Drudge/Breibart/Fournier are pimping the “Obama flubbed the oath” meme that we’re sure to hear a lot about from the Village and Wingnuttia:
Chief Justice John Roberts swore in President-elect Barack Obama as president of the United States on Tuesday, helping him through a slight stumble in the first of what could be many important interactions between two men who rose to their positions of power quickly and who have some background similaritities, but whose politics differ.
TPM has the correct details: Roberts misstated the oath slightly and Obama noticed (link corrected).
Clearly, this means that the inauguration is not valid according to a strict interpretation of Article 5 of the Constitution. I believe that, technically, this means that Ted Stevens is now acting president “until such time as the oath is properly administered”.
cleek
BFD. if anyone there had any objections, they would’ve simply re-administered the oath after the ceremonies were over.
fuck Drudge.
BDeevDad
Obama gave Roberts the Spock raised eyebrow during the oath to show he was not pleased.
Notorious P.A.T.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/01/the-inuagural-o.html
NR
How long do you think it’ll be until PUMAs and wingnuts start saying that Obama isn’t really President because he didn’t recite the oath of office correctly? I’ve got six hours; you want the over, or the under?
4tehlulz
Dear Righttards: No one cares about this.
Tattoosydney
@NR:
I’d guess under an hour (if not already).
mellowjohn
besides, the oath of office can’t valid because obama never produced a valid birth certificate to prove to wingnut satisfaction that he wasn’t born in kenya or indonesia or somewhere out in the orion cluster.
Objective Scrutator
Of course, he did that on purpose just to keep the rightfully-elected President Obama out of office, and keep George W. Bush in office. Now, George W. Bush is going to be reinstating NSPD 51! Run for your lives!
Silly Leftists.
El Cid
I need a VAULT COPY of Obama’s oath!!!
Notorious P.A.T.
Here’s a video of the swearing-in, for those interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdvhQhNIq34
Also, just heard that John Cornyn R-Texas wants to hold up Clinton’s confirmation. Woohoo, post-partisanship!
gypsy howell
I just want to know what was in the box Michelle gave the LauraBot2000.
Carton of Newports and a year’s worth of Xanax?
robertdsc
When has that stopped them?
MR Bill
You know, as I heard the stumbles, I thought "some idiot rightblogger will claim that this invalidates the Obama Presidency..Nahh, they couldn’t be that stupid."
I should know by know that stupidity is boundless…
Tattoosydney
Slightly OT.
Jonathan Foreman is a dickhead.
Xecky Gilchrist
@MR Bill: You know, as I heard the stumbles, I thought "some idiot rightblogger will claim that this invalidates the Obama Presidency..Nahh, they couldn’t be that stupid."
I thought the same thing, except for the Nahh and the stuff after that.
Ash Can
Like I said in the other thread, I was able to use the flub as an immediate teaching lesson for my son. ("See? EVERYONE makes mistakes!") The almighty FSM sent us that flub for a reason. ;D
Notorious P.A.T.
Here’s a video of the swearing-in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdvhQhNIq34
Also, in the spirit of our Post-Partisan Era, a Republican is holding up Clinton’s confirmation.
KRK
DougJ, your link to TPM just goes to their page with the (stupid) AP article. The TPM discussion of how it was really Roberts who flubbed is here.
Not My Fault
There has been a ton of discussion about this. "Roberts is an asshole!" "Obama is an idiot!"
meh.
What it looked like to me was that Roberts thought that the first phrase would be: "I, BHO do solemnly swear" and Obama though Roberts was breaking after "I BHO"
They stepped on each other’s lines at that point, and for the rest of the oath they were both off balance. No conspiracy, and no gross incompetence. Just nerves.
Now, the "so help me god" bit at the end seems to be Robert’s invention. Asshole.
J.D. Rhoades
I think it started within 60 seconds after Roberts flubbed it.
Reverend Dennis
I just looked in the garage and I still don’t have a battery powered car. So I checked my bank balance and I’m still not wealthy. After all of the time that Obama has been President I have to say that I’m thoroughly disappointed. Impeach!
