#inauguration 2009

[misterlemonztenth]

(via GIPHY) President Joe has kept every promise he made.  America is open!  He passed the largest green infrastructure investments in our history. 14 million jobs. 75% of our population vaccinated!   misterlemonztenth.tumblr.com/archive

[todayinhistory]

January 20th 2009: Inauguration of Barack Obama

On this day in 2009, eight years ago, Barack Obama was sworn into office as the 44th President of the United States. That day, Obama made history as the nation’s first African-American President, having successfully defeated Republican candidate John McCain in the 2008 election. January 20th has been the official presidential Inauguration Day since the ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933; previously, new presidents were sworn in on March 4th. Obama’s inauguration was one of the most observed events in global history, with millions watching in person, online, or on television. The day’s theme was 'A New Birth of Freedom’, which derives from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Obama was sworn into office by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, who administered the oath of office required by the Constitution in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight. However, the oath administered to Obama strayed slightly from the exact words specified in the Constitution, and he thus retook the oath the next evening. Obama was re-elected to office in 2012, defeating Republican Mitt Romney. The Obama presidency will be remembered primarily for the historic passage of the Affordable Care Act, the normalisation of relations with Cuba, and his appointments to the Supreme Court. His years in office were also marked by increased partisanship and division in America, and continued instability in the Middle East. Obama leaves office today, to be replaced by Republican Donald Trump, with high approval ratings, leaving a legacy of grace and statesmanship that will not be soon forgotten.

[judas-mulder]

🤔

[camrenisotp]

[wojo4hitz]

Video:  2/2 Crowds Storm the White House the Night Before Obama's Inauguration! 1/19/09

A bright spot.  Exactly eight years ago, I went down to the White House to soak in the atmosphere of the crowds coming from ALL OVER THE WORLD to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama (honestly, what reason would anyone from anywhere else have to come to THIS one? Unless they voted for Brexit...)  That night, I wrote:

“The excitement in the air is ridiculous. The out-of-towners, the in-towners, the swarms of people walking around the White House and Pennsylvania Avenue just buzzing about Barack Obama's impending inauguration, and Bush's last day in office - forever!”

The first election I voted in -- 2000 -- at 19 years old, we lost, and thus began eight miserable years with an idiot for a president.  I felt hopeless and helpless.  I went to protests against him.  I wrote papers in college and law school about the stupidity -- and unconstitutionality -- of his decisions and policies.  I wore a shirt every time I left the country that said, “I’m sorry my president’s an idiot; I didn’t vote for him” in six languages.  I campaigned against him in 2004, and my girlfriend cried when he won, again.  I had never been political before 2000, but having a president that sought to ban same-sex marriage by AMENDING THE US CONSTITUTION TO BAN IT and the factions of the country that supported him played a role in my decision to go to law school to focus in civil rights work and GLBT advocacy.

In 2008, when I had graduated and moved to DC to do that work, I got to SEE THAT ERA (ERROR) END.  I got to be there to witness the excitement of the world of him leaving, to be part of the crowd that was booing him during Obama’s inauguration when the helicopter came to take him away (somehow, that made me feel a tiny bit bad for him.  But just a tiny bit).

And so that’s my bright spot.  That dark, hopeless time ended.  And this one will too.  And this video reminds me of what it looks (and feels, and sounds) like when it happens.  Many people believed that if we had not had someone as awful as Bush, we would not have had someone as magnificent as Obama.  Just imagine: We don’t even know who might come next.  And all of us now?  We’re going to make that happen.

Photos from that night: An End of an Error

[xxxrevanth]

8 years

[magobjects]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

10 years ago today, @BarackObama became President. It was a happier time then. PBO 💙✊🏿.