"It was a putdown"-44 Takes Office with Blunt Rejection of 43-by Helen Thomas

[kpete]

44 Takes Office with Blunt Rejection of 43

by Helen Thomas
WASHINGTON -- Looking westward into the sun and speaking to more than 1 million people on the Mall in front of him and to millions more around the world, President Barack Obama delivered a tough inaugural speech that must have made members of the outgoing Bush administration squirm in their chairs.

After thanking President George W. Bush for his service to the nation and for helping during the presidential transition, Obama veered sharply, offering no attempt at sugar-coating, no deeper genuflection toward the Bushes, who left the Capitol by helicopter soon after Obama's blunt speech and headed for Texas.

Instead, Obama hit his theme early and often in his 18-minute address: The presidential inaugural oath is sometimes taken "amidst gathering clouds and raging storms." Now is one of those times, he said.

........................

There was no affable reference to Bush's eight years in office or mention of the wonders of the Bush legacy, nothing warm and fuzzy. It was a putdown, a repudiation of the Bush years.

Obama was just warming up.


© 2009 Helen Thomas
more at:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/21-2

[polichick]

1. I'm so glad President Obama went with a "no bullshit" speech!

[Cha]

10. He had to that because people have

to understand what a mess has been inherited. bushites should have thought of doing something different if they wanted "warm and fuzzy".

The bushits might have been blindsided because wasn't it just the other day Obama said that bush was a "nice guy"? It cracked me up when people thought he was sucking up to bush.

[Kolesar]

16. It is winter. And it is going to be a long, hard winter for us

and everybody in the world.

I still think that some of the ideas are easy like killing weapons programs that were conceived to fight the Soviets. Like leaving Iraq.

[FailureToCommunicate]

52. Hard winter indeed. But take strength from reading about Valley Forge and

Washington's rag tag army in the terrible winters near Morristown. What ever we think of OUR tough luck in this day and age,
they REALLY had it rough. And the new nation's survival literally depended on their grit and courage to keep going.
Obama mentioned that in his speech. (Thank God for a presidents who knows history and READS!)

[Baby Snooks]

41. But he did say it...

And the concern over what he said, despite what he said in the inaugural address, is that there will be no accountability for any of it. We will just "move on" because, after all, Bush is a "nice guy" who made some mistakes. It is a mixed-message at this point. And in a way a dangerous one. George W Bush and his adminstration literally raped the world for eight years. Rape victims tend to want to see the rapist held accountable. Not be told the rapist is a "nice guy" who made a mistake.

[prostock69]

42. The President will have no say whether or not Congress and the AG

move forward in investigating Bush and Co. He can give his opinion on it, and he already has (move on). But I truly think he's only saying that to separate himself from the looming investigations that are going to happen. As soon as Eric Holder is confirmed, look out. The AG will be working for us now like he should have been doing all a long. He has a mandate from the people and from many in Congress to pursue Bush. So in order for Obama to get what he wants done, he needs to keep out of this mess. That is what I'm seeing. I could be wrong.

[FailureToCommunicate]

51. Absolutely! Repubs only held Holder off a week to give more time to shred

and delete evidence. Move on is fine, but WITH Justice. Ask the millions wounded and the families of victims of
Bush years if they are ready to just 'get over it' and I'll bet they'd say they want justice, at least.

[krkaufman]

58. That's my problem with what Obama said.

"It is a mixed-message at this point."

If we're supposed to be accountable, it starts with Bush and Cheney. And those on Wall Street. Don't me warning me that I face accountability when you're giving a pass to some of the biggest criminals our country has ever known.

[Jackpine Radical]

73. I think it's a mistake to underestimate Obama's toughness.

He has most certainly left the door open to prosecutions. He is making it very clear that there will be no political vendettas (think Siegelman), but there will be investigations and prosecutions for wrongdoing.

It's clear that Specter is holding up Holder's nomination because he fears top--level prosecutions. I do not think those fears are baseless.

[IsItJustMe]

44. Obama was definitely 'keeping it real.'

[Stargazer09]

50. It was necessary

Obama isn't going to lie to the American people and cover up for Bush's mistakes.