J.D. Rhoades
OMFG! Obama just threw the Navy under the bus!
Darius
They really are children, aren’t they?
Reverend Dennis
@J.D. Rhoades:
As a Navy vet, I feel that I’ve been slapped in the face.
The Grand Panjandrum
@Tattoosydney: Other than the fact that he gave the entire currently serving military a shout out: yeah. These guys just want to be outraged at something. It’s all they know.
KRK
There was the stepping on lines, and then Roberts got the word order wrong. It should be "… faithfully execute…" but he said "…execute…faithfully." Which also threw Obama off.
It had already been reported that it was Obama’s request to add this phrase. Apparently it’s been tacked on the end since Washington.
Michael D.
While I have no reason to believe that Roberts might have fumbled, there’s nothing I can see in the TPM story that says so. Am I missing it?
Englischlehrer
I’m watching from Germany on CNN and there are some gasbags on that channel. I wish they had Jane Hamsher or Arianna Huffington on that panel.
rawshark
The TPM page is here
The previous two links were incorrect, sort of.
KRK
@Michael D.:
That’s why I pointed out above@17 that DougJ’s link isn’t going where he thinks it is.
Face
@On the stumbly-bumbly oath of office « tangents and digressions: Glad to see you can link to this site. Too much to ask that you can actually spell it correctly on your blog-roll?
Dumas.
KRK
@rawshark:
Thanks. I suck at links.
Xecky Gilchrist
TPM has the correct details: Roberts misstated the oath slightly and Obama noticed.
I should have known Obama would be checking its kerning on the fly. What a guy.
BDeevDad
Also, he doesn’t know his history. "Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath," Obama said. Actually, Grover Cleveland is counted twice so the number is 43. Bush was so much smarter.
JL
Jake Tapper at abc is a jerk!
I
MikeJ
I thought it sort of petty when Roberts added "whitey" in an attempt to bait Obama into repeating it.
Sebastien
Hey ! Don’t impeach him before our President has the time to milk a photo-op with him as he did with Bush (fun fact: the shot was framed so that our Shorter Napoleon looked nearly as tall as the Fratboy-in-chief.)
Zzyzx
I’m not sure what time this was done due to timezone issues but…
Xel
I thought the stumbling was pretty nice. Here Obama defeats a Clinton and then takes everything thrown against Gore and Kerry (and even more) and wins by seven percent, probably heralding the end of the Reagan’s Rules era.
And then two mess-ups in the oath with his wife barely able to keep her smile from turning into a grin.
Thousands of schoolchildren will never be afraid of messing up during future speaking assignment.
Tattoosydney
@Zzyzx:
RosemaryWoodhouse got there earlier, but with an unexpected (and stupidly wrong) meme.
Duh.
Joshua Norton
When Harding died, Vice President Coolidge took the presidential oath of office in his own house and it was administered by his father who was a notary public. He didn’t even use a bible as it is not the practice in Vermont or Massachusetts to use a Bible in connection with the administration of an oath.
Since none of the present day wingnutz can verify if he used the correct wording and there weren’t the obvious pandering, psuedo-religiousocity involved, I guess he was never really president, either.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
Hillaryis44.com is genius. The spoofs behind that site have really got their mojo going today.
Dave S.
Breaking News: Roberts will produce a John Yoo memorandum outlining his ability to alter the oath of office at will under the Unitary Chief Justice Theory. Also, the Bush family helicopter has apparently reversed course.
JL
@Zzyzx: I left a nice reply but it is awaiting the moderator.
Rick Taylor
Uhhh, that link you gave to TPM does not have the correct details. It says Roberts helped Obama over an awkward moment, not that Roberts mis-stated the oath himself.
Maus
Isn’t TexasDarlin’ one of the more racist posters from HillaryIs44? I remember her being one of the less tolerable PUMAs.
mak
I was kinda hoping Obama would leave at least one black glove on during the oath. A raised, black-gloved hand would’ve been supreme, but I would have settled for the one on the Lincoln bible (which would, of course, have islamo-magically converted it into a Koran).
