$170 MILLION INAUGURATION !

[Jimmy2]

$170 MILLION INAUGURATION !!!!! I thought we are having a bad economy !!! This does not look good already !!! I am just getting by and the times are not going to get better as the worse is yet to come.This is not fair to the people of this country to have to hear this $$ being used this way!!!! Hell give me some so i can put a down payment on a house now thats a smart way to spend it.

Obama should have said lets have a low key and low cost INAUGURATION !!!! That would have went far with many in this country with his Change logo!!!! Looks as if there is going to be no Change left when this is all over and done !!!!

I really want to like him and back him but another stupid move on his part.

[audio1der]

IF that figure is accurate (I rarely trust sources who part with this sort of info), that is a poor move on his part-particularly on his way into the oval office.

[Jimmy2]

Its sad to say its 100% correct... Cost includes Law enforcement ,Parties and so on..

Now i dont think he is the cause of the cost but hell they are pumping Obama like he has done something great aready before taking office.

This mans ego must be off the scales by now i just wish he would have come back down to earth and said cut the spending for my INAUGURATION America cant afford this now.

[Spartan]

170 mil is a mere pittance! fear not for President "O" is the messiah and will save us all!

[Mel]

I think it shows he doe not have the courage to buck the system.

[Ken Gargett]

I think it shows he doe not have the courage to buck the system.

as an outsider, i'm rather puzzled by all the claims about change and then he goes and reinstates the clinton regime. one assumes that the clintons have some fairly hefty sway in the democratic party but surely beating hillary and winning the presidency should have given him even more currency do what he said he would, instead of more of the same and rhetoric before the first hurdle.

be very interesting to see if all those hailing him as the new messiah are as equally ruthless when he doesn't deliver (that is not to suggest he won't be a good president, just that not even god himself could live up to such expectations - can anyone think of human in history who has had greater expectations placed on them?)

[stargazer14]

Not so fast to bash boys -

Most of it is paid with private donations.

"More than 5,000 individual donors contributed up to $50,000 each to sponsor the new president's swearing-in. As in his presidential campaign, Obama banned contributions from corporations, political action committees, registered lobbyists, foreigners and registered foreign agents."

a list of donors: http://www.wral.com/news/political/page/4324089/

[SamuraiJack]

Oh noes. Politics.

[Jimmy2]

The bulk of this overrated party we the people of America will be paying $$$$$$ for the most in the history of any President of our great country.

And the times will get even worse before it gets better mark my words big mistake on Obama's part.

There has always been Donations given to help pay for the Presidents INAUGURATION Obama put a cap on how much $50,000 per person where Bush put it at 250,000 per person when he had it.

Change yes more for us to pay the American Tax payer.

And let me say again i want him to do good.

[tandblov]

I thought politics was not allowed to be discussed here at FOH.

Am I wrong?

[El Presidente]

I love discussing politics but every thread just degenerates into an abyss.

I wish Obama well as I am sure almost everyone does. This is a momentous time for the US. I wouldn't be comfortable with a "Sausage sizzle" on the steps of the whitehouse but neither would I be comfortable with private "donations". Surely, records are kept, favours inferred. Such is the way it has always been.

Let's give the benefit of the doubt. Best of wishes to our US members tomorrow. Enjoy a momentous day!

[KB24]

Politics should not be allowed as I think it brings out the ugly side of people. We all have our own opinions and when it comes to politics, we should keep them to ourselves. The only time everyone starts to argue is over political issues.

-Patrick

[Ken Gargett]

Politics should not be allowed as I think it brings out the ugly side of people. We all have our own opinions and when it comes to politics, we should keep them to ourselves. The only time everyone starts to argue is over political issues.

-Patrick

provided people can discuss it rationally, as surely our members are capable of doing, i think it can contribute considerably to the forum. it provides different perspectives and allows those from other countries to learn about what is going on elsewhere.

on the other hand, if idiots decide to use it for their own soapbox then they should be treated appropriately, dumped from the forum and shunned into obscurity.

