Inauguration Nation
I can appreciate a well-planned, well-orchestrated presidential inauguration as much as the next person, but things are getting out of hand and over the top. A link rundown:
—- Coming to a theater near you: Obama inauguration to air in theaters – courtesy of MSNDC and Screenvision (surprise!). In a way, though, it will kind of be fitting. After all, isn’t it every actor’s dream to appear on the big screen?
—– The theme of the day will be Lincoln – as in Abe Lincoln. Apparently Obama sees himself as some sort of clone of Honest Abe. Via the NY Post:
In what will be a Lincoln-themed inauguration from top to bottom, Obama won’t only follow in the footsteps of the former president – he’ll also eat like him, it was announced yesterday.
Obama’s jampacked Abe-apalooza moved into high gear with an announcement from the Congressional Inaugural Committee that it will hold a luncheon next Tuesday following the swearing-in ceremony that’s modeled after foods Lincoln enjoyed.
The lunch menu is only the latest in a slew of references and tributes to Lincoln that will be folded into Obama’s big day.
Part of the meal will even be served on replicas of the china picked out by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln at the beginning of her husband’s first term in office in 1861.
The appetizer will feature a seafood stew in puff pastry – including scallops, shrimp and lobster – in honor of Lincoln’s love of seafood.
The main course of a “Brace of American Birds (pheasant and duck)” with sour-cherry chutney will be served with molasses sweet potatoes – a nod to the root vegetables and wild game that Honest Abe ate as a child in Indiana.
The Lincoln-fest luncheon at Statuary Hall, a chamber of the Capitol building, will serve some 200 guests, including members of the Supreme Court, the incoming Cabinet and congressional leaders.
“It’s always good to model yourself after a great president,” said Eric Foner, a professor of American history at Columbia University. “The proof will be in the pudding.”
The guests will enjoy an apple cinnamon sponge cake for dessert, which recalls Lincoln’s love of apples.
The ABE-BAMA Photoshop the Post created is priceless:
He will take the oath of office on the same Bible used to swear in Lincoln. Rumor has it that his transportation that morning will be in a – you guessed it – Lincoln.
—– The head of the Alabama NAACP is whining over the fact that Mobile’s Azalea Trail Maids, who will take part in the inaugural parade, “remind him” of plantation days. WSFA reports:
Montgomery, Ala. (WSFA) — They’re part of a long standing tradition that will soon become a part of Presidential history.
The head of the Alabama NAACP, however, wants Mobile’s Azalea Trail Maids to stay home on Inauguration Day, claiming the group reminds him of slavery.
“These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the Wind,” Edward Vaughn said in a phone interview.
Vaughn went on to say the group would be the laughing stock of the Inauguration. County leaders say nothing could be further from the truth.
The joke’s on Vaughn, but unfortunately it’s not a very funny one. I guess some people will just look for any excuse to play the race card.
—– No inauguration day for a liberal president would be complete without a star-studded cast of Hollyweirdos putting on a concert in that president’s honor. The theme? “We Are One.” The place? The Lincoln Memorial.
I think I’m gonna be sick.
—– Gay liberals, last seen as “outraged” over Obama’s choice of “anti-gay” Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation on inauguration day, are feeling much better about things thanks, in part, to the selection of openly gay Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson, who will deliver a pre-inaugural prayer Sunday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial … prior to the “We Are the One” concert.
Robinson even provided us a sneak peek at what kind of prayer he’ll give: “I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer.'”
Now that’s a shocker.
Oh, and he may address the prayer to the “the God of our many understandings.” That’s great. Finally, we’ll get to learn more about the God he believes in.
(Update – 11:11 PM) I missed this quote from the NYT piece the first time around:
Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”
Wow. Just freakin’ wow.
—– Then there’s the $20 inaugural poster.
—– Last but not least, make sure to check out Jules Crittenden’s must-read inauguration commentary and link round-up from yesterday here. I’ve highlighted a few stories related to PEBO’s big day next week, but Jules has a more comprehensive list.
—– PS: One more link I meant to add: Jim Lynch has obtained an advance copy of Obama’s inauguration speech (chuckle).