[WI_DEM]

2. I thought the same thing as I listened to the speech. He was unmerciful in his repudiation

of Bush and his policies.

[Catshrink]

3. I hope that at his first presser, Obama calls on Helen first.

It would be fitting after * ignored her for so long.

[dflprincess]

5. Also a sign that he's not afraid to answer actual questions

not that there's many in the media who ask them, regardless of who the president is.

[Delphinus]

12. I know!

That would be such an honorable thing for him to do. Truly. It would make me cry.

[Fire1]

4. It needed to be said and Shrub needed to hear it.

[Ken Burch]

22. Assuming he was sober enough to understand it, of course.

We can pretty much assume that Dubbikins Emeritus is no longer a "Friend of Bill W."(if he ever actually was).

(No offence meant to ACTUAL AA'ers, among whom are a number of my friends. Those people all have my respect.)

[IsItJustMe]

45. Sober enough or had the intellect to even understand what Obama was saying. Sometimes I wonder

about GWB. He either acts stupid or he is.

[Optical.Catalyst]

37. It was a 'put down' that was not undeserved

Bush has been put down in public.

A Grand Jury should indite him in secret

A trial should be held in public

And Bush should see the inside of the Federal Prison in Leavenworth, Kansas for a long time

[notesdev]

6. It was overdue

after all those years of putting up

[hlthe2b]

7. God love her..... Obama, give her the first question!

(and maybe every one, thereafter).... Helen will be tough, but fair. I adore you Helen!

[pleah]

8. I thought he really ripped bushit in his speech.

And, I was glad he did.

[bluesmail]

9. The adults are running our government. The last eight years have

been the worst years of my life.

[AlbertCat]

74. The adults are running our government

Yes....even if they don't wear a coat and tie. It's all just appearances with the Bushites. Usually to cover up the opposite trait.

[TahitiNut]

11. "Keeping it real" started from the first minute, from the first speech. Bravo.

Candor and character are NOT "campaign mottoes" ... but everyday requisites. We should expect no less.

[IsItJustMe]

46. That phrase, "keeping it real", was created for that speech. Those were the exact thoughts that

kept running through my mind over and over again as I listened to Obama give that speech.

I was like, "Damn, Obama is keeping it real." "Damn." "He is not holding back anything."

"He is straight up keeping it real."

I have never heard a more profound truthful rebuke in my life. And he did it all without making it personal. For me, it was truly amazing.

[TahitiNut]

69. GMTA ... we're of like minds on that. Totally.

:thumbsup:

[Danascot]

13. MSNBC noted that

Bush visibly reddened during Obama's criticisms. I think Obama did that to make it crystal clear that he would take a very different approach to governing the nation. He wasn't just turning the page, he was starting a whole new book.

[DCKit]

14. It was funny watching ALL the talking heads doing their best to minimize the speech...

If I were the suspicious type, I'd have thought they never wanted it played, read or studied again.

Hmmmmmmm.

[IsItJustMe]

47. After the speech, listening to the talking heads, Iwas thinking to myself, "Were they listening to

the same speech I was."

With the exception of MSNBC, the msm really tried to gloss over, obfuscate, and/or mis-direct the importance of that speech. Sad, because that speech spoke to my heart of what I have seen go badly wrong with this country over the last 8 years.

The msm needs to quit this shit and start reporting and quit the damn manipulation.

[Love Bug]

61. On CSPAN they had two speech writers, one Dem, one Rep

discuss the speech afterwards and they both drooled all over themselves praising it. I thought for sure the Rep guy would try to dismiss it, but no, he was gushing in his praise.

[loudsue]

71. The mainstream media needs to be broken up into many many networks. And some laws

need to change concerning propaganda. The media has been at least 1/3 of all the problems we've had in the past 20 years.

[BeHereNow]

15. Helen, we love you...

Please, never stop telling it like it IS.
BHN

[TWiley]

17. Obama was just clearing his throat.

[hippywife]

18. What a great article!

And she is absolutely right. I watched on CNN who so graciously showed Capt. PissyPants during some of these comments. He looked very uncomfortable...very. Pops looked totally lost and somewhere else, I thought.

