Obama Arrives in Style

[elleng]

Source: WaPo

"With a brief glance out his car window -- barely visible through cordons of Secret Service officers, black SUVs and security barricades -- the soon-to-be leader of the free world bid a brief hello last night to the town he will now call home and to his new neighbors: scores of spectators camped outside his temporary quarters at the Hay-Adams Hotel.

There were no speeches, no ceremonies or official welcoming committees. Instead, Barack Obama, a man famous for his no-drama persona, arrived in the nation's capital in a similarly subdued fashion.

His limousine pulled up to claps and cheers from crowds lining the blocks near the hotel and also the cries of protesters angry about the Gaza Strip -- a reminder of the vexing problems he will face when he takes office. Then, in seconds, he was whisked inside." >>>



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401151.html?hpid=topnews

[babylonsister]

1. I hate the fact that he's going to be booed before he's

allowed to do anything. I guess it goes with the territory. It still sucks.

[superconnected]

2. That wasn't like bush getting eggs thown at him.

[No Elephants]

33. Bush got eggs thrown at him for his lousy first term. Obama's not even in office yet.

[JNelson6563]

40. Bush got eggs thrown before he took office too.

You may recall that first "election" was a bit...contentious.

Julie

[stillcool]

4. Was it boo's? From reading the article..

I took it as shouting to him to do something about Gaza. Kind of sad reading that article. The whole primary/election seems like a long time ago. I almost wish he would say "I changed my mind", and hand the whole cluster-fuck over to someone who the people are more deserving of. He's too human.

[Stardust]

5. I hear that. I, too, dread the onslaught of vindictiveness he's bound to encounter.

I love the man, but I'm almost dreading the next few years. It's almost easier to hate than love at this stage of the game.

[stillcool]

11. yeah..fear is way easier than hope...

no chance of being let down. A friend of mine used to say "Don't worry about it, it ain't going to get any better'. That's about where I'm at.

[reggie the dog]

36. I will be critical of Obama

but I am a steadfast Obama supporter. I am VERY VERY VERY happy to have president Obama instead of president McCain. Obama will do far better than either W. or McCain. Obama will put a team in place that has much more in common with my values than a Republican president would have. High speed trains, energy independence, national health insurance. Lots of good things should be coming in the next four years.

[babylonsister]

8. Barack Obama will be fine. I do think he has mountains to climb, but

he will. What a heavy load, but he knows what he signed up for. So does his darling wife. We need to support him when possible.

[elleng]

9. I thought so too.

People will always seek things from him. Sure hope its not characterized as a negative.

[elleng]

6. Booed by whom?

.

[babylonsister]

12. From the OP...

His limousine pulled up to claps and cheers from crowds lining the blocks ... and also the cries of protesters angry about the Gaza Strip -- a reminder of the vexing problems he will face when he takes office.


He will never make everyone happy. Fact.

[FrenchieCat]

19. Well, I'm over at the 300 Billion Tax cuts to the Middle Class thread

Battling those who either don't have a clue that Obama ran on Middle Class tax cuts, or are still bitching that Obama is only going to let the Tax cut on the rich expire in 2010. I provided quotes from June of 2007 and June of 2008 in where he basically stated that he would let the tax cuts expire, but that doesn't seem good enough. Now, some are wondering if this is Supply side Trickle down economics, although I provided information showing that there are no rich or corporations involved in the tax cuts, but rather Middle Class and lower income earners and small businesses.

I'm tired of this shit! Folks are ready to kick his ass even when he does deliver on his campaign promises. Geeze!

If you want to see--> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3672648

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

29. Well, I chalk a lot of that up to...

Deeply burrowed rodents.

[Wizard777]

20. All he has to do is tell our UN Ambassador not to veto the cease fire agreement,

Hopefully Bush will not have started WWIII before he gets a chance to do that.

[elleng]

23. Yea, Bush or the Israelis.

Sorry

[Wizard777]

31. Both. No need to apologise. I'm not backing Israel on this one.

They're turning Gaza into Auschwitz for Palestinians as far as I'm concerned.

