does anyone agree?

[historian]

Rest assured that i am sooooooooooo relieved moron has left the white house and this is by no means a critique ob Obama but when you run a campaign on change and simplicity then hold the most expensive inauguration ever, he has opened the door to accusations of being a charlatan, a monarch or anything else the pukes can come up with. I think that if he had simply had simple party, with some of the locals standing outside invited in then he would have at least given an impression of being one of us. For some reason that really bothers me. Am I overreacting or does anyone have the same qualms?

[babylonsister]

1. I don't, and neither did the 1.8 MILLION people who attended. nt

[Terran]

2. Sorry, I disagree

Not on principle of money, but I feel strongly that he had a duty to include as many ordinary citizens as possible, given the nature of his campaign. The total amount spent was only, what, 10 million more than in 2004, with vastly greater numbers of people in attendance.

[Posteritatis]

3. The inauguration cost about as much as Bush's

When people quoted the price tag for Obama's, they factored the expense of security into it, which they didn't for previous ones. (And fair enough, I think; they should've done that for previous ones too.)

After taking that into account and the dollar difference, they were the same price to within a few million.

[Spazito]

21. Actually, I believe bush's was more expensive on a per person basis...

The Obama Inauguration figure by AP of 160 million includes security provisions for 1.8 million people. Bush's Inauguration figure, including security, comes to around 157 million for 400,000 people. Obama's Inauguration was much more cost effective, served more people than bush's.

[BklynChick]

4. not at all. we have a lot of work to do and we needed Tuesday to get the country psyched and

motivated and inspired to do the hard work. It was an important day and well worth it.

[dbonds]

5. It wasn't the most expensive inauguration ever

There is a great TYT report on the real numbers. When they talk of Obama's they include the security costs, when they compare to bush's they leave those out.

[bdamomma]

15. they have very short memories, Bush had big parties for his

second stolen inaugural. And troops were dying when he had it.

[Soylent Brice]

23. do you have a link? i'm having trouble finding it on the googles.

i'm having the same tiff with my moran mother-in-law.

tried explaining the skewed numbers regarding the security costs being left out of *'s figure, and that there wwere also a gazillion more people there. actual numbers will put it in perspective for her.

[dbonds]

24. Here is the link :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x262157

[Soylent Brice]

26. awesome! thanks!

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Sorry, but the president isn't and never will be one of us.

The quicker you get rid of that flawed thinking, the better.

Millions of Americans wanted to be there. They were going to come regardless. Had Obama kept them out, it would have sent a bad message.

Remember, this was the PEOPLE's inauguration. That's why so many were there. Generally, only the connected and rich are allowed to view it. Obama let average citizens attend.

[asdjrocky]

7. You are wrong-

And you are repeating a right wing meme.

"Yet another news article detailing the cost of the Obama inauguration, including security costs; costs reporters can't actually confirm. Instead the analysis is built on a projection.

Here's the real problem, though: Where's the context? Meaning, how much did previous inaugurations cost, once security expenses were factored in? The entire point of the CNNMoney article is to highlight how expensive the Obama inauguration is going to be. And readers are certainly left with the impression that the spending is historic and just out of control. But is it?

As Media Matters has been noting for days, if you add in the cost of security for Bush's 2005 inauguration, that event cost $157 million. So why does CNNMoney suggest the Obama tab is so newsworthy?"

UPDATE: ABC News does the same thing. It expresses amazement at how expensive the Obama inauguration might be (based largely on security costs), yet makes no reference to the fact that when Bush's inauguration security costs were tabulated his swearing-in cost $157 million."


http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200901190001?show=1


Take a look and think before you post.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8124008

[Captain Hilts]

8. No, FDR had all sorts of inaugural balls.

Though he didn't attend them for the obvious reasons.

[asdjrocky]

9. HE DID NOT SPEND MORE! GET OVER THE RW MEME PEOPLE!

Sorry for all the yelling, but this is one RW myth I don't want to see repeated for the next 8 years. All of a sudden we're in the "W's" being removed from the keyboards again.

Please people, stop this lie now.

[Robeson]

10. a "charlatan, a monarch"?...

...no, I haven't heard that one yet.

[Occam Bandage]

11. A charlatan! A monarch! He has hornswaggled us with his flim-flam, sir!

:eyes:

[Forkboy]

12. You're overreacting.

[asdjrocky]

14. Hey Forkboy-

Not overreacting, repeating a lie. Look upthread.

[William769]

13. I disagree.

After what America has endured, the party should have been bigger (even if we were in a great depression). The Country needed it.

[ebdarcy]

16. Hell, I don't even know why they bothered to televise it. It's not like an inauguration is an

important event. They could have just had Rahm record the oath with a cellphone and then upload the video on YouTube. Just who the Hell does President Obama think he is? I'm outraged.

[Shiver]

17. Obama has clearly betrayed us.

(Stolen from BlooInBloo) :rofl:

[sandnsea]

18. Those 2 million people should have peed in the streets

stfu

[HEyHEY]

19. What cost the money? The ceremony itself or the accommodation of spectators?

[asdjrocky]

20. HE DID NOT SPEND MORE! GET OVER THE RW MEME PEOPLE!

Please look upthread. (Sorry to yell but this is driving me nuts.)

[tekisui]

22. His second one was practically free, so if you average the two,

it was a pretty cheap swearing in.

[H2O Man]

25. Will he legalize Lonnie Anderson's hair?