[snappyturtle]

70. Compound sentences are confusing to them! nt

[Xipe Totec]

19. Smite someone who deserves it for once!

- Malachai

[MindMatter]

20. Well, there were 2 million people there who felt the same way

At some point, being nice and civil is out the window. Bush deserves war crime trials. If this is all he gets, he'll have to live with it somehow.

[fortyfeetunder]

21. He had to tell it like it is -- politically correct!

Obama inherited a smelly ol' kitty litter box knee high in turds, but no shovel....so he had to tell his story like it is, politically correct of course. 43* was smirking because he knew what he left...

[rhett o rick]

23. Georgie wasn't smirking, he was grimacing. He was not comfortable. He is used to adulation.

F*** him.

[Jakes Progress]

24. But, but, but.....Peggy Noonan

was on one of the morning shows and said that there was no rebuke of bush in Obama's speech. She said that it was a speech of respect for the great man that preceded him.

Or maybe...just maybe... Peggy could be full of shit, I guess.

[Left Coast2020]

26. When they walked duffus back to his helicopter....

I can't believe Michele gave Laura/George a hug. What she should have done is avoided the hugs and nicities, and told him to get the F*** out of here. Or go play on the freeway when you get back to Texas.

As for the speech, I was hopping for something more intense--something more that was/had an in your face style. I mean why not? The moron created this mess. Why not throw back at him--discreatly--but clearly?

[MedleyMisty]

30. Read Obama's books

I just started Audacity of Hope and within the first 30 pages he makes it pretty clear that "throwing back" at Bush is not how he rolls.

[Jefferson23]

64. Absolutely, that is not what he is about. It is a wonderful book, and you come away

understanding his approach to politics. With that said, his approach doesn't translate to whitewashing the content of his speech. President Obama attacked the policies without attacking Bush's motives, imo.

Enjoy the rest of his book!

[Laelth]

67. Spot on.

Indeed, the President was obviously mad at Vice President Biden for taking a jab at Roberts for flubbing the swearing in. Obama is always civil. That doesn't mean he lacks backbone--far from it. He's simply civil, and that obviously means a lot to him.

:dem:

-Laelth

[IsItJustMe]

48. Peggy ain't right. If you know what I mean.

[AlbertCat]

75. Peggy Nut Noonan

Never forget, when listening to the Noonan, that she chided Clinton for not recognizing that God himself had sent dolphins to protect Elias Gonzales on his raft....thus proving that God himself wanted Elias to live in the US. (What Elias wanted was beside the point I guess)

Always remember this when listing to the further ramblings of this shill and/or nut case.

[Jakes Progress]

79. I look at the fact that the networks

know about her and still let her come on air as proof of their lying ways.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. and Helen got to say it

love you Helen, you go girl!

[asdjrocky]

27. Please call on Helen first.

Please.

[Left Coast2020]

29. HE WILL :)

:-)

[bridgit]

28. Michael Medved was flipping-fucking-out on his bullshit 'I use to be a movie critic' radio show...

about this today------> It Was Great! :bounce:

[InvisibleTouch]

31. A few things in particular stood out for me...

...above and beyond the whole speech, which was exceptional. But I loved in particular that he mentioned having to protect the warming planet, that science would be restored to its rightful place (clear repudiations of Dubya's policies), and that when he listed the diversity of citizens of the country, he mentioned nonbelievers as well as several religions. What a huge step forward from back when Poppy Bush said he didn't think atheists could be patriots! (I identified as an atheist for a while, though I'm not sure that was really the accurate term ... I do believe in a universal consciousness, just not a personal deity in the sky who meddles in our lives. Still am happy to have seen atheists/agnostics get their due respect along with the mentioned faiths.)

[Hekate]

36. I very much noticed those points as well. It was a great speech...

The naysayers in the MSM baffled me with their criticisms until I realized they are still full of it.

Hekate

[IsItJustMe]

49. I am with you on that. A god that can be described, named, or conceptualized can't be god.

We come from a place of beginnings and ends and there is no way that we can get there from here. Just the way it is.

[AlbertCat]

76. We come from a place of beginnings and ends

We come from a place of beginnings and ends and there is no way that we can get there from here.

