Attending the 2009 Presidential Inauguration

“He is certainly the worst president in my lifetime.”

This entry isn’t posted by hand, it is one I scheduled ten days in advance of the inauguration ceremony—and it is written with George Wallace Bush in mind. It should be viewable right before the transition of power.

It is my sincere and non-cynical wish that Mr. Bush is able to leave office with honor and peace. I hope when I’m on the National Mall that I don’t see people throwing things or shouting at our departing president. We all saw that guy in Iraq throw his shoes at him—so I hope we can let this go and move on with dignity.

“It can get edgy out there.”

I don’t know how Bush plans to physically leave the White House. In 1974, Nixon was escorted to a helicopter on the White House lawn to keep clear of Pennsylvania Avenue altogether. In 1981, Carter spent his last 48 hours awake negotiating the release of the hostages in Iran, only to have the hostages freedom secured moments after Reagan was sworn in (making it appear as if Reagan’s inaugural was the sole reason for their release). Reagan had planned to congratulate Carter on his accomplishment during his inaugural speech, but didn’t want to do it unless the hostages were 100% free and clear of the captors. It can get edgy out there.

Bush is already seen by many of his contemporaries as the worst president in America’s history. I don’t know presidential history well enough to sign off on that. He is certainly the worst president in my lifetime. But life has a funny way of turning around. Carter left office politically down, but is still the most effective and constructive post president we have. I hope Bush’s many failures inspire him to “re-invent himself” and mend some of the many things he’s damaged. It’s possible.

A thought for George

“Obama’s choice to bring this guy in and force him to check himself was brilliant.”

I’m looking forward to Rick Warren giving the invocation at the inauguration. I knew nothing about this guy until the news and controversy hit about this choice. Warren supported California’s Proposition 8, so by default that makes him a hater.

But guess what, now we’ve got a hater who is removing his hate about the gay and lesbian communities off of his website. Apparently this guy is powerful in terms of his influence—so I’d say Obama’s choice to bring this guy in and force him to check himself was brilliant.

Obama couldn’t have been clearer during his marathon candidacy that one of his primary intentions was to bring people of diverse opinions together in creating common ground. For anybody who supported him in this goal but are railing against this choice, you’re missing it. To bring people together, you’ve got to…well, bring people together.

During Bush’s presidency, I kept hearing fellow liberals and moderates complain that W. would never allow anyone from the outside of his insular group to give their input. Can you fix this problem by being the same way? Sure, it would have been cool (more likely painfully predictable) to have some Unitarian-Universalist evoke the cosmos or something, but it would have been a huge missed opportunity for Obama to make a real impact in bridging two communities at odds.

Remember, Obama was a community organizer—he knows what he’s doing. If the wisdom of his choice isn’t apparent now, we’ll see it come clearer.

Update: 1/12/09

I though the wisdom of Obama’s decision might take months to reveal itself, but instead it took only days. Obama has selected V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay Episcopalian Bishop, to deliver a prayer during the inauguration. Brilliant. Rick Warren and this guy will be sharing a stage to a huge global audience.