1. What did you think of the Inauguration?
2. With the cost being at 150 million dollars, is such an expensive celebration warranted during the economy crisis we are going through?
3. What do you think President Obama will try to accomplish in his first 100 days in office?
4. What do you think President Obama will do to combat the growing economic crisis?
5. What was the most significant cabinet appointment that President Obama has made?
6. How will President Obama handle the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?
7. Several news outlets are offering comprehensive coverage (like ours) including TV footage and web content. Do you think this enhances the amount of information that viewers get out of the event?
8. Do you think President Obama will be able to turn the country around in his first four years?
The cost of Obama's Inauguration is too extreme. Times our tough for American citizens. The unemployment rate is rising and families are struggling to buy groceries and pay their bills. To spend so much on the inauguration of a president is outrageous. I work in the Treasurer's office in a very small rural county. I have seen people struggling just to pay their property taxes. The county courthouse itself is struggling to keep its doors open. Flip on the tv and all you will see is coverage of the inauguration and all the money that is being spent. I think this is unnecessary and a bad choice with the financial troubles our economy and citizens are experiencing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the amount of coverage enhances the amount of information the viewers receive. It just provides the media with more outlets to gush about how fabulous Obama is. The media is so biased toward Obama that so much of the information the viewers receive is not objective.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that Barack Obama was the right choice for the president. John McCain was not a great candidate either, but he would be better then B. Hussein Obama. He will not turn the country around in four years. His polices are not acceptable. He wants to "spread the wealth." This isn't fair to anybody! But hey, at least he is our first black president!
ReplyDeleteDo you think this enhances the amount of information that viewers get out of the event? No, I think it gives the viewers options on how they can view the inauguration such as my husband who currently serving in Iraq is viewing it live on the internet, my mother who is visually impaired is listening to it via radio broadcast.
ReplyDeleteThe cost is not really a concern because it was done with private donors and money raised from his campaign. As we all heard a hundred times by now already this is a pretty historic event. Several decades ago person who looked like him were getting hosed by cops for wanting civil rights and now President Obama is well President Obama , it only goes to show what potential America has despite the past 8 yrs.
ReplyDeleteI think with President Obama as out first African American president, many changes will be made. He seems to already influence many African Americans around the United States, most being children and young adults. The Inauguration to me is a very important day of the year. Its the beginning of many changes to out great Country.
ReplyDeleteThe most significant appointment he has made so far i think is having Hillary be his Secretary of State. I think it was a smart move. Like the saying goes keep your friends close and your so called enemies closer lol
ReplyDeleteGop88 I agree. The media is not objective at all about Obama. They have made him out to be a knight in shining armor and he has not even taken office yet. The media is so wrapped up in Obama that they have forgotten some of the most important issues out there that deserve the attention. Forget the downturn of the economy or the hardships families are enduring, but we must know what breed the first dog will be.
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ReplyDeleteI am not for sure what Obama can do with so little experience, once he gets a glimpse of what Bush has to deal with I sure he might change his mind on some of his own ideas on how he thinks things should be dealt with. Its one thing wanted to be president but can you back up what you say you are going to do.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest fear for the next 4 and potentially 8 years is our country's defense. No matter how much you hate W, he has kept this country safe. If you do the research a terrorist attack (by Muslim Extremists) happened every 3-5 years over the past 30 or so years. How long has it been since our last terrorist attack? 7 years and 20 days to be exact. I fear that Obama's views on the war and how he plans to pull out is going to weaken the country's defenses. We need to finish this war, for so far it is successful.
ReplyDelete8. Do you think President Obama will be able to turn the country around in his first four years?
ReplyDelete- I believe that Pres Elect (for this short moment in time) will be able to accomplish quite a bit during his time in office now whether he will be able to turn the country around is a whole other issue. I believe though that he will be able to deal with the crisis in the economy as the war in Iraq dies down and as troops return home.
I am not sure if he will be able to turn it around in four years it might take four years to make sense of this mess that has evolved over the last few years. His priorities appear to be the economy so maybe that will be a task that will be accomplished by the end of the first four years. Truth is i have no idea.