Maus
I doubt it’s a spoof site, but they sure do use those reactionary idiots to spam a lot of prescription penis pill ads.
The Grand Panjandrum
@Rick Taylor: You are wrong, sir. Roberts omitted the word "faithfully" from the oath. Obama stopped and gave him a chance to correct it. Roberts still put it in the wrong spot. Text of oath.
Here’s the video.
Sebastien
I hate both time lags and my job for having missed that… Now, Ted Stanger, an american journalist living in France and asked to comment on the event had what could be a nice shorter of Obama’s speech: it’s as if he had put his hand on America’s shoulder and said: "You’re still number one, buddy. We’ll just have some work to do together."
Edit: how many dead by cranial explosion when he used his full name in the oath ?
Zam
I personally think Obama flubbed it on purpose. That way when he brings up something like healthcare reform they are all too busy looking through obscure legal tomes to get behind an opposition movement.
Notorious P.A.T.
I tried to post this before, but I guess it got re-routed to wherever the "whitey" tape is:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/01/the-inuagural-o.html
Also here’s a video of the inauguration:
Video
mellowjohn
gypsy howell @ #10…
it was a lovely parting gift. a set of collier’s encyclopedia, a year’s supply of rice-a-roni, and the home version of "the white house game."
Anton Sirius
All hail President
KangBiden!JL
@Zzyzx: That site that you linked to now has this post…
There are crazy whackos over at that site. Geee and is Chris Wallace really playing along with this garbage?
AkaDad
If impeachment isn’t successful, we’ll always have Palin in 2012 to fix everything.
/optimist
oh really
If we can’t trust Roberts to recite a thirty-seven word oath correctly (and reading it is not cheating!), how can we trust him to remember what’s in the Constitution?
TheFountainHead
I thought the 20th Amendment fully and completely pulled this oath’s teeth a long time ago? Not that it should matter in the slightest that they flubbed the order of the words…
Zam
@AkaDad: I thought she planned to run again in 2009 ;)
BombIranForChrist
I really, really hope the crazies (Republicans) try to make something of this flub. It will give them even less credibility in the mind of most Americans, just as Obama starts getting his agenda going.
The more crazy they sound, the better it is for Obama. So keep it up, Drudge. Your movement isn’t completely dead, but with luck, you will keep trying.
David Hunt
Based on the times at the bottom of the comments, I’d say that the guy posted it at 1:06 EST. However, I’m sure that evidence could eventually be found that someone was typing comments like that before the oath was finished being administered. I’m interested in when one of the Serious conservative voices picks up the meme.
Joshua Norton
Can’t really get mad when a snake does what a snake does. It’s just when the loony tunes 28%er’s start regurgitating the same crap thinking they’re actually being intellectual that it really gets pathetic.
Also, anyone who up until now has added "so help me God" is reciting it incorrectly as well and may "technically" not have been president either.
AkaDad
It’s a good thing I wasn’t there or I would have thrown my shoes.
TheFountainHead
CNN reporting Ted Kennedy may have collapsed during the luncheon…
JL
@Joshua Norton: Good point! I just plagiarized your comment and posted it at the right wing site. Of course, I’m in moderation again.
Drudge now says that both Obama and Roberts flubbed.
Face
Cole’s said this a million times, and I’ll repeat it: it’s all about illegitimaticizing the Obama Preznitsee. The Fake Birth Cert was the same thing. Use anything and everything to show the ‘necks that Pres. Scary Negro really isn’t the President, and he’s not to be listened to.
BDeevDad
I can see the arguments at the Supreme Court now:
Chris Johnson
I would bet money that the guy intentionally offered it incorrectly as a trap for Obama- but nobody’s ever going to admit it, plus it’s goddamned petty and picayune.
How would he possibly get the Supreme Court to rule that the oath was wrong and Obama isn’t really president when he himself screwed it up in the first place?
FAIL.
