After Inauguration, Obama Celebrates with His Network

If nothing else, this week the city of Washington was Obamafied.

The usually desolate downtown streets were packed, overflowing with the kind of exuberant, multiracial young crowds that are rarely seen anywhere in America except for concerts and sporting events. They were here to celebrate, to cheer and to party, of course, but this time with a palpable civic pride. At all the political and government events I've attended, I've never seen this kind of spirit. In fact, it was more striking than election night in Chicago's Grant Park, when the Jumbotrons first broadcast the reality of President Obama. Then, it was all emotion. People rejoiced, screamed and cried.

Now, most everyone seems composed, focused, even resolute. People came here to bear witness, to be together, to physically join the concise ritual of swearing in the President. For most attendees, that meant waiting over four hours in the bitter cold to watch the process on Jumbotrons, then spending several more hours trudging away from the National Mall, which was paralyzed by the tight security and record crowds. Given the views, logistics and weather – never mind the cost – there were no obvious advantages to actually attending this inauguration. And yet.

All the superlatives and records were a blended mess by Tuesday afternoon, drained of significance from televised repetition, but this was the largest turnout in inaugural history. The reason is simple: people wanted to Be Here. They may have met online, or watched Obama from afar, but they still think that living the experience in person, together, matters. That may be the ultimate rejoinder to the cynics who blithely dismissed the Obama campaign's focus on web organizing and youth outreach -- and the ultimate rebuttal to the luddites who have long declared, without data, that the rise of online politics dooms our society to a strictly virtual, atomized isolation. In reality, connected networks can swiftly build political power and civic capital out of thin air, from funding a longshot campaign to convening a nonpartisan day of service to honor Dr. King.

At the very last inaugural celebration, Obama met back up with the nucleus of his network, speaking at a "ball" for aides and volunteers on Wednesday night. He reminisced on how they managed to put him in the White House. "Look at you," he said, as his eyes scanned the happy, exhausted crowd. "You guys are so young. Maybe it's because so many of you are so young -- or young at heart -- that you could imagine what hadn't been done before. You didn't know any better when people said I couldn't win." Now, everyone knows better.

Comments (28)

1. bet you had some fun, ARI...

   good 4 u!

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 01/22/2009 @ 6:40pm

2. Thanks ibbleblibble, it was really great, even though Tues. was entirely too cold. Seeing Obama & Jay-Z at the staff party, along with all the jubilant volunteers, was the best.

   Posted by arimelber at 01/22/2009 @ 7:10pm

3. Bias, prejudice, hypocrisy, partisonship, myopia and all the other high ideals of the journalistic ethic are truely fully displayed this month! If democrat party leadership is so great why has congresses approval rating in the last two years fallen into the single digits or less than 1/2 of Bush's. Now we will see Obamas nose dive into 2009.

   Posted by comancheamerican at 01/22/2009 @ 7:21pm

4. Don't you almost pity the poor bastards (HAPPY and comanche/RIO).

   No hope, no optimism, not even a selfless desire to see the COUNTRY do better (because it would help "Magic" and "Demoncrats").

   What miserable wretches.

   Posted by Mask at 01/22/2009 @ 7:45pm

5. Posted by arimelber at 01/22/2009 @ 7:10pm | ignore this person | warn this person

   obama impresses me more and more. considering the temperature, his 18 minute, short and sweet acceptance speech was priceless.

   i bet he was freezing his nads off...

   smart guy.

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 01/22/2009 @ 8:36pm

6. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 8:52pm | ignore this person | warn this person

   well, HAP...if tax breaks are targetted at development of specific industries and endeavors that will lead to long term sustainability...fine.

   we shall see.

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 01/22/2009 @ 9:25pm

7. Here's a BIG prediction....Magic and his team will find, in 6 months or less, that he will have to have a real tax cut aimed at the top 20%, dramatically cut corporate taxes, extend Bush's tax cuts or waive capital gains on 2009 (& perhaps 2010) investments.----Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 8:49pm

   Wanna bet the remainder of your parched portfolio on that, HAPP?

   LOL

   Posted by Mask at 01/22/2009 @ 9:31pm

8. BTW, HAPP, give you a cushion....six months and change-

   You have until the Fourth of July (six months and a few days) for your prediction to come true.

   If it does, I bow to your supreme financial/economic acumen.

   If it doesn't, you start coming up with excuses, caveats, rationalizations, "I didn't count ons", etc.

   You know...like you usually do.

   Posted by Mask at 01/22/2009 @ 9:43pm

9. blackcoptermedia.com, steeler nation is the call, check it out the debate rages!

   Posted by thesid at 01/22/2009 @ 10:13pm

10. Posted by thesid at 01/22/2009 @ 10:13pm

    look, everybody has ignored you. i haven't cause i'm too nice.

    please stop advertising and say something.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 01/22/2009 @ 11:03pm

11. No hope, no optimism, not even a selfless desire to see the COUNTRY do better (because it would help "Magic" and "Demoncrats").

    What miserable wretches.