ReplyDeleteBeing that America right now is in a bad state with its economic crisis, I think Obama, being that he is the first black president, has a lot of pressure and also determination to change this country for the better. And this Inauguration is an important and significant moment in the worlds history, and I am sure that he will turn this country around and bring it back on its feet.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I didn't follow the election as close as I probably should have, but I do think that was is happening and what is to come is going to be a positive change for America.
ReplyDeleteI think several actions will be taken by Obama during his first 100 days. He has promised he will sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, thereby deregulating all abortions, pull our troops out of Iraq but put more in Afghanistan, and sign an economic stimulus bill that is going to cost over 800 billion dollars. Whether or not these are smart choices will remain to be seen.
ReplyDeleteI pray Obama opens his eyes to what God wants him to do and not what other democrats did 4 years ago. My dad went from job to job with a degree the whole time Clinton was in office and with Bush he kept the same job. I know the economy is getting bad but that's not all people want to hear those negative words will not be around years from now. What our fore fathers spoke at the declaration of independence those are the positive words that will be around and still make our nation what if is today.
ReplyDeletei agree with GOP08 we need to finish what was started and not just take our troops out of war. It's easier said then done.
ReplyDeleteThe inauguration for Obama is something that the whole world is looking forward to. I say the whole world instead of the US because foreign countries are celebrating the diversity of this event with us. I think that the cost for the inauguration is extreme, but somewhat necessary. The security necessary for this event is expensive, as well as the resources to accommodate all of the people that showed up for the inauguration. I don't think that Obama will be able accomplish much in these 4 years because he isn't the one calling all of the shots. I think he will try to accomplish some of the things he promised throughout his campaign, but it all depends on the approval of congress. Whether or not Obama will be a good president will not change the fact that he will go down in history. No, check that. He's already in our history books!
ReplyDeleteA question that I ponder is "Will President Obama be able to deal with the war in Iraq like President Bush had to during his terms in office?" I felt that it was unfair to President Bush that circumstances such as these had to befall him but things happen and someone had to rise to the occasion, will President Obama walk the path of President Bush in finishing this war in Iraq or will he simply create a new path that involves abandoning this war in Iraq?
ReplyDeleteI feel that Obama will focus on the United States economy. Of course, bailing out the economy (like the banks and other jobs) will be helpful but will most likely put Americans deeper into a hole you can not get out of. This comes from the stimulus plan of billions of dollars. Yes, I know everyone is going through a hard time and the answer to that is not leaning on the government to step in and give more money away. Americans need to learn to cut back and live logically. This has not been happening. How else are people going to learn this difficult lesson if others bail them out all the time. Americans put themselves in this position and with hard work certainly people can get out of this crisis too!!!
ReplyDeleteNot even Superman will be able to turn around this economic crisis in 4yrs so for anyone to think it can happen is quite a stretch. But then again hey who ever thought they would see someone named Barack Hussein Obama as President of the most powerful country of the world. He has the chance to do many great things. has the support of like 79 percent or something like that of the population. So anything is possible
ReplyDeletei sincerely believe President Elect Obama will have a substantially positive affect on this country. He will assist us not only on Americas rise through adversity, but for a brighter future for the world. His is the face of a new beginning for this country and his standards embody what America is truly about. Not only will he turn this great country around he will provide a sense of peace for other countries. May this birth of a new America replace the wreak of hate and self destruction that is present.
ReplyDeleteI know this is kind of off topic but i seriously was wondering when Obama and Bush met earlier for 40 mins to have "coffee" what were they talking about. I mean consider for the past 2 yrs Obama has been well Bush bashing and kinda won by linking to McCain to Bush and saying how bad Bush was. Know he has to sit across the room and be civil. That must be a bit awkward huh
ReplyDeleteI believe President Obama will have a positive impact on our Country. His main focuses should be creating more jobs for Americans and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately Bush has left him quite the mess to clean up after but I believe Obama is willing to do whatever is takes to get our Country turned around. Although, I do believe it will take more than four years and it will not be easy. This is an incredible time in History not for just the fact that Obama will be the first African American president but because you can see that the American people now have hope and faith that there's better times to come for our Country.
