Once More with Feeling!

well, because chief justice john roberts fucked up yesterday... and because you know conspiracy theorists and hardcore republicans would question it for the next four years if not performed again......

president barack obama took the oath of office for the second time today.

as cnn reports (and because it's too late for me to write the whole story myself):

The second oath -- also administered by Roberts -- took place at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday in the White House's Map Room. Roberts asked Obama whether he was ready.

"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.

The do-over was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday's take -- in which "faithfully" was said out of sequence -- and erase any question that Obama is legally the president.

However, per the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday without taking the oath.

"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday," White House counsel Greg Craig said Wednesday in a written statement.

"But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time," the statement read.

i'm certain no president in history has had to take the oath a second time within a day of taking it the first time.....

do you think obama having voted against roberts' confirmation for the supreme court had anything to do with it?

who knows? well, at least we have that out of the way....

onward and upward!

e.

The Dress, At Last

so president barack obama and first lady michelle obama attended their first ball this evening, the neighborhood ball.

at 8:33pm, introduced by denzel washington and serenaded by beyonce singing etta james' "at last," the obama's kicked off a long night of inaugural balls.

and what has been the biggest question leading up to today's transition (i mean, beyond what type of dog the obamas will get)? what will michelle obama wear to the balls?

well, i'm, umm.... underwhelmed.

i dunno.... the dress isn't great. first off...it's white. i mean... i promised "IN COLOR!" and now.... it's kinda boring. and there are tiny things on it.. and just one shoulder... that shoulder strap almost wants to be a bjork swan song.

cnn reports:

The first lady was clad in a long white gown designed by up-and-coming designer Jason Wu. His design style combines modern lifestyle dressing and haute couture, according to his Web site.

but....judge for yourselves. what are your thoughts?

i mean... it's okay. but i was hoping for so much more.

i dunno? talk amongst yourselves....




e.

p.s. she still looks beautiful. what a stunning, strong woman. i can't wait to see her in action over the coming years.

For Those Wondering... II

if you've been watching closely all day.... you may wander what was in the white box with the red bow that the incoming first lady handed to the outgoing first lady first thing this morning.

well, the gift michelle obama handed to laura bush was a leather-bound journal and pen for mrs. bush to begin writing her memoirs in.

very nice.

also...just FYI. by the time obama finished delivering his inaugural address, the white house website underwent a change of its own:


e.

The Hat

don't ask me why... but i really feel like aretha franklin's hat deserves its very own post.

yes, i'm backtracking to the beginning of the festivities... but look at it!

i mean, don't get me wrong. the queen of soul knocked it out of the park (a baseball analogy for my baseball-lovin' readers) with her rendition of "my country 'tis of thee."

but she clearly picked out her best easter sunday hat for today's event.

my, my, my....

e.

The Dress

a very punchy chris matthews just reported via norah o'donnell via kelly o'donnell (a lot of irish over at msnbc) that michelle obama has still not yet picked out her inaugural gown for this evening.

and let's be honest.... as a fag: the dress is all a care about for the rest of the evening.

will bring a picture as soon as it's revealed and appears in a picture online i can snag.

and...in the tradition of the women (the original film, not the remake)....i may just bring the dress in full color!

e.

The Parade Continues

the obamas are done walking... they're now watching the parade from the observation platform. sasha and malia look like they're having the time of their life. they really are just a beautiful family.

there are bands from all 50 states and the grandeur continues.

oh - and there was an estimated 2 million people attending the inauguration today. amazing.

e.


update: senator ted kennedy is awake and alert. he is talking and they believe the seizure was brought on by fatigue. he should be released tomorrow morning from the hospital.

For Those Wondering...

shortly after being sworn in as the 44th president of the united states and delivering his inaugural address, president obama signed three documents.

these were his first three official acts as president and, for those who were wondering, included:

–-a proclamation declaring today a day of "national renewal and reconciliation."
–-a list of his cabinet nominations
–-a list of his sub-cabinet nominations

apparently, the last three presidents have signed similar proclamations upon being sworn in as president.

the list of cabinet nominations were to be presented to the senate this afternoon and are required for individuals to be confirmed.

while signing the documents, obama told those present: "i'm a lefty. get used to it." he also shared that he was told "not to swipe the pen."

e.

The Parade -or- He's Outta the Limo

at 4:04pm...the people's president stepped out of his limo and walked among the citizenry.

it's a gorgeous day in washington. cold, yes... but sunny and clear. just a beautiful picture.

and the obamas look superb. and the crowd is going INSANE! so much excitement in our nation's capitol.

at 4:12pm, president obama stepped back into the limo for this next leg of the parade. he will step out again later.

e.