Zifnab
*yawn* Seriously, if this is the best they’ve got, I’ll continue to be incredibly disappointed in Republican fear-mongering and smear-mongering for the next 8 years.
Please make this the new "Obama Birth Certificate" conspiracy theory, if only because it will make the wingers look that much more deranged.
Louise
What happened to Teddy? Obama, speaking at the luncheon, has just said that "our prayers are with his family and Vicky."
bvac
Ted Kennedy collapsed at the inaugural luncheon. That’s not change I can believe in!
Xecky Gilchrist
@BDeevDad: Actually, Grover Cleveland is counted twice so the number is 43.
I think Obama was being all Zen or something, acknowledging that the Grover Cleveland who took the oath the second time was not really the same man as the Grover Cleveland who took it the first time. Like how you can never cross the same river twice.
JL
@Louise: CNN is saying that he had a seizure.
demkat620
I love the smell of desperation in the morning. Smells like…victory.
The Moar You Know
I’m sure the usual suspects will treat this with their standard compassion that we’ve all become accustomed to.
Arachnae
Heh – the AP story is now correct. Guess they actually, you know, watched the tape.
Face
A year ago the funny would have been a too-many Crown n’ Cokes joke here, but the probable cause kinda zaps the humor.
Geeno
I doubt Roberts flubbed it deliberately. He has a reputation for being very affable personally. Of course, he’s still a complete dickhead, ideologically.
Yelli
Has anyone seen this?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/01/bush_and_the_bushhaters.html
Comparing the attacks on Bush from the media to attacks on Lincoln from the media? Come on folks…Is this a joke?
TheFountainHead
This ceremonial troop inspection is a little hokey, no? I mean, where are the Abrams?
John Cole
@Yelli: That is from JR Dunn of the American Thinker, so yes, it is a joke, just not the way you probably mean.
AkaDad
Everyone knows the media went all John Wilkes Booth on Bush.
BethanyAnne
If he isn’t *really* president for the next 4 years, I say he can run in 2012 *and* 2016. It’s like the Iraq "victory". When a wingnut says we have won, I say "Great! That means we can leave now, right?"
John Cole
Any reason to play Stars and Stripes Forever is reason enough for me.
TenguPhule
No. SATSQ.
Xecky Gilchrist
@John Cole: Any reason to play Stars and Stripes Forever is reason enough for me.
Have I actually found another John Philip Sousa fan?
Or is it just that one song you dig?
Zifnab
@AkaDad:
That’s just another example of conflict between Big Hollywood and conservative GOP values.
John Cole
@Xecky Gilchrist: I love Sousa.
TheHatOnMyCat
Roberts flubbed the oath, and should be impeached.
Obama corrected him. Fitting that we get our first SCOTUS appointment in the first month of the new term.
I assume that someone else has already said this by this point in the thread?
John Cole
Did you hear the engine on the limo? There is your tank.
Xecky Gilchrist
@John Cole: I love Sousa.
I’ll be dunked. I never knew anyone else did. I thought they just recorded Sousa CDs so people would have suitable background music for 4th of July picnics.
Rick Taylor
@The Grand Panjandrum:
I’m very well aware of that, and wasn’t saying otherwise. I said that TPM made a mistake. My quote: "Uhhh, that link you gave to TPM does not have the correct details." The link DougJ gave to TPM said that Roberts helped Obama get over an awkward moment. DougJ said TPM gave the correct details, and I was pointing out there was a problem with the link he gave.
demimondian
@Xecky Gilchrist: Whaddya mean? Dude, Sousa is awesome — a combination of subtle impertinence and unapologetic pep. Quintessentially American.
Xecky Gilchrist
@demimondian: Whaddya mean? Dude, Sousa is awesome—a combination of subtle impertinence and unapologetic pep. Quintessentially American.
I’m not alone! Joyful Sob!
Next thing you know, I’ll be scoring a neti pot.
AhabTRuler
@Xecky Gilchrist: Not alone by a long shot. It’s Sousa, Neti pots, and light boxes all around!