***********

Whatever the hell that means.

[IsItJustMe]

78. Why bother me with your snark. Next time, let it pass.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

32. I think I may pin the article to my mirror and my office door

well, there's a tacit policy of avoiding political commentary---many fundie conservatives who would be angered. Including the dept. chair.

I need to have this handy though, to remind myself of how I'd wish to be.... Obama is a fine role model.
God, how we need that in a leader, now!

[uppityperson]

33. I very much agree with Helen, that is how I took it.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

34. It's so important that there is an official documentation that the

shit about to hit the fan was/is the direct result of the previous administration.
We are in for a hell of a year and I don't want those sniveling Republicans trying to blame
it on the Obama Administration.

[sfpcjock]

35. Yes the "44" title of the Chimpy note is a putdown

43 is saying "you are just a number, Brownie" which I know is how he thinks of Barack. Chimpy has disgraced the number 43 and hoping that the other party is so hamstrung with the mess he's left under the sun carpet for all posterity that Obama will not be able to make a name for himself in the most powerful office in the world.

As usual, President Katrina is wrong :rofl:

[orleans]

38. a caller on randi's show said there were 51 put-downs or knocks

or negative references to the fuckhead

[JTFrog]

39. Thanks Helen. Last week's Poutrage that Obama was kissing *'s ass was fucking moronic.

Our President is such a class act that Shrub and Dick even applauded when he was done delivering their smackdown.

Just.
Warming.
Up.

[Peace Patriot]

40. I agree with Helen. The speech was a point by point smackdown of Bush & co.--

indirect, polite, but seething with a fire that I did not think Obama had in him. I was very surprised by this speech. I didn't think it was particularly eloquent--the way Obama can be (his speech on race was ELOQUENT)--and I began to think he needs a Ted Sorensen to write his speeches (because the weight of responsibility being PE and President is very great, and you just don't have the time or the settled stomach for really good writing)--BUT, lord, he really put it to Bush. I have a picture of Obama, late at night, with dozens of drafts crumpled up all over the floor of Blair House, suddenly saying, "hell, I'm going to tell it like it IS," and stabbing the paper with pen, and carving it out, point by point, with no time for style or grace, just Truth. Then he quickly polished it to make it less personal, less of an open attack. He most certainly intended it as a criticism. It bleeds! "The false choice between our safety and our ideals." Wow! That was a silver stake in the heart of Bushwhackism. And he just went on and on like that. I, too, noticed the nod to unbelievers. Very, very pointed.

The speech didn't soar--the way Obama can soar. It didn't sing. It had no ageless, memorable "Ask not" moment or phrase. It didn't even use his voice well. He has a wonderful voice, that can roll out sentences and paragraphs in smooth, deep, resonant cadences. This speech was choppy, staccato--like a prosecutor summing up a case. But maybe it was more him than his exceedingly cool persona. The real Barack--and, like most of us, he is seething with anger at what has been done to our country. Or maybe he found out some things, in the last few days, that really, really pissed him off about this horrid junta. Things we don't know yet. He's had intel briefings. And Guantanamo briefings. And DoJ briefings. And conversations with foreign leaders. He's had a chance to see things from the inside. And maybe he just couldn't stand being "Mr. Nice Guy" any more with these rotters. But, ever the diplomat, he was able to keep it in the third person, with a bit of grammatical distance from his targets.

I was surprised, and glad--and he went up a bunch of notches in my estimation. I've been worried that he was too hemmed in--by Bushwhack enablers, and friends of the war profiteers, and thorough corporatists. Maybe made a deal with them. And that may be true, but this raw surgery on Bush & brethren, that he performed in front of billions of people, told me that he is gutsy, that he has no illusions, and that he is into truth.

[fasttense]

43. What we have in Obama is the Republicons worst nightmare.

We have a true blue liberal in the office of the President of the United States.

Obama had to lay out the mess so everyone will know, it's not a mess made by Obama.

Hold on to your hats folks because when he gives his first State of the Union address, we are going to know even more of the nasty crap left behind by the bush. And then we will see what the true state of this country is.