Adios!

at 12:54pm, EX-president george w. bush boarded marine one and left washington.

our long, national nightmare is over. after eight years, bush has left the building.

is it just me... or do you simply feel better today?

e.

History

for now...the public pomp and circumstance has ended.

what a moving ceremony. so much beauty... so much inspirational language.

a bit of a recap with some more specifics to come in other posts.

again, times are eastern:

11:57am justice john paul stevens gives the oath of office to joseph robinette biden, jr.

11:58am joe biden is vice president of the united states.

noon a beautiful arrangement by john williams is played by yo-yo ma and itzhak perlman.

12:05pm chief justice john roberts takes to the stage to swear in barack obama. i thought obama's nerves finally got to him as he fumbles some words. i was wrong. apparently, c.j. roberts fumbled the oath and obama caught the mistake and tried to correct it.

12:06pm barack obama is the 44th president of the united states. "hail to the chief" is played for obama for the first time.

what a day... what a moment.

e.

Time Out

i'll be taking about the next hour off to watch everthing. but i will be taking notes and will come back soon.

e.

p.s. rick warren is delivering the invocation. i've heard nothing controversial.

The Crowds

Obama

president-elect obama was just announced and took to the stage.

The Exes

how exciting to watch all the ex-presidents and vice presidents come in: AL GORE, mondale, quayle, carter, bush #41 and BILL & HILLARY CLINTON!

ex-president bill clinton and current secretary of state, hillary clinton. how exciting.

the ex-presidents are being introduced now. jimmy carter first... hard to believe we have so few ex-presidents left.

there was a lovely scene of bush #41 and barbara bush greeting, hugging bill and hillary clinton.

HUGE ovation for the clintons.

e.

Heading to the Capitol

barack obama is en route to the capitol for the swearing in. but mostly, i just really liked the above photo.

interesting tidbit...the car transporting obama has holes in the doors where the presidential seal will go. the car cannot yet have the seal on it.

e.

The Attendees

it's 9:44am central time and i finally found time to pour my first cup of coffee. so i'm feeling better.

as you can imagine, there are a lot of top-tier politicians, celebrities, etc. at this inauguration for the 44th president of the united states.

seen so far: mohammed ali, dustin hoffman, steven spielberg, john kerry, BILL & HILLARY CLINTON, caroline, kennedy, chris dodd....

dick cheney just popped out from the pits of hell.... apparently, he hurt himself packing up and he's now in a wheelchair. maybe he's trying to get some pity to help out his exiting approval rating of 13%?

e.

p.s. note to andrea mitchell: when speaking to governor david paterson, don't use the phrase: "you're seeing history made here today." maybe choose the word "witnessing" when speaking to a blind man?

The Lincoln Metaphor

as anyone who has watched any coverage since obama won the presidential election knows... the man loves himself some abe lincoln.

and why not? he's from the land of lincoln. lincoln played a part in making his journey possible with the emancipation proclamation.

so....it's no surprise that his inaugural picks up where all the discussion of lincoln/obama/doris kearns goodwin's team of rivals left off.

he rode the train to washington following lincoln's trip.

he held a kick-off concert at the lincoln memorial on sunday.

he will be sworn in on the same bible which lincoln used to take the oath of office.

but...a little tidbit from our good friends at nbc. apparently, when obama dined with the conservative, media elite last week at george will's home... well, mr. will owns a glass that belonged to president lincoln.

and guess what? mr. obama drank from the glass.

i suppose if you have to be obsessed with a president.....

oh, wait...another tidbit from nbc's kelly o'donnell: the obama's will dine on the lincoln china this evening.

e.

Live Blogging the Inaugural

good morning, my lovelies.... and it is a BEAUTIFUL morning.

today is the day... we've been waiting for eight years. a democrat takes back the white house...

others have been waiting even longer... over 40 years since dr. king shared his dream of individuals being judged by their character, not the color of their skin. and history is made today as an african american is sworn in for the first time as president of the united states.

i've taken the day off and hope to live blog much of the day for those of you who were unable to watch it all. and...ganesha help me...i plan to watch all day.

they'll be short entries. but some insight (i hope).

shortly before 10am (i'll do eastern times even though i'm central), president elect obama arrived at the white house to have coffee with out-going (yay!) president george w. bush.

michelle obama arrived in a lemongrass-colored dress with a gift for mrs. bush. mrs. bush has on a light blue dress. george in a blue tie. mr. obama in a red.

what a beautiful tradition.... a calm, cordial coffee... a peaceful transition.

more to come.

e.