Dave S.
Put me down as a Sousa lover as well. Years ago I worked across from the Marine Barracks in DC and got to listen to the band practice. They also lead off the neighborhood July 4th parade that starts right outside the barracks.
Demimondian @91 nails it – quintessentially American.
SGEW
I gotta admit that I can’t help but think of Monty Python’s Flying Circus whenever I hear pretty much any Sousa tune.
Laura W
@AhabTRuler: I think you are forgetting our new little cruciferous friend, aren’t you?
(That was you, right?)
Objective Scrutator
Normally, I’d agree, but he just so happens to be a false idol.
mellowjohn
SGEW,
it’s "the liberty bell" that opens monty python, but you’re right: pretty much any sousa march does it for me.
when i was a kid, my father was a big sousa fan, and he’d put on old 78s for us to march around the house. been pretty much a marching band geek ever since.
Napoleon
@John Cole:
http://features.csmonitor.com/wp-content/themes/csm/popup.php?headline=Obama%26%238217%3Bs+new+limo+-+ugly+but+it+can+fend+off+asteroids&subhead=&graphic=http%3A%2F%2Ffeatures.csmonitor.com%2Fpolitics%2Fwp-content%2Fassets%2F19%2F744%2Fgraphic0.jpg
AhabTRuler
@Laura W: That was me, and I’ve got a new tip: Try adding fresh ginger root and a jalapeño to the mix. It doesn’t overwhelm the flavor and it adds a little tang n’ zing.
demimondian
@Napoleon: I thought that the driver was the "other" SS agent in the car? The CIA doesn’t train them; separation of control is an aspect of security there.
Laura W
@AhabTRuler: I LOVE fresh ginger root. I would never think to add it to the sprouts. Might pass on the pepper. I used pine nuts in the last batch I made (two huge bags that I literally just finished two hours ago)…you want to use the pinenuts. I screwed up, of course, and forgot to sautee with sweet onion. The sweet onion is crucial to the cruciferous cr……
Please insert some clever word that fits in there.
I am very happy that the Obamas did not take the girls on the parade walk with them.
Tattoosydney
Bah! Now the Usurper has cruelly left his children behind in the car. IASITF! Why does Obama hate Sasha and Malia?
Laura W
@Tattoosydney:
They’re girls, silly.
Tattoosydney
@Laura W:
and they’re a quarter white.
libarbarian
He’s not President. End of story. He misstated the oath and therefore the US has no president. Anarchy reigns.
When my fresh root sprouts I love to add it to Ginger as well.
Laura W
@Tattoosydney: Winner!
Face
@Dave S.: How they can have the first Black prez and not have the orchestra bust out a Public Enemy tune makes the whole thing a sham.
BTW, where did all the Jakes go? Weren’t there like 5 different Jakes here not too long ago? Everyone grab a new handle?
Kirk Spencer
Gah. Oh, I like some Sousa, but having been stuck as part of a production of Desiree… no. I like some Sousa, but cannot call myself a devoted fan.
Comrade Darkness
@Darius,
Yes. It’s the explanation that carries through every disturbed facet of them. Right down to not caring if you throw all your toys (banks) around the playroom (market) because mommy and daddy will come and fix them or buy you new ones. And beyond this mystery adult who will bail them out, there is always the sky daddy who must be appeased because in the end times he will swoop in and take them to the great playroom in the sky, stopping only to spank anyone who called them names.
Makes me nauseous to imagine they’ve been in charge of anything more than a lemonade stand.
Tattoosydney
@Laura W:
small bow. blush.
The Moar You Know
@Xecky Gilchrist: Add another to the list. As a four-year marching band survivor, I am not sure that "fan" would be the right term, but close enough.
John Cole
Did you know that 90% of high school students are sexually active?
The other ten percent are in the marching band.
SGEW
"Power To The People," ftw.
