# Witnessing: Obama's inauguration. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 20, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163 "2009-01-20T18:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/21 "2009-01-20T20:25:09Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I know that’s how I felt. I was very, very glad to see them get on that helicopter. Sayonara, disgraced ex-President Bush. The camera cut to W after the speech, and at first from the look on his face I figured W was thinking, “Damn, why can’t I speak like that?” On reflection, I decided he was probably thinking, “I could really go for a cookie right now. And a glass of milk. I wonder if there’s any milk on the helicopter? I’ll have to ask Laura. Boy, do I like cookies.” Anyway, great speech. Nice acknowledgment of atheists (I really wasn’t expecting that!). Some slyly devastating digs at dictators that could form the basis of a deeply subversive foreign policy if they turn out to be more than rhetoric. Forewarning that there are going to be tough decisions made–he deemphasized bipartisanship here, for which I’m grateful. All in all, I’m pretty happy with the speech. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/22 "2009-01-20T20:28:17Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I suppose so, I just don’t like that term. > > It seems to set forth that “Believing” is the one true way, and throwing a “non” on there is a semi-marginalization. > > I’m not a “non-believer” because there is a God that I choose not to believe in; from my viewpoint there \*is \*no God – to believe or dis-believe in. And what’s the deal with ‘_wo_man’ and ‘_fe_male’ as if that gender is just a subgroup of man. :rolleyes: It will never end. ---
**Author:** ![Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Public_Animal_No.9)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/23 "2009-01-20T21:41:51Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > I think he meant “four bears.” Evidently there are some bears involved. > > Maybe that was a nod to the gay community? In actuality, it was a recognition of the Ursine-American community. I thought the speech was good. A bit light on the inspirational side, but strong on laying out the challenges and making it clear that things would not be quick or easy. Given the messes he’s inherited, I thought it was about the right tone. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/24 "2009-01-20T23:09:31Z")
> [@lee](#): > > President Obama spoke of our _forebearers_, not of our forefathers. The only time he spoke of men without including women was when he mentioned founding fathers about the drafting of the constitution. Our president is a feminist. _Forebears_, not forebearers. Forebearers would be… the people that carry your front, or something. I liked the inclusion of the irreligious. At first, I thought, “Non-believers? Who _says_ that?” and then realized it was the best catchall for atheists/agnostics/deists. The hippy chick down my office hallway yelled out, “Woo! Shout out to the atheists!” I thought the “unclench your fists” line was very powerful, although the speech didn’t really have much of his usual soaring oratory stuff. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/25 "2009-01-21T00:22:02Z")
On first hearing, live, I found the speech good but not great. On watching a repeat broadcast of the speech, having had a chance to think it over, I thought it was excellent – struck just the right balance between sober assessment and hopeful determination, between the often difficult lessons of the past and the inspiring possibilities inherent in our future, if we all work hard, work together toward it. I think his plain-spoken approach was just right for the messages he wanted to convey. Oh, and his shout-out to the “non-believers” got a fist-pump and cheer from this atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/26 "2009-01-21T01:10:10Z")
> [@lee](#): > > President Obama spoke of our _forebearers_, not of our forefathers. The only time he spoke of men without including women was when he mentioned founding fathers about the drafting of the constitution. Our president is a feminist. When it came down to Clinton versus Obama for the campaign race, there was a lot of talk about how many feminists and how feminist Obama, and by extension, his campaign was. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/27 "2009-01-21T02:08:57Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > I think he meant “four bears.” Evidently there are some bears involved. I think you’re right; didn’t we also fight for our independence for the right to arm bears? But which four? It must be the three from the story, and another one. All lame kidding aside, including mine, I was gratified to hear him urge restoring science to its rightful place in public policy. Faith, IMO, has been a benefit to humankind in many ways, and also a curse, but I’m willing to say the net effect is positive. I do not consider myself an atheist, but I have no patience or time for blind, unreasoning faith. Blind unreasoning faith as a driver of public policy is akin to every airhead contestant on _Deal Or No Deal_ who insists that they have the million dollars right there in the case they have chosen, so they can’t possibly knock it out of the game.\* \*\*Reason crowned regains her throne We’ll no more fail and falter mindlessly. \*\*. \*I don’t usually watch DOND but happened to see part of it the other night, and there was this one contestant who was the archetype of that. I think in the end she walked away with $150. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/28 "2009-01-21T02:30:13Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Semi-poison pill comment: > > If Obama really wanted to strap on a bigger pair, he would have said “atheists” not this namby-pamby “non-believer” shit. This kind of reaction, which I’ve seen in other places to Obama, really makes me wonder if some people will ever be happy. There’s always something to complain about. If he said “atheists”, then you complain that he mentioned all the other faiths. Or that there was a benediction. Or whatever. Complaints complaints complaints. I’m sick of it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/29 "2009-01-21T02:40:21Z")