[humbled_opinion]

34. WOW....

First, your comment is uncalled for and if you understood the history of the Jews you would be ashamed of the remark.
Second, what do you say about the Proxy Iranian Army of Hamas using women and children as shields to hide behind as they indiscriminantly bomb Israeli Civilians? Cowardly and Terrorist come to my mind.
Third, The palistinians are free to travel wherever they want, there are border restrictions and check points as with any other country in the world. Why Do you begrudge Israel from Protecting its own borders?
Fourth, Israel is a country and Palistine is not. If the Arabs want to support a Free standing Palistine then they should peacefully help the Palistinians relocate to some portion of land given by the Arabs or with the case of Hamas from The Iranians.

The entire situation is a complicated mess but one side wants to live in peace it has a flag, its soldiers where uniforms and it tries to limit collateral casualites in its pursuit to protect itself from destruction. The other side has a people that want peace but a government that wants to hide behind its people as it conducts a terror campaign, there is no bargaining with the man that says he does not want peace he wants you dead.

[Wizard777]

35. Holocaust means great burning. In this case from Israels Willie Pete

Contrary to the popular belief created by their PR machine. Not every Jew craps daisies. This crap stinks to the high heavens. A Jus Ad Bellum does not justify every act of that war. I really don't know which is worse. Hamas trying to use civilians as a shield for retalliation or Israel trying to use a Jus Ad Bellum as a shield for atrocity.

As far Palestine not being a country goes. Maybe we should have soothed our shock and horror with our own land we took from the Native Americans back when they called genocide manifest destiny. It was mighty white of us to give them Palestines land instead.

[reggie the dog]

37. Wow to you

If Palestine is not a country and Israel is then Palestine is a state in the same federation as Israel. There should be no border. And no people cannot come and go freely between Gaza and Israel like they can from Indiana to Illinois or from France to Belgium. I have a collegue from Gaza here in France. He is studying here and his visa expired but France refused to extradite him because the border was closed a couple of years ago, then he got accepted to a PHD program and got another visa. Why should Palestinians leave the land of their ancestors? Why should Israel deserve to kick them out? You know, in a federation in the Swiss or Belgian manner Israel and Palestine along with a third state of Jerusalem, could form a federation where they could all live in harmony in a free standing country know as "The State of the Sacred Land". No one needs to be thrown out. Look at your last paragraph and apply your logic to the American revolution, the rebellion of Vietnam against the French, or the rebellion of the people in Algeria against the French. "The entire situation is a complicated mess but one side wants to live in peace it has a flag, its soldiers where uniforms and it tries to limit collateral casualites in its pursuit to protect itself from destruction. The other side has a people that want peace but a government that wants to hide behind its people as it conducts a terror campaign, there is no bargaining with the man that says he does not want peace he wants you dead." Do you really think one side wants peace? Israel wants peace so long as they get to decide who is forced to leave and who is second class citizens. The Palestinian people are concentrated in a ghetto, much like Jewish people were in Warsaw, and have a natural moral right to rebel against their oppressors. What you call terror they call a revolution, or a war for freedom.

I think I understand the history of the Jews. They were chased around, killed off and raped much like Muslims and Christians were at different times, much like Catholics and Protestants were at different times.

As for your "proxy army of Iran" statement. what is wrong with Iran helping its allies? The USA gave Israel nuculear technology. Is the Israeli army a "proxy army" of the USA?

Cowardly?? Cowardly??????? People that do suicide bombings so that future generations of the people will live free are COWARDS in your mind???? Personally I would not have the balls to do that. What about the others that risk their lives fighting for their people to be free??? Perhaps I could do that, but that also takes courage. Israel occupied Palestine, then but an embargo in place. There was a humanitarian disaster as a result of the embargo with nearly 90 percent unemployment. Rocket attacks are a way to lash back at people killing your civilians by cutting them off from easy access to food, medecine etc. and by increasing suicide as people cannot provide for themselves and have no prospect for future success. If hamas could afford planes, and run an airstrip, they would send planes to bomb the shit out of cities in Israel, but they would have a flag and wear uniforms so that would make it ok in your opinion, right???? Kicking the Palestinians out of their land is as shitty as kicking the Moors out of Spain based on religion. Why not just prone coexistance, shared cultural and economic activity, and shared hope for the future? Is that too much to ask?

