[Will Hunt]

So he's talked the talk but can he walk the walk? I genuinely think his heart is in the right place and his inaugural speech was very inspiring and uplifting but let's not forget that it's a tough job and sometimes he won't always be able to make the decisions he might want to.
Will his inexperience get the better of him? Will the media, who have so far revered him, rip him to shreds or be more lenient when the inevitable mistakes of his administration come out. I mean, you don't get through four years of office and get everything perfect do you? If the media is more tolerant is this fair to some of his more maligned predecessors.

There's hope in the air but I think there's very little certainty.

[meatball]

Can one good man(?) undo the work of the last fuckin dimwit in one term of office? Could he do it in two? i doubt it, but hope so

[Sloper]

Obama is a serious intellect, a man of real standing and absolute credibility. 

If you doubt his ability to manage political machines look at the history of the editorship of the Harvard Law Review; that that was his first electoral success says to me that managing a democratic senate and congress should be child's play.

I have great hopes for the fruits of his administration.

[Falling Down]

 

[meatball]

Obama is a serious intellect, a man of real standing and absolute credibility. 

If you doubt his ability to manage political machines

More of a dig at the previous regime. It could take a lifetime to undo the damage caused by the bush regime... Good luck Obama

[Will Hunt]

People say this but have they ever met him? Do they know him intimately? I'm all for optimism but I don't want to be disappointed. I don't remember it myself but apparently when Labour and Blair first came to power there was also a great deal of optimism (obviously not on the same scale). Now over a decade down the line The Sun has recently screamed BLIAR etc etc. Margaret Thatcher went the same way. It's an exciting time to be around. I'm looking forward to see what will happen.

[meatball]

Now over a decade down the line The Sun has recently screamed BLIAR etc etc.

You dont read that toilet roll substitue do you?

[Sloper]

People say this but have they ever met him? Do they know him intimately? I'm all for optimism but I don't want to be disappointed. I don't remember it myself but apparently when Labour and Blair first came to power there was also a great deal of optimism (obviously not on the same scale). Now over a decade down the line The Sun has recently screamed BLIAR etc etc. Margaret Thatcher went the same way. It's an exciting time to be around. I'm looking forward to see what will happen.

Yes I do remember when Thatcher came in and quoted St Francis, all things considered she did some reached some Hurculean heights before drifting off into a world of gin fumes and dogma (and if you seek an example look at her reform of the power of the police to hold without charge, reducing it to 24 hours for standard offences instead of, well what prisoner? google 'judges rules' vs PACE).

I remember when Blair came in and though phony tw*t this will end in tears.

To misquote optimism without clarity is pure sentamentality, optimism with purpose is meaningful.  What is despicable is the way people are trying to bask in the reflective glory of his victory.

[Bubba]

As an aside, has anyone read any of Obama's books? Any good?

[Houdini]

Hope and optimism are two of the most cynical, nihilist words in the English language.


Neither have monetary or calorific value and their overuse should be viewed if not w/ suspicion, then w/ caution.  I don't want him to fail any more than set himself up for ridicule.   

[jwi]

Can one good man(?) undo the work of the last fuckin dimwit in one term of office? Could he do it in two? i doubt it, but hope so

The Onion, as per usual, nailed it quite well with its November 5 headline Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job

(After Bush's inauguration-speech in 2001 The Onion ran the headline Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'  )

[Kingy]

As an aside, has anyone read any of Obama's books? Any good?

I am halfway through 'Dreams from my Father', his life story written in the mid 90's. He sure has got a pretty interesting tale to tell. He grew up in Hawaii, went to Indonesia, went to Uni in LA, worked in New York and Chicago. Have only got to when he was in his mid-twenties so the best still to come. Plenty of swearing and slang and amusing anecdotes from his youth which is refreshing. he was a virtual dropout at college, smoking dope and 'blow' occasionally which I take to mean cocaine!! Well recommended and quite an easy read.

[Sloper]

Just to confirm that the above post was fueled by some fine wine, hence the typos

[slackline]

 

[Will Hunt]

I spent an age trying to figure out what was so funny in the article 

[dave]

he was a virtual dropout at college, smoking dope and 'blow' occasionally

ironically this means he's one of the US's cleaner presidents.

I just wonder how a country where the majority of the population probably can't even pronounce his name properly are going to cope with all this. half of them probably assume he's irish. to be sure.

[Will Hunt]

I dont get this whole name pronouncing business. Watched the program on him the other night and apparently none of his teachers could get it right either so he just used to be called Barry.
It's not hard.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2007/01/how_to_say_barack_obama.shtml

[dave]

barrack

a bummer


easy. do you recon his name could become cockney rhyming slang for "bahamas"? as in "i'm off on holiday with the trouble & strife to the barack obamas". Wiv a little bit.

[Jaspersharpe]

Genius.

Or pyjamas perhaps?

"Cor blimey guv'nah. There I woz comin' dahrn the apples & pears arf asleep when I tripped up and spilled rosy lee all over me Barrack Obamas!"

[Bubba]

OMG the sick fuck!!!

[Sloper]

Shocking, imagine not wearing a tie, he really should speak to Clinton about the proper mode of dress for such Presidential events.