Laura W
@John Cole: Ha! We’ll have to direct Little Brit Different to this thread when she shows up later tonight.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@JL: Yes. My thought is Jake Tapper is a such a big fucking idiot that the words big fucking idiot don’t even come close to conveying the vastness of his fucking idiocy.
Xecky Gilchrist
@John Cole: Did you know that 90% of high school students are sexually active? The other ten percent are in the marching band.
Ha! That explains some things.
Well, one thing, anyway.
jrosen
@John Cole
I played in the Boston Pops for 20 seasons and so probably have heard (or played) the Stars and Stripes (to us it was just "Stars") several hundred times and I still like it. Partly because it was always the last encore and meant that the thing was over. But seriously…Sousa was a fine craftsman and all of his popular marches are well made and so wear well. My favorite is still "Semper Fidelis"…the melody of the second part is nothing but four notes of an F major chord like a bugle call. It takes a master to make that work.
And I do wish the gripers and groaners would hold their water for a day or two…maybe a couple of hours?
Anne Elk (Miss)
When you major in music and play the flute, your wind ensemble time includes lots of Sousa.
It’s much more technically demanding than most people would think (ie, the piccolo solo in Stars and Stripes!!)
and very challenging to play correctly in a stylistic sense (as opposed to just playing the right notes at the right time).
Our college wind ensemble spent long rehearsals on getting the style right.
Washington Post is a lot better than The Washington Post, no?
gnomedad
@Napoleon:
I didn’t realise the Brits actually spell it "aluminium".
RememberNovember
Obama became President at 12 noon today, regardless of CJ Howdy Doody’s flubs.
Roberts was a Bush pick, nothing more need be said.
John Cole
Sousa makes you happy.
There can never be enough Sousa.
Not to mention, I am German, and martial music is in my blood.
Dreggas
@John Cole:
I call bullshit but then again saxophone players make better kissers so we always got some.
binzinerator
@Not My Fault:
Another goddamn libtard judicial activist. A judge should apply the text as it is written and no further, like all true Americans and God-fearin’ conservatives insist.
Krista
Nonsense. I played the freaking glockenspiel, and still managed to get plenty.
Joshua Norton
It seems that this would make a pretty good case for President Obama to start proceedings to remove Roberts for incompetence. Suck on that, freeptards.
Hey! I just wrote President Obama for the first time! Kewl!
Faux News
Full disclosure: I have a CD of Sousa marches and I listen to it about every two weeks on the way to work.
But then again I also listen to Christmas Carols all year round. I get strange looks during June and July when I’m at a stop light and my windows are down.
Laura W
@John Cole: Speaking of happy, are we gonna get a ball thread?
There can never be enough happy!
demimondian
@Krista: Feh. Listen, if you wanted to get some, being in the choir was *strictly* where it was at.
sus
From RosettaSister’s blog (mostly birfers and mixed nuts):
justanamericancindy4 Says:
January 20, 2009 at 6:45 pm
from another post
___________
Chris Wallace was just commenting that he is unsure if BO is POTUS cause the Oath was not repeated in accordance to the Constitution. He further commented that should that go to SCOTUS, Roberts would surely overlook it..
I swear there is a lot of things that did not go right today…maybe they wanted to let him go through this to avoid a riot and figure out a way to remove him quietly and without embarassment
http://rosettasister.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/bloggers-beware-“south-korean-blogger-minerva-acted-alone-say-prosecutors”/
(note that time/date stamps are always wrong as Rose can’t figure out how to set the time.)
The Moar You Know
@John Cole: You went to the wrong high school. Our band trips were booze and sex orgies.
JL
@sus: I’ve already linked to enough right wing sites today. Somebody else can go tell them to read the Constitution.
FYI I love a parade!
sus
Rose herself chimes in with:
rosettasister Says:
January 20, 2009 at 6:47 pm
From Previous Thread:
CJ Says:
January 20, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Wow could it be a sign from God? The Chief Justice and Obama screwed up the oath!! How many times has that ever happened. The words just couldn’t come out right from 2 guys who know the truth. Fox newscaster was joking and wondering if Obama was really the Pres. cause he didn’t say the words written in the Constitution as the oeath. My goodness what irony! Said he’s sure the SC would uphold the Pres is legit if it was ever challenged. Maybe ol Joe is really the Pres. right now. Unbelievable!
