Media Bistro)

On the day of the first inauguration to take place in this city, a small band of citizens gathered to watch Thomas Jefferson assume office. Our young and fragile democracy had barely finished a long and contentious election that tested our founding ideals, and there were those who feared our union might not endure. It was a perilous moment. But Jefferson announced that while we may differ in opinion, we all share the same principles. "Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind," he said, urging those assembled to begin anew the work of building a nation.

In the more than two centuries since, inaugurations have taken place during times of war and peace, depression and prosperity. Beneath the unfinished dome of the Capitol, a young lawyer from Illinois swore an oath to defend the Constitution a divided nation threatened to tear apart. In an era of unprecedented crisis, an optimistic New Yorker refused to allow us to succumb to fear. In a time of great change, a young man from Massachusetts convinced us to think anew with regard to serving our fellow man.

At each and every moment, the American people have joined with one heart and one mind - not just to commemorate a new president, but to celebrate those common ideals, share our hopes for a brighter future and resolve to advance our bold experiment. Tomorrow, we'll gather at a new time of great challenge for the American people. Our nation is at war. Our economy is in turmoil. We have much work to do toward restoring prosperity and renewing the promise of this nation.

And yet while our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not. What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our Founders displayed. What is also required is that we break free from rigid ideology and small thinking, and together grab hold of this opportunity to bridge partisan divides and deliver change for the American people. The state of our union and challenges of a new century demand that we move beyond the old debates and stale arguments. We must focus today not on the dogmas of left and right, but on practical answers to the difficult problems of our times....

***

We will couple the spirit of this inauguration with the celebration of the life of a preacher who once stood and shared his dream for America on the very mall where we'll gather tomorrow....

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/18/barack-obam...

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Oh, man, Our Guy is slick...........

That's the Moonie rightwingnut newspaper in DC.

And he's just brought them in and made them comfortable.

This guy knows more about neutering your opponents and making nice than anyone I've ever seen.

He's for real, too.

And, in just a few hours, HE'S GOING TO BE OUR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DeepModem Mom]

2. I know -- look at that front page! nt

[Clear Blue Sky]

3. Nice. That's a very conservative paper. Glad he is building a big tent.

[Muttocracy]

4. and he's helping them sell a bunch of those papers this week! nt

[TTUBatfan2008]

7. In some cases it just angers them more...

You just know if he was a Republican they would love him, wouldn't give a damn that his middle name is Hussein, etc. His graciousness towards them only makes them angrier. That's what happens with bigots.

But I am glad that he wants to bring civility back to Washington. If the idiots themselves want to be partisan, the country will realize it and it only makes him look better. They want to be petty sore losers, go right ahead. Just makes them look like major assholes. I think there are enough reasonable/moderate Republican power brokers that he will be able to build a broad coalition for getting legislation passed.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. Bingo!

You nailed it.

By his example, our President Obama is going to make assholes look even dumber. Killing them with kindness seems to be his strategy, and it's going to drive them insane.

I'm tired of all the noise and the shouting and the nastiness. I want good manners and civility to return to our country. Obama will lead the way.

It's just another example of my wondering if he's human or some kind of extraterrestial who's landed here to save us.

[TTUBatfan2008]

10. Didn't you get the memo from him?

He was sent here from Krypton by his father Jor-El.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vws9fTtQgz4

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. That was beautiful

He has such brilliant moves, they cannot lay a finger on him.

Chimpy was absolutely incapable of making fun of himself. President Obama is so solid, so sure of himself, so healthy, he can do it with style and grace.

President Obama. That's what happens in fewer than twelve hours.............

[4 t 4]

17. Love That , He's the Funk soul brother ,check it out now!

And I Think I Love Him, No I do love him but I'm scared to believe. There I said it.

[buzzard]

12. I don't think it is his strategy, I think he truly believes in unity where at all possible.n/t

[Tangerine LaBamba]

14. I do, too............

It's possible for a philosophy also to be a strategy.

It's today. Our President will be sworn in in fewer than twelve hours!

[TTUBatfan2008]

18. Agreed...

I don't think he's trying to hoodwink them. He legitimately doesn't believe in partisan bickering. His Republican friends in the Law Review at Harvard have talked quite a bit about this. He is a uniter and always has been. I think it's because of a combination of things. His grandparents give him the toughness to take all the cheap shots from the likes of Hannity. His mother gives him the grace to be so kind to those who refuse to reciprocate the respect that he gives them. The other thing is the fact that he grew up in Hawaii, which is such a diverse place with a very peaceful and laid back culture. All of these things make him a far more gracious politician than the other 99%.

[pnorman]

28. My thoughts too!

I believe he's capable of working on several levels at the same time, as well as thinking several moves ahead. But I also believe that he's SINCERE, and definitely on the side of good.