[L. Coyote]

54. What the average Republican has in Bush is their worst nightmare.

And, even so, they still have no clue about how bad it is!

That is now going to change. The wall is coming down!

[1gobluedem]

53. How I wish Molly Ivins had lived to write about that speech too

She deserved it. Wherever she is now, she's got an ear-to-ear grin.

[happygoluckytoyou]

yeah DUBYA...... THANKS FOR NUTTIN'.... take your old baggage home... lower the average IQ of TEXAS

[pipi_k]

55. Although I didn't think it was as "blunt" as others do....

I do think that it was well deserved.

AND...it was done with class

No name-calling...no accusations...no overt finger-pointing


Just a very classy repudiation of eight years of bad policies and bad decisions.

Oh, and escorting the Bushes out to the helicopter...also very classy.

Barack Obama, just by his very presence, makes Dubya look all the more like a hairy, primitive, crude, club wielding Neanderthal.

[Dinger]

56. I Hope Helen Returns To Her Rightful Place In The Front Row

She is simply the best!:)

[.... callchet ....]

57. Raise taxes on the over $250,000 yesterday.

If you have that much money, you don't spend what we need to get the economy going. Use it or lose it.

[graywarrior]

59. I was surprised listening to him. It made my heart skip with joy.

[SpiralHawk]

60. Repblicon 'conservative' FAIL needed to be put in the proper context

[Love Bug]

62. I doubt if any real seat-squiriming was going on

One has to have a conscience and a sense of shame in order to feel that. The Bushites are a bunch of sociopaths who wouldn't know an honest emotion if one bit them in the ass.

[Laelth]

63. She's right (as usual).

My wife and I both read the transcript of the speech several times, and it got better each time. It was a remarkable speech, and definitely a repudiation of the Republican dogma that has dominated American politics since the 1980s.

:dem:

-Laelth

[underpants]

65. and then walked him out to the curb

[Kajsa]

66. It was a polite, direct" putdown."

Funny, I don't even see it as a putdown.

Pres. Obama told us what we can expect.
We all know the storms are there and have hit many of us.

Not bullshitting the people,not making up stories
as well as new words for the English language
is the way a POTUS is supposed to act .

After eight long years, we're just getting use to
that again.

[AlbertCat]

77. Funny, I don't even see it as a putdown.

It was...but because that was inevitable.

What it 1st and foremost was was an accurate and HONEST account of where we are. That this must invariably be a put down of the Bushites is logical, the failures being a mile high. It was transparent. That's what's new. It wasn't McClellan/Snow/Parino-ed up with deadly pretzel logic and mountains of BS and double-speak.

The MSM is gonna look awfully foolish when trying to analyze statements that are not coded in gibberish but are understandable on their face to begin with. Haven't had that for 16 plus years! They're gonna have to learn their craft all over again!

[bongbong]

68. Helen is a national treasure!

I had the distinct pleasure to see Helen in a restaurant the last time we were in DC, about 6 months before the election. Even though she had a party of about 10 waiting for her, she spent 20 minutes discussing the (then) upcoming election with me. In no way was I "holding" her at our table (by my mannerisms or words), but she just seemed to LOVE discussing politics with us. I even found out who she was backing for prez :-)

Obama giving her the Medal Of Freedom would redeem some of the shine lost on that medal by El Chimpo's awarding of it to anybody who helped cover President Cheney's ass.

BTW, another thought on the Medal Of Freedom.... maybe they should just retire it due to its corrosion, and come up with a new honor.

[MindMatter]

72. It was NOT a put-down of Bush. It was a repudiation of their policies and ethics

That is a big difference.

When Reagan said "Government isn't solution - it is the problem" that was the same kind of repudiation of the philosophies that preceded him. It wasn't a put down, and that is well within the realm of civil discourse by the victor. So everybody can just get over that.

Put-downs are personal attacks, such as calling a person unpatriotic, a tax-and-spender, or someone who is on the wrong side of "God". Obama didn't do any of that. He simply said we are going to uphold the principles of the Constitution. We are going to invest in technologies and industries with a future, and we are going to demand accountability and transparency in government as well as corporations.

If that comes across as a put-down, that is because that shoe fits too well.