ReplyDeleteFour years ago, many were up in arms about the cost of Bush's inauguration. The Associated Press attacked Bush, saying the money on the inauguration would be better spent on "armored Humvees with the best armor for troops in Iraq; vaccinations and preventive health care for 22 million children in regions devastated by the tsunami," or be put toward "a down payment of the nation's deficit." However, those same voices of frugality are nowhere to be heard this time around, even though the cost of Obama's inauguration is considerably more expensive than Bush's...
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ReplyDeleteI am curious as to how Obama came up with the plan to rebuild and improve our infrastructure to help out our economy. I do not think he talked to the people working in those types of jobs now. I think if he had he might realize that the United States needs jobs that require education or training to do because it is the regular people in our country driving the economy. By increasing the amount of construction jobs, etc, there might be another illegal immigration problem.
ReplyDeleteWell as Javon said it is trivial what those two talked about as they had coffee together. Was it simply just an exchange of words, passing of the torch, or to warn President Obama that Presidency is not fit for the weak but the strong, for those who can truly lead this nation to peace and prosperity. I'm still wondering why President Obama elected Clinton as one of the cabinet members? Of course considering all that went on during the presidential elections between Clinton and Obama.
ReplyDeleteBeing an outsider(int'l student St.Kitts) looking in, it is so amazing to see all those people together. Person of different races, backgrounds all coming together in celebration of a historic event. I don't think persons get how BIG of a deal this is for the world. I'm pretty sure everyone is a bit tired of hearing the first Black President of America how historic etc etc etc, but man a man wow only in America right
ReplyDeleteAs of now, this country is obviously split into two. Hopefully Obama can somehow unite this country. He can't make every one happy though; too bad every time he talks ten more people in the south hate him. He needs to be a pseudo-black Charlemagne, but instead of uniting western europe he's uniting crazy americans.
ReplyDelete2. With the cost being at 150 million dollars, is such an expensive celebration warranted during the economy crisis we are going through?
Seriously? No. It's pathetic.
Actually, I feel it will make the inauguration awesome. There will be so many balloons. Why help the working man when you can have so many balloons? Down to the proletariat!
Jasmin.E...I'm pretty sure those in the Middle East who were burning effigies of Obama last week aren't celebrating his inauguration. Just a thought.
ReplyDelete2. It's all merchandising $$$. Obama has a lot of attention right now being the first African American President. I just think of Obama as the next Batman action figure. A lot of advertising is being conducted and the selling of many products including collectible quarters, calendars, shirts and clothes all over the internet, and Obama dolls are grossing plenty of bills. Even though the celebration is expensive and its a great moment in our history, a lot of people are taking advantage of it.
ReplyDelete8. I think we're forgetting checks and balances. Obama isn't the only one with the power and responsibility. Presidential advisors, members of his cabinet, and Congress must also alleviate progress in our country as well.
Regardless and despite the sudden change in presidency, I think the country would stabilize itself anyway.
Of course any information will enlighten others to become aware, have opinions, or even have questions about this event. The best way to voice something is communication. Whether it is through radio, television, newspapers, articles, etc the public is informed and can make their own opinions. The hard part is actually making the effort to talk about it. Like people's job performance, you can not get offended by other people's opinions!!!
ReplyDeleteI do feel that the money that is being used for this momentous occasion is not being used "wisely" by any means. This money could easily be used to chip away the gaping hole that we have dug bailing out companies in previous months.
ReplyDeleteThis to me is the day of change which it alway is when a new President is going into office. This is also a historic day in American history since it will be the first African American President. To me, it is going to take time to tell whether or not Obama is going to be good or bad for the country because we just can not predicate what he is going to do are going to be good or bad. The one think I hope that the President does is change the countries economic crisis around to where we are not in one anymore.
ReplyDeleteAs far the comprehensive coverage of the Inauguration I think it's wonderful. It allows everyone the option to view, listen and even put in their own two cents about what's going on during the Inauguration. Even if you didn't cover the election closely the Inauguration is something everyone should witness and be a part of in some way. I believe it does help inform viewers. Media is a wonderful tool if it is used correctly and positively to help inform and communicate with others.