I may have misheard the snippet I caught on the radio, but did he say 43 men before him had taken that oath, or he was the 44th man to take the oath or something? Tsk. Grover Cleveland gets double-counted yet again. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/30 "2009-01-21T02:46:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I may have misheard the snippet I caught on the radio, but did he say 43 men before him had taken that oath, or he was the 44th man to take the oath or something? > > Tsk. Grover Cleveland gets double-counted yet again. Common misconception. Taft was actually two identical twin midgets in a complex arrangement of armatures and bladders. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/31 "2009-01-21T02:47:02Z")
I adored his speech. I found it inspiring, uplifting, challenging and determined. I called my girlfriend who volunteers at the hospital today who is one of the few people I know that voted for Obama. I said “Congratulations, we have a new President. By the way, the speech was great, the poet pretty much sucked and the last preacher rocked.” She got a call a little while later from her friend in England, who watched the inauguration (her first ever to watch) and told her exactly what I told her. My friend is going to catch his speech, cook dinner and sit down and watch the last preacher. Two for two can’t be wrong. 🙂 President Obama, President Obama, President Obama! Wheee! ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/32 "2009-01-21T03:09:48Z")
Can someone explain to me what he meant by this excerpt (the part in bold)? > [@](#): > > That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; **and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.** ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/33 "2009-01-21T03:18:20Z")
Using oil enriches Arabs and creates pollution. I’m a little surprised (and not at all displeased) he used the word “adversaries”. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/34 "2009-01-21T03:29:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Using oil enriches Arabs And what? Arabs are the enemy? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/35 "2009-01-21T03:31:57Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > And what? Arabs are the enemy? Some Arabs. Possibly wealthy Texan oil barons, too. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/36 "2009-01-21T03:34:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Some Arabs. Not the ones who sell us oil though. They’re different arabs ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/37 "2009-01-21T04:04:55Z")
Well as long as he doesn’t want to invade the primary oil supplier to the USA: Kanukistan [http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil\_gas/petroleum/data\_publications/company\_level\_imports/current/import.html](http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/38 "2009-01-21T05:20:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That’s a mighty fine hair to split, and one that, as a fellow atheist, I disagree with (what do you think the root of “atheist” is, if not “not + theist”?) According to the dictionary, its root is “atheos + ist,” not “a - theist.” It’s common nowadays for many skeptics to insist that the term “atheist” comes from the “a (without) theism,” but that’s not its historical origin. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/39 "2009-01-21T06:09:56Z")
mm. My dictionary says: > [@](#): > > Gr. _atheos_-a-, priv., and _theos,_ god. priv. means privative which comes from _privation_ which means “consisting in **the absence** or removal of something” my bold. So the conclusion we can draw is that: Atheist doesn’t mean a negation of god’s existence - it can also mean an absence of the whole idea of God. Atheism isn’t an anti-movement. It can also deny that there was a god in the first place. It’s not denying a god in response to the claims of theists,it denied there was a god before the theists had ever said anything. It’s an absence of god rather than a removal of god. Sorry rambling. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163/40 "2009-01-21T06:22:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _Forebears_, not forebearers. > > Forebearers would be… the people that carry your front, or something. > > I liked the inclusion of the irreligious. At first, I thought, “Non-believers? Who _says_ that?” and then realized it was the best catchall for atheists/agnostics/deists. The hippy chick down my office hallway yelled out, “Woo! Shout out to the atheists!” > > I thought the “unclench your fists” line was very powerful, although the speech didn’t really have much of his usual soaring oratory stuff. Well, [m-w.com](http://m-w.com) has both forebearers and forebears as meaning ancestors. Both sound nearly identical in the Chicagoland accent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witnessing-obamas-inauguration/482163.md?page=3)