================
But, they have a whole new theory over there. Berg has released info about some new secret evidence that will prove Obama is illegal.
They are a fun bunch. Rosetta’s place, the PUMA movement and TeamSarah. Well… they keep me amused.
sus
The band was having sex orgies?
heidi
I wonder if the author of this pitiful article realizes that the title itself disputes everything that is said in the article? You cannot impeach Obama if he’s not the president, like you claim he isn’t. Oh and by the way, the OATH is what makes him president – he could have read it from a book if he had wanted to. Instead he just recited it CORRECTY despite Roberts’ mistake.
Mike in NC
Nothing wrong with a little Sousa, but NEVER go on a long road trip with anybody who likes to play CDs of bagpipe music.
Ash Can
John Philip Sousa rocks the house.
mellowjohn
sus…
and this one time, at band camp………..
Mnemosyne
I am embarrassed to admit I only realized a few years ago that "Stars and Stripes Forever" has actual lyrics and isn’t an instrumental.
Blue Raven
@Mnemosyne:
And most of us would say they involve ducks.
Grumpy Code Monkey
A french horn player must have royally pissed Sousa off at one point, because the french horn part to every goddamned Sousa march is exactly the same — [rest] dah [rest] dah [rest] dada dah dah — over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Not fun. Hated playing Sousa. Happiest day of my life was moving up to varsity knowing I would never have to play Sousa again.
And apparently I went to the wrong high school, too.
Litlebritdifrnt
My DH’s first comment to John’s remark was "he can go fuck himself" then on reflection he said "actually he’s right because they are more disciplined and are smarter than to ruin their lives" I think this change of heart comes from his Oregon roots veritably screaming in joy that we have about four inches of snow on the ground here in NC. He keeps going outside and looking at it, then coming back indoors he grins inanely and says "cool".
Oh and I just knew the birthers/pumas would find conspiracy in the flubb "SEE SEE ROBERTS KNOWS HE IS INELIGIBLE!" while spitting cheetos all over their puter screen.
It is a great day to be living in the United States. Although I have to admit I concur with several posters over at Wonkette "OMG get back in the fucking car!"
BTW did anyone else notice when the Obama’s arrived at the reviewing stand and were greeting people Michelle said to someone "we’re back, we’re home" I thought that was awesome.
Next thing to look forward to Michelle’s dress and the dance "sigh"
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
@Grumpy Code Monkey: the french horn part to every goddamned Sousa march is exactly the same—[rest] dah [rest] dah [rest] dada dah dah—over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Not fun.
That’s what the sax parts were like, too. The only difference between first chair and the others were which one note you got to play.
So yeah, can’t say I like playing his stuff, but I like to listen to it. My pity for the horn players just adds a dimension of, how do you say, wistfulness to the experience.
And apparently I went to the wrong high school, too.
Heh. There was plenty of shagging going on at mine. Since it was in Utah, much of that stuff ended up in pregnancy/dropout sorts of sadness.
Conservatively Liberal
John, I love Souza, am a former band geek (6 years, Sousaphone & Upright Tuba and Coronet/Trumpet, parades and all) and you are nuts if you think band geeks are not sexually active.
Violin players are the best. Take my word for it, I ended up marrying one.
Comrade grumpy realist
Getting back to the whole *oath* thingie…..
Both my professors in my law school today started out class by pointing out that it was *Roberts* who flubbed the oath…..with commentary about "don’t think you’ve memorized something when you haven’t."
Snerk!
(I think we’ll put this one in the basket of "shiny toys to distract Wingnuttia.")
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
Actually, sweetheart, Obama didn’t correct him, Obama decided to stop, think and go with Robert’s version, but, he did know that it wasn’t correct. I think he did it to save face for the CJ. It doesn’t really matter if the words were in correct order anyway though, right? The words were all there (and CJ’s "so help you God?" at the end was another complete fuck up).