But I DON'T think that he's soft in the head or gullible --- ie: he'll reach across the aisle for whoever will work with him, but he WON'T be taken in by insincere tricksters. So cut him some slack, in the weeks to come, and consider that he might know what he's doing!

pnorman

[Number23]

29. Ain't he?? You just have to laugh

He plays his opponents (and even some supporters) like a poker chip. And when they've finally figured out how expertly they've been played, he's already halfway done playing the next one...

[Lorien]

5. The Washinton Times? Why the moonie rag?

I'd like to see it on the Post or NYT...or any other paper that most non-neocons might read-but maybe it's more of that "reaching out to the other side".

Well written though.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. Because it's a rightwingnut rag

Same way he went to George Wills' house for dinner the other night with the conservative journalists.

He's practicing what he preached - unity. And I applaud him for it. He's disarming all the people who could be troublesome, making them feel included.

He is, after all, everyone's President.

I'm already so damn proud of him.

[Lorien]

20. Yeah, I get the whole "reach across the aisle" thing

but as a Wellstone/ Kucinich Democrat, I'd really like a bone thrown our way once in a while. It's starting to get just a little over the top with the neo-con love.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

21. Hey, come on now........

You're impatient, but - reality check - he's not yet sworn in.

Give the guy a break, how about it? He's stepping into an impossible role, so let's support him as much as we can and give him some room and time to operate.

He also had a morning meeting with a bunch of leftie journalists the next day after the Will dinner.

Enjoy that we won. There's much to celebrate.

[TTUBatfan2008]

25. I think you'll have plenty of bones thrown your way...

From things like better fuel efficiency standards to repealing DOMA and DADT to overturning Bush's executive orders on abortion to investing in alternative energy to ending the war in Iraq to closing Gitmo, etc.

[Arugula Latte]

6. Is there anything he CAN'T do?

Drop 3-pointers, paint homeless teen shelters, commandeer a rightwing rag in the nation's capitol --

[FloridaJudy]

27. He sucks at bowling.

But then so do I.

[Arugula Latte]

32. Hah! That's true.

Obama ... Why can't he seal the deal with Joe Sixpack?

[cynatnite]

8. OMFG! We finally have a smart person in the WH!

[SoCalDem]

24. George wrote an editorial for them too..

But it said:

I'm goin' home, backta Texas...where people wear cowboy hats & boots & like-ta clear brush.

There are not many Ay-Rabs there, and Laura';s gonna fix me fried eggs , and then I'll ride my bike while she sweeps the front porch.

Thanks for the dough, suckers..

[Still Sensible]

13. He is doing what Reagan did with his detractors

and I suspect he's even better at it than the Gipper was.

[TTUBatfan2008]

19. He has an obstacle that Reagan didn't...

And I think we all know what that obstacle is. With Reagan, his detractors were Democrats who had problems with his policies. With Obama, it's not just his policies. It's his skin color. It's his middle name. And on and on. They'll ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS, believe that it's not possible he's as gracious and nice as he "seems." That somehow he's hoodwinking them. They'll never trust him. Too bad for them. They make up 20% of the country.

[Still Sensible]

22. I think that's the truth...

but it is only that 20%... Heck, the real 20% far left never bought into Reagan either. The point is it didn't matter then and it won't matter now. He gets to start with the highest approval rating of any PE in memory and it is because of this gift. He can get us up and moving in the right direction pretty effectively, I expect. I mean, it is truly remarkable. Didn't he basically win by 53-47 or something close to that? He's polling over 75% right now.

Too bad for them, but what a great thing for the rest of us.

[TTUBatfan2008]

23. He has been one of the most active...

President-elects in history, possibly the most active. Was FDR even this active in the leadup to his Inauguration? I think part of Barack's approval rating is the fact that (1) he's constantly talking to the public telling us what he is doing, whereas Bush seems to avoid communicating with us as much as possible and (2) he has had a busy schedule and seems to be at least DOING things. For a President-elect, that is effective for getting high approval ratings. It means he's taking the job seriously. However, now is the real test. Now he will get to implement policies. And hopefully those policies work. I'm a pretty frugal person so when I see the kind of money being thrown around that's being thrown around with these bailouts and the stimulus, I hope it all works out and doesn't merely pile on more debt just for the sake of piling on more debt. If it works and the economy starts growing significantly by 2012, he'll win in a landslide.

[Still Sensible]

31. I think that putting people to work

fixing our infrastructure will pay off in a big way. Our infrastructure is crumbling because keeping it up is an expensive and politically unglamorous proposition in normal times. The economic collapse and that move in response will probably save a lot of lives down the road. I am glad that is part of the stimulus plan. I sincerely hope that there will be more transparency into the second half of the TARP funds. I am optimistic.

[firedupdem]

16. K & R

He's smart and believes in unity. We're in good hands!

[FrenchieCat]

26. He is damn good!

Best politician I have ever seen at work.....ever!

[democracy1st]

30. K & R thanks for posting