ReplyDeleteWith the idea of those infrastructure jobs it's been tried and proven even heard it in econ 1 and econ 2 lol that one of the best ways to bounce back from a recession is infrastructure or something like that. Because those jobs provide many spin offs. For instance You set out to build roads you need labor and equipment etc. Well someone has to make the equipment thats a job prepare materials that's a job. Then those folks get paid go spend money and make Walmart more profitable. They intern hire back cashiers to deal with increased traffic. That's a job. Now that cashier goes to mall to buy more stuff and it goes on and on and on.
ReplyDeletei am overly appalled at the reaction of the people that are at the inauguration booing the current president for what? he had a lot of challenging events that occurred during his term and maybe he didn't make the best decisions according to the american people but he did what he felt he had to. For that I appreciate him. Even though my husband is currently on his 3rd tour in Iraq. Those are the breaks right?
ReplyDelete8. I think that it is going to take time for the President to turn this country around but not in his first year in office, maybe in his second year.
ReplyDelete6. Their is no easy way to handle the war in Iraq since we have been in the country. It may be the right move to put more troop in Afghanistan and may start withdrawing troop slow and easy.
The 150 million spent on the inauguration is just in my opinion. Its a new age for America. Electing an African American a president is a huge deal. Although it shouldn't be about skin color, that will never go away. Let America celebrate change. Would you feel different if the roles were reversed? Be honest.
ReplyDeleteI myself try to be as objective as possible but what about President Obama's values. Is our newly elected president going to uphold traditional values that "the people" have founded this nation upon? And what about religion? Religion has always been a controversial subject to deal with, but will President Obama represent this aspect during his term?
ReplyDeleteI believe Bush made decisions he had to make, and I respect him for that. I think the media was biased against him and conservatives in general from the start of his presidency. Obama has been lucky that the media has not gone after him as it has other public figures, and I hope he makes decisions based on helping Americans by protecting and defending them, helping the helpless, and upholding moral standards needed for our society to continue being the land of the free and full of opportunity.
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ReplyDeleteak_born's a genius.
ReplyDeleteThe Obama presidency will hopefully be one that can make some groundbreaking contributions to the fields of educational reform and more available health care to impoverished people. Unfortunately it seems that this administration will instead be dealing with some of the lingering questions held over from the last 8 years; how to withdraw from Iraq, and how to right a failing economy and an ever rising national debt? With the cost of the Bush administration being released last week as 11.5 trillion dollars, Obama will spend a good deal of his term struggling against this hefty toll.
ReplyDeleteAs far as today's expenditures on the inauguration, I think it's a fair price for a historic event. If Kobe can get paid that much to play for the lakers, then I think we can spend that much on inaugurating our 44th president.
ReplyDeletePeople continue to make commentary about the lack of "media objectivity," or even a bias towards pro-Obama sentiments, yet how can the media make negative commentary at an Inauguration? President Obama has made a grand total of zero decisions as head of this nation so how can there be any opposing viewpoints?
ReplyDeleteI've heard it said that "Reality has a liberal bias," so maybe those claiming that the media gives Obama undeserved praise should take that into consideration. Also consider that after the last 8 years of archaic policy and bungled decisions, anyone who isn't Bush is going to seem like a superstar.
ReplyDeleteThe Inauguration is not payed for by tax payers dollars, but instead is fundraised by the Obama camp (which accounted for 41 million dollars) and subsidized by an Inauguration Fund.
