Sunday, January 20, 2008

Inauguration Day: Let the Countdown Begin

In almost exactly one year from the moment I am typing this (12:22 pm ET), we are guaranteed that the Bush presidency will be over. OVER, I tell you, O.V.E.R. And it can't come fast enough. It's clear that the Chimp has lost interest in the job - he can't even feign that the economic stimulus package he's proposing gives him any thrills, there's (presumably, hopefully!) no more wars to start. He's clearly playing out the string. (And, after seeing Cheney for the first time in a long time, standing behind the Chimp, it appears that he died a while back, and we're in "Weekend at Bernie's" mode.)

Next year, our new president will be giving his or her inauguration speech right at this time. (Isn't it nice to even use the word "her" and perhaps mean it?) The new president will begin a post-Bush era, but will be left will a complete mess to clean up: a war that will likely still be going on, continued threats from terrorism, environmental issues and global warming, health care concerns, losses of jobs to emerging economies in Asia, immigration problems (although I personally don't know why this is any more of a threat today than it has been since the 1800s...), etc. etc. Considering all the troubles, why would anyone want the job in the first place? But that's a subject for another day.

For the next 364 days this country will be on "hold," just waiting for the primaries to cough up two nominees, the conventions in the summer and the general election in the fall. It will likely go fast (especially at my advanced age), but the idea that we're nearing the end of having to think or hear from Bush and/or Cheney makes this one happy day for me. The only day that will beat it is January 20, 2009.





(The picture above is Abraham Lincoln's inaugration in 1861, from the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)

4 comments:

Ted D said...

Nice post, Becks. And after all the heart problems Uncle Dick has had, you may be right on the Weekend at Bernies thought.

//makes this one happy day for me. The only day that will beat it is January 20, 2009.//

And here I thought May 16th and Tedapalooza was the day. ;)

Tex said...

Lets hope the next VP has better aim than Cheney ;)

Good Post. its the waiting i hate

Anonymous said...

bobbers said:

While I don't wish to wet blanket anyone's optimism, I might caution a bit of restraint. like the horror movie cliche where the 'dead' villain rises for one or more last armed near fatal lunges we may not have seen the last of these guys yet, and nothing as trivial as the Constitution has stopped them in the past. Beware, vigilance is needed - I fear there may be a 'Bucket list' that could make Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover look like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

beckperson said...

//I fear there may be a 'Bucket list' that could make Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover look like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.//

I know...I know...the crap they've pulled over the past seven years should tell me that we shouldn't put anything past them. A woman can HOPE, can't she??? They just look all tard out right about now.