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
You know, I noticed that myself and I never even played the french horn.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
I like it. The fact that it was the creation of a wingnut is even more delicious.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
Not only do they spell it that way, they say it that way too!
AL-OO-MINI-UM
Tattoosydney
@gnomedad:
Um… quite a lot of the rest of the world spells and pronounces it "aluminium"…
Tattoosydney
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX:
In Australia it’s definitely "al-Yoo-mi-ni-um".
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
@Tattoosydney:
Yoo do that TOO?
Tattoosydney
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX:
We do. We also say "pissed" when we mean "drunk". And have over 300 slang terms for "to vomit". We’re a classy bunch.
Anyway… What’s it like over there on the first day of a new presidency?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
Yes, I know about that "pissed" thing.
I had an old internet game friend come to the US back in 1999 (we had an online reunion of sorts – I myself traveled about 800 miles for it) and she said to me right after we said our hellos "let’s get pissed" and I was like "HUH?"
She also introduced me to some kind of pasty, brown, salty like substance that had an aftertaste sort of like petroleum. Gosh, can’t remember what it’s called now.
It’s still inauguration day to me. I am still in shock, I have not been able to talk myself into sleep yet.
R-Jud
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX:
If she was from Oz, it was Vegemite. If from NZ or the UK, Marmite. Either way: yuck.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
Vegemite, YES that’s what it was. I haven’t touched the stuff since. LMAO! I agree, YUCK!
Tattoosydney
Ah, our beloved Vegemite. Some of our cultural icons are an acquired taste – which you will never acquire unless your mother started feeding you vegemite on toast (lightly smeared, of course) when you were two.
Tim Tams on the other hand translate very well. Buy some. Make a cup of tea. Bite off diagonally opposite corners of a Tim Tam, and then suck hot tea through it. Then get the whole thing in your mouth before it collapses. Repeat. Try to stop eating them. Heaven.
R-Jud
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX: I’ve tried both– they are basically the same thing– and both times couldn’t swallow the stuff and had to brush my teeth afterwards. A lady from my running club swears by Marmite as the bestest pre-run fuel source for long-distance ever. I prefer oatmeal. Even eaten uncooked, it is more palatable than Marmite.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX
I’ll say. Nothing against you, but I don’t normally like to put things in my mouth that end up tasting like I just took a sip of gasoline. You can have my share, k? ;)
Tattoosydney
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMIX:
Gladly. I gave up trying to convince Americans to taste vegemite as a lost cause years ago.
Tim Tams on the other hand… Hee.
jrosen
Conservatively liberal: Violinists have great hands (a little self-promotion there).
French horn players: That job goes to the second violins and violas in the orchestra versions…at least they don’t have to march.
I played piccolo for a year in high school (Samuel R Mumford, Detroit MI. the very same as on Eddie Murphy’s sweatshirt in "Beverly Hills Cop") and never learned to breathe right so I could never get all the way through the long trill in "Stars".
Just saying: The high point of the parade was the group of Crow Tribe members on horseback in full ceremonial dress.
Personal note: of the 5 people playing the John Williams music before the oath, I know three (Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, and Williams). A special thrill for me. (Minor note: I thought the piece was a little too long and a little to elaborate for the context (outdoors, at a high point in the ceremony). But the Rainbow Coalition appearance of the players sent a strong message of its own.
It reminded me a bit of my own family: I have 5 nieces; two are half Latino and half Jewish, two are half black and half-Jewish, and one is the grand-daughter of an Episcopalian minister (and is Jewish because her mother, my sister, is Jewish). My only nephew is also half-Latino; my own and only son is Jewish on both sides, but my grand-daughter’s mother is Rumanian. Are we the world in miniature? I hope so. We at least have genes from all the continents except Australia (maybe the next generation will take care of that.)
Paolo
Oath flub or not, this video demonstrates what the true Obama Agenda holds for America.
http://tinyurl.com/8mndmw