ReplyDeleteI will try to comprehensively adress all of the discussion questions to the best of my abilities in order
ReplyDelete1. I think the inauguration of any president is in itself a farce, that every president after Thomas Jefferson has told their first lie in office at the inauguration ceremony. The lie: " I do solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution and its Amendments" Thomas jefferson was the last one to uphold the Constitution in letter and in spirit. In fact, during the history of America, some of the most well-looked upon Presidents were some of the worst violators of the constitution and the bill of rights. Abraham Lincoln violated all 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights, Woodrow Wilson 9, FDR 9, George W. Bush 8 of the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights. Lincoln, Roosevelts, Wilson and Bush have the distinction of violating the substance of the Constitution
3. What will Barack Obama try to accomplish in the first 100 days? I see George W. Bush spending and bailout programs kicked into overdrive, and overly expensive stimulus programs put forth that will not work to stimulate the economy, but rather will place us further down the road to depression. The policies that will be put forth by the new President Obama have been tried before, during the time of FDR. They are directly from the Keynesian playbook, they caused the depression for the rest of the world to be the Great Depression for America. The same Keyesian economic fallacies also said that there could never be an inflationary recession, which happened during the 70s, and has been also shown in Zimbabwe, where the money supply is undergoing hyperinflation and yet the economy is in the crapper. A recent UCLA study has shown that FDR's policies were the cause of the depression dragging on as long as it did. Obama's policies will do the same, because they have the same false theories backing them up.
In addition, he will have to pay off the people that got him to his place. See Card Check be on the legislative docket, see an offshore drilling ban, and other policies that restrain free trade and economic liberties.
4. He will try to continue the failed policies of the past, that is increasing regulation in an already stifling regulatory environment that has resulted from many years of increased government intervention into economic issues. More specifically, there will be increased tax burdens on those companies and people that do hire people, more onerous regulations on business. The stimulus plan that he has proposed, which is loaded with redistributionist policies that destroy real economic growth (e.g. into non-revenue creating ventures and ventures that cannot survive without government help and never succeed), will have actually the opposite effect on the economy and cause the old favorite condition known as stagflation. He will try the tax rebate checks (Bush 1 and 2), he will try infrastructure spending (Herbert Hoover), he will try government work projects (FDR), and he will try to increase transfer payments (Lyndon B. Johnson).
None of these will work, because of the extreme national debt that we have now. The reason why we were able to pull out of the enormous debt after WWII was due to the invention of stuff that had economic value in the private sector, such as nuclear power, jet propulsion, and other great inventions that we take for granted today. What are we gonna get with Obama’s stimulus plan? A really inefficient (both cost-wise and energy wise) energy source that nobody in the private sector would dare to pursue without massive government subsidies.
5. Tim Gietner is rather interesting. He is the architect of the bailout plan that has been a major failure. I also find it to be interesting that the person that we are to have as the head of the treasury, the one who will be in charge of the IRS, is the same person who does not pay his own taxes even if the money is given to him to pay those taxes.
6. Iraq is almost over, thankfully. I think he will finish up in Afghanistan. The one thing I worry about is his penchant for intervening in humanitarian crisises such as Darfur. The military, as shown in the constitution, is an agent of defense only, not of aggression, and not of policing the war. One must remember that we were attacked by Al Qaeda, and not by any country.
8. By turning around, if you mean returning us to prosperity and liberty, absolutely not. His policies, much like Bush’s are anti-liberty and anti-prosperity. I also see no return to the Constitutional roots of this country, I see another multiple violation administration, much like the last.
In closing, I think that, superficially, this is a historical moment. And there hopefully be many other superficially historical moments, such as the election of the first Asian president, the first woman President, the first gay president, the first atheist.. etc. If we are a country that we claim is based on the principle that all men are created equal, then I don’t see any reason why these reasons are more than just superficial. I see everybody as an individual, and I do congratulate the new President Barack Obama,
I just see this as the election of another politician, one that I will be a harsh critic to, much as I have been a critic of the policies of previous administrations, and would have been if John McCain was the President instead of Obama. I will support him as much as I can when he makes decisions that fall in line with my strongly held beliefs and criticize him whenever he makes a decision that does not agree with the things that I believe are right and true in the world. That is not bitterness, that is not narrow-mindedness, that is the American way, that we as humans have the right to free speech and discourse
My biggest concern other than the economic crisis is the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hopefully he will be able to bring back our soldiers from Iraq, but the situation in Afghanistan is a different story.
ReplyDeleteI think that President Obama will use his time wisely. He has already shown to be different in his own respects, ie: cutting the celebratory week down to 4 days. Beginning to work on policies tonite!!! Time will tell.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama is a highly intellectual man and I think we just need to have faith and give him a chance to show us what he can do. Other presidents had more time to prove themselves to us. He deserves that from us, even in these trying times.
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