[Chicago]

I for one, can not wait until this BS is over with. This is an actual headline from today's Chicago Tribune

...Comments about Michelle Obama's brows lead to some tweaking

By Wendy Donahue | Tribune reporter

January 19, 2009

Can you tell a difference? Michelle Obama on Aug. 25, 2008 (top) and Jan. 18, 2009 (bottom).

untitled.bmp

[SethG]

I for one, can not wait until this BS is over with. This is an actual headline from today's Chicago Tribune

...Comments about Michelle Obama's brows lead to some tweaking

By Wendy Donahue | Tribune reporter

January 19, 2009

Can you tell a difference? Michelle Obama on Aug. 25, 2008 (top) and Jan. 18, 2009 (bottom).

Again I'll say it, surprising amount of non-partisan discussion, most are talking from an independent platform.

One thing I'll say on the inauguration, we already had an election and tons of parties. I think it'd have been best if he had simply cancelled it, rolled up his sleeves and said "Sorry, folks, but with times like these we're going to need to buckle down and combine hard work with touch decisions. We'll throw a big party the first moment the economy begins expansion again."

how much of that is his giving into people in his party wanting a big showing for the press and how much of that is him, who knows. I wish him the best of luck, as does everyone I'm sure, and we all will see his character and decision making ability over the next year as he confronts major problems he had very little hand in creating.

If he does well we'll remember these days with nostalgia as the beginning of a beautiful presidency, if he does poorly we'll remember this as his first "Let them eat cake" moment. In these momentous times it will not take long to see which way it's heading, not long at all.

[Habanos2000]

I agree with banning the political posts. Let's stick to bashing religions please!

[Ken Gargett]

I agree with banning the political posts. Let's stick to bashing religions please!

i see no reason we cannot multitask and do both.

[gostgost]

Well did you all see or hear how much he is allowed to spend fixing up the White House to his liking???????

100G's

Now thats sickening.

[GoSteelers]

i see no reason we cannot multitask and do both.

Ken just wants to take the focus off of bashing Ken

I don't really care where the money came from it is still overkill at a time when a lot of people are hurting financially.

[Freefallguy]

as an outsider, i'm rather puzzled by all the claims about change and then he goes and reinstates the clinton regime. one assumes that the clintons have some fairly hefty sway in the democratic party but surely beating hillary and winning the presidency should have given him even more currency do what he said he would, instead of more of the same and rhetoric before the first hurdle.

A rather astute observation coming from a conveyance lawyer .

[terrantheman]

$170 MILLION INAUGURATION !!!!! I thought we are having a bad economy !!! This does not look good already !!! I am just getting by and the times are not going to get better as the worse is yet to come.This is not fair to the people of this country to have to hear this $$ being used this way!!!! Hell give me some so i can put a down payment on a house now thats a smart way to spend it.

Obama should have said lets have a low key and low cost INAUGURATION !!!! That would have went far with many in this country with his Change logo!!!! Looks as if there is going to be no Change left when this is all over and done !!!!

I really want to like him and back him but another stupid move on his part.

As I do agree with you that yes we are in some of the worst economic times of all time. Now there is massive traditions that go along with the whole innauguration. I'm willing to bet that over 70% of that 170MIL was spent on security alone. I really don't think that you could have a public service announcement telling all of the U.S. not to show up at the future Presidents innauguration because we're broke. That just wouldn't work, period! Because you had so many people there it just meant more money was spent on the security and the infrastructure of this grand event. I don't think you can blame the future administration for this but embrace it as this is an amazing event plain and simple. This is just my .02 on this one and I know I'm very happy to see these events take place. As a father of 3 and 2 of them being about the age of Obama's girls I'm proud to have a parent as our President. I think he has the hardest job in the world but I also believe that he can do the best job in the world.