I was disgusted by the shameful inauguration display. Forget that 200 million dollars was spent in the middle of an impoverished city in the middle of a worldwide recession. Today's coronation was a harbinger of things to come. Rick Warren's presence was disturbing. This is a man who recently said a woman has no right to leave a marriage even if her husband is kicking the shit out of her. His prayer, aside from being plain old bad and obviously written by a doofus, specifically referenced Christ, which left out many people who believe in God, even Muslims and Jews, the people who pray to the same God of Abraham as Christians do. Will anyone who is not a fanatical evangelical Christian continue to be left out in the cold? It was troubling to see a bigot and advocate of violence against women praying for our nation.

Obama ratcheted up his rhetoric against "terrorists" and anyone else who does not go along with the US agenda. How arrogant of Obama to proclaim that "America is ready to lead again." So Mr. Change We Can Believe In is unashamedly declaring his intent to follow the lead of American presidents who believe in American exceptionalism and superiority. Why can't America exist on a equal plane with the rest of the nations? He sounds like Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, etc. That sounds like more of the same. And, assuming America should sit on high, the US cannot be ready to leave so long as Gitmo is open, illegally occupies Iraq, operates black sites, gives money to countries who oppress people, and fund Israel's apartheid against and butchery of Palestinians, we aren't ready to lead anyone out of a phone booth. Obama declared that the US would not apologize for its way of life and promised that we would out live and outlast enemies. That sounded like an expression of his intent to extend the "war on terror." Now he can say that the occupation of Iraq and war on terror must continue because we have to outlast our enemy. He may as well have said "stay the course."

Obama's reference to Khe Sahn as an example of the military defending our freedom was frightening. I know that Obama's whole schtick is not being invested in the battles of the 60s because, according to him, they are divisive and no one will ever agree. Well, all but a few hard core right wingers think that the illegal attack on Viet-Nam was anything short of an unmitigated disaster. Chris Matthews and Pat Buchanan cheered the praise of the Khe Sahn offensive as an act to protect our freedoms because it was a "nod to guys riding motorcycles wearing ponytails." I do not quite know what that means, but if those two are promoting it, I know that if those two are in favor of it, I can't be good. What I imagine it meant was that Obama was reaching out to people who felt they were mistreated by college kids during and after Viet-Nam. As a Columbia graduate, I am proud of my school's history of violent protest against Viet-Nam and how we do not have the ROTC on our campus. Obama, a Columbia grad, is obviously ashamed of that and has said that he wants to force colleges to have the military on campus. Anyway, if Obama thinks that attacking Viet-Nam was an act in defense of American freedom, I am hard pressed to see how he opposes the occupation of Iraq or undertaking similar actions in "defense" of American freedom.

Finally, Obama's coded message to Bush and Cheney that he would not investigate war crimes and/or potential violations of domestic laws made me sick. He denounced partisan bickering and finger pointing. He will use that as an excuse not to uphold and defend the Constitution as he swore just minutes before to do. I imagine that Obama would be remiss to instigate the requisite search for the truth because it would implicate all of the Washington power brokers, including high level Democrats, in illegal and unethical behavior. Obama will perpetuate Washington's shameful history of protecting it's own from the laws they pass and impose on the rest of us.

Well, there is the change everyone was snowed into believing in. No one should apologize for declining to participate in the collective euphoria that gripped the masses. As was evident today, McCain wasn't the only one who was supported by low information voters.