[reggie the dog]

38. I was wondering something

Are you a pirate, a rebel, or skull and bones????

[reggie the dog]

39. let me see if I understand

White Europeans hated Jewish people to the point that they had the Halocaust (which involved killing gays, unionists, gypsies, handicapped people, and anyone who opposed the Nazis). France deported Jews as did other countries. So the Europeans so hated Jews that they created a Jewish country far from Europe and simply took the land from other brown people (fuck them anyway, they were not white so their opinion was never asked) and made a country. Basically Palestinians had to sacrafice their land so that Europe could rid itself of Jews in a "humanitarian" way. That is my take on it. Luckily many Jewish people stayed in Europe, saying fuck you this is our land we will not leave Europe to you Christians. Had they left I would not be living in a tolerant multi cultural Europe today.

[humbled_opinion]

42. LOL

You view the situation completely different then I do nothing wrong with that. You apply moral equivelancy to the Iranian armed terrorist group Hamas that is in your mind protecting the peace loving people of Palastine who were savagely raped of their land by the Europeans. I get it, I just don't agree with it.

There may or may never be a solution to the issue. If you believe the Bible at all then this is all pre-ordained.

Rebel without a cause for sure.

[reggie the dog]

43. well I guess we just disagree

If I understand you you think the Israelis are fighting for their freedom and I think the Palestinians are fighting for their freedom.

[yellowcanine]

47. "cries of protesters angry about the Gaza Strip". No boos mentioned. Fact.

[No Elephants]

32. Obama's getting booed for Bush's failures must be rough.

[grasswire]

3. Bush would have arranged a back door entrance...

...shielded by curtains. That's what he did from the get-go in 2000.

[Kermit77]

7. I read that Code Pink was protesting Obama's hotel

I read that it was Code Pink who was protesting Obama. I hope that Malia and Sasha don't hear them. :(

[elleng]

10. Protesting the hotel for any GOOD reason?

.

[babylonsister]

13. You did? Please, provide a link. That's important here. nt

[Kermit77]

14. Now they are involving Michelle -smh

http://news.theage.com.au/world/protest-greets-obama-in-washington-20090105-79x0.html

"Where is Barack Obama's voice? Has he been muzzled already?" asked protester Medea Benjamin, speaking over a microphone.

"We didn't expect Bush to speak out but Barack knows better," said Benjamin, of the women-founded anti-war group Code Pink.

"Michelle, if you're in there, there is something called pillow talk. Talk to your husband, tell him to call for a ceasefire," she called out.

[babylonsister]

16. Sorry, Medea, I love you, but wait till he's sworn in. Then we'll talk. nt

[az chela]

18. I totally agree with babylon sister on this one

[elleng]

26. 'sister,

PLEASE encourage them to onto a productive tack.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

30. Ms. Benjamin...

Is needs to check the calendar on her watch. I believe it is grossly mis-set.

[onehandle]

15. Figures. I pretty much see them in the same light as Nader these days. nt

[babylonsister]

17. No link provided, so nothing figures. nt

[chucktaylor]

25. How did you feel 4 years ago? They haven't changed their position.

[Wizard777]

21. What happened to the train ride? I liked that idea.

[elleng]

22. With Joe for the Inaugural!

I'd assume its still on, but they do have WORK to due before Jan. 20!

[FrenchieCat]

24. In reading the entire three page article, by the very end, I was crying......

if some haven't read the entire thing, they should.

[elleng]

27. Frenchie,

anytime you'd like to visit, just let me know!

[FrenchieCat]

28. You are so nice! Thanks!

:hi:

[JNelson6563]

41. Kind of funny how the most powerful man,

the leader of the free world, will be one of the least free people of all.

Julie

[tiddlywinks]

44. thanks! got more obama family pictures?? nt

[elleng]

45. Not yet, tiddly;

just started looking. Pics of O today, on the hill; did see something from school this morning. HOPE girls are OK! (I'm fixated on them, cause I have 2 daughters, 3 years apart! ages 20 + 23) and we're in DC.)

[elleng]

46. Obama Family Pictures!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2009/01/05/obama_girls_start_school_at_si.html?
hpid=topnews

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/01/04/GA2009010401320.html?sid=ST2009010500613&s_pos=list