Presidnt Obama's Secnd Inaugural Was Cool!

[JimofPennsylvan]

President Barack Obama's Second Inaugural Address was an outstanding and inspiring address. The journalists, political pundits and Republican politicians that criticized President Obama for it characterizing it as an address calling for big government as partisan and not solicitous to Republicans for them to work with him over the next four years are totally wrong are totally spinning it unfairly. As for the big government criticism, the President specifically mentioned on the topic of the American peoples values that as a people we are skeptical of central authority, we don't believe that all society's ills can be cured through government alone and we insist on hard work and personal responsibility all meaning that he is not out to have government be any more intrusive into peoples' lives than is absolutely necessary that the circumstances warrant. His harping on the need for collective action and some of the important roles of government history has taught us needs to be said, many Republicans in Washington and their supporters are too libertarian are too anti-regulation nothing but hardship and trouble will come from America following such values. He really hammered on social justice issues but it was totally appropriate many many Americans are barely making it to put it more crassly life is too economically hard there is too much economic struggle in America for many many Americans it is wrong and it needs to change and many Republicans don't appreciate this many Republicans still think the answer is trickle down economics where it is clear to good people that not enough trickles down and Republicans need to start supporting policies that will work. True it wasn't a feel good diplomatic speech but that is not what America needs now America needs Washington to pass some big legislation and with this speech the President was rightly saying to the Republicans some of your overall views are bad and if you want to move the country forward besides doing some soul searching on these views you have to stop treating many of your ideals as absolutes that can't be violated and waiving such ideals around as principles that hold you back from making legislative compromises. The speech wasn't a speech attacking Republicans it was a speech soliciting them and being frank about what is needed for compromise from Republicans to pass important legislation. It really needs to be remembered that the amount of time Washington has to get important things done over the next four years is very limited Washington has the balance of this year and 2015 because 2014 and 2016 are election years which puts overwhelming pressure on members of Congress to march to the cadence of their Party's bases which makes big compromises almost impossible. The President was brash in his speech because there is little time and lots of work that needs doing and he is talking good sense telling Republicans that you have to move a big distance toward Democrats if Washington is to get big things done and you know what I think John Boehner and Mitch McConnell would have correctly said if that mike on the Inaugural Stage was handed to them to say a few words "Mr. President your message here today has a lot of merit but to speak metaphorically your words of advice apply equally to Democrats they are going to have to move a big distance toward the Republicans if Washington is to achieve such accomplishments"!

I don't know if many people across America think this way about the media's coverage of Inaugural Day but I do and I think it has merit so I'll throw it out there. The media really goes overboard on covering the Inauguration especially cable news channels, does it really have to be an all day media coverage affair. I can understand the complete coverage of the swearing in of the President and the Inaugural Address, the swearing in because the Presidency is the most important elected office in the nation its an utmost solemn occasion it is like watching a holy event and the Inaugural Address is important because the President is speaking to the American people as citizens and describing what the nation's course should be during his or her Presidency, important things a good citizen should listen to. But why does the media have to in its entirety cover the rest of the day, for the people that travel to Washington for the celebration it is great for them to see the President and Vice-President walking down the street waving to them and it is great that there is a parade for those attendees to celebrate a new Presidential term but does it warrant or deserve continual media coverage? It is great there is an Inaugural Ball for the President and the President's supporters to celebrate his or her election but does it warrant or deserve continual media coverage? I don't think a reasonable normal person would think so, there is many important things going on in the world that deserve media attention what the heck is the media doing here? I am a middle age guy and I don't remember the media in the past covering the Inaugural Day in such extensive detail I recall more highlight coverage in the past which seems more appropiate, why such blanket coverage? This Wednesday there having a hugely important legislative bill come up in the House it is a bill extending the debt ceiling for three months which seems to me to be a much more worthy topic of media coverage for the subject is a hundred times more important than what the First Lady's Inaugural gown looked like that is not to say it wasn't stunning and deserved to be checked out but did the American people really need to here everything that could be said about the gown on cable news, c'mon people!