"Now we're halfway."

[captainsblog]

It's obviously not a coincidence that today, the 50th anniversary of John Kennedy's inauguration, falls on the same day as the exact midpoint of Obama's presidency. We're kinda anniversarial that way.

It also strikes me how similar their paths were up to this same midpoint in their scheduled terms of office. Kennedy also came into office after eight years of Republican rule, marked from the beginning by questions about his loyalty to his country and about his qualifications. He took on tough issues in the face of severe Conservative opposition, and accomplished a remarkable amount of what he set out to do in spite of that. He got to imprint his legacy on the Supreme Court, as well. Yet there were those who could never live with somebody that "different" being in charge. Some went as far as to distribute posters of the incumbent elected President depicting this:



The whole parallel of those days to these is depicted here, but the most frightening connection? The co-founder of the John Birch Society, the force behind the hate back then, was one Fred Koch; today, his sons are the money and the lack of brains behind the "grassroots" teabagger movement.

Sadly, the nation never got to see Kennedy- any Kennedy- carrying out the mandate of a full four years in office. In perhaps the cruelest irony, it was the death of the youngest brother last year that cost the Democrats their 60-vote Senate majority and, with it, any meaningful chance of carrying out what the 2008 electrorate asked for.

Here's to a better, and completer, second half of this Administration.

Comments

[bktheirregular]

I'd object on one point. Given the tenor of the Grand Old Party's upper echelon in the last decade or so, I'm hoping that it's NOT the half-way point. For all his flaws, I'm hoping the man's only a quarter done.

Excuse me, is my Freudian slip showing?

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

I was gonna edit that reference, but realized I'd have to do it twice. So instead I'll offer it as an effort to lull the other side into a false sense of security- maybe false enough for them to pick She Who Must Not Be Named as their nominee next year.

Re: Excuse me, is my Freudian slip showing?

[bktheirregular]

At this point, I'd classify America's most famous former half-term governor in with those people who you can't afford to take your eyes off of until they've had a stake driven through their heart, the body burned to ashes, the ashes mixed into a cinder block, and the cinder block shot into the sun.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

My objection as well. We're only a quarter of the way through this administration, most likely.

[floundah.livejournal.com]

I hope you are right.

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

I add my voice to those who saw a rekindling of the hopes of Camelot in the election of Obama, and who hope to hear another Obama inaugural address in 2013.

The one to fear is not Palin - she's unelectable - but another politically connected son of privilege from Massachusetts.