    Posted by Mask at 01/22/2009 @ 7:45pm

    Try the reality that the undemocrat congress will create a supposed bailout that like queer Barney's banking gifts will benefit only partison friends, create economic draining entitlements, make bigger bureaucracy the only job growth area, continue to subsidise high expensed unionized industries, and place higher tax burdens on ALL economic levels etc. and what do you see?

    Posted by comancheamerican at 01/22/2009 @ 11:10pm

12. I was watching CNN or MSNBC the other day, before the inauguration, and there was this fact scrolling along the bottom of the screen....

    Poll results: 71% of Americans confident Obama will turn the economy around.

    Just about everyone but the scowling, kool-aid driven 28% is behind the new President.

    Posted by koroviev at 01/22/2009 @ 11:17pm

13. Posted by comancheamerican at 01/22/2009 @ 11:10pm

    Derka derka! Mohammed jihad!!

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/22/2009 @ 11:19pm

14. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 11:22pm

    You are worthress Arrec Barrwin!

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/22/2009 @ 11:24pm

15. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 11:22pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    Obama and a democrat congress brings fond memories of the 70's when the Dow was trying to break 1,000 and the Carter Administration botched Iran and sent the economy into a nosedive!

    Posted by comancheamerican at 01/22/2009 @ 11:37pm

16. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 11:36pm

    Yes do all those things.

    Because that would obviously solve the problem, right?

    Smells like bullshit.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/22/2009 @ 11:38pm

17. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 11:36pm

    Sounds like somebody needs to experience a hard day's work, and gain a little perspective.

    That's okay, I'm used to dealing with lazy people.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/22/2009 @ 11:39pm

18. Don't worry HAPPY, when your portfolio completely collapses, I'll totally be able to hook you up with a job. Whip you into shape real quick.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/22/2009 @ 11:40pm

19. Although when you spend all of your time dealing with fake money, I can't feel too bad about your misfortune.

    Hopefully you all will learn your lesson.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/22/2009 @ 11:49pm

20. Wonder what it takes to get in on the Obama Ch ch ch ch Chia pet franchise they talked about on CNN? Now theres a money maker!

    Posted by comancheamerican at 01/23/2009 @ 12:00am

21. These are all hopelessly out of order, but oh well...

    <i>Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 10:22pm </i>

    He gives you some extra time for your predictions to come true and this is a math defect? That seems odd.

    <i>Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 8:49pm </i>

    Hmm, so hope bows to straight calculation. Interesting. Of course, the kind of prediction you're doing seems speculative, not that economics could be described as a "science" anyway.

    Also, this doesn't address the "desire for the country to do better" point.

    <i>Posted by koroviev at 01/22/2009 @ 11:17pm </i>

    I'm not even sure you're right about the 28%. Many of them have heaped praise on the historic nature of Obama's achievement, and express nervous hope that he might be able to improve things. That doesn't mean they're optimistic, but it does mean they hope he succeeds.

    And again, to those commentators that continue to insist otherwise...Obama had a platform that included actual positions. Hope/change is not one of them, because it's not an actual position. A position answers the question "hope...for what?/change...to what?" Hope is a campaign word and makes us feel nice, but until a politician gives some idea of what to hope for and how he means to change things, he hasn't taken a position that means much of anything.

    Posted by Thrawn at 01/23/2009 @ 12:15am

22. And again, to those commentators that continue to insist otherwise...Obama had a platform that included actual positions. Hope/change is not one of them, because it's not an actual position. A position answers the question "hope...for what?/change...to what?" Hope is a campaign word and makes us feel nice, but until a politician gives some idea of what to hope for and how he means to change things, he hasn't taken a position that means much of anything.

    Posted by Thrawn at 01/23/2009 @ 12:15am

    Hear hear.

    I suppose I have to give him some room to either impress me, or hang himself.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 01/23/2009 @ 01:20am

23. Reading the transcript of Obama's inaugural speech was like reading a J.R.R. Tolkien history of US foreign policy, as if they are hobbits battling the forces of Sauron. Ironically racism underscores the entire thing--the millions slaughtered by the US during the ‘Cold War' can be conveniently left unmentioned, because they are essentially treated as untermenschen within political discourse.

    Obama has surrounded himself with individuals associated with imperialist crimes and financial scandals, including Bush's Pentagon chief, Robert Gates, who presided over the military "surge" in Iraq and opposed any timetable for withdrawing US troops from the devastated country.

    In the first substantive line of the speech, Obama declared, "Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." The implication was unmistakable: The "global war on terror," the pretext used by the Bush administration for launching two wars of aggression, carrying out torture, extraordinary rendition, unlawful detentions and domestic spying, continues unabated.

    There appears to be two dominant religions in the US, Christianity and Americanism--belief in the latter requires a fairytale view of American history, and its holy texts are updated each year by Hollywood.

    Posted by Frank_Doric at 01/23/2009 @ 02:22am

24. I'm not even sure you're right about the 28%. Many of them have heaped praise on the historic nature of Obama's achievement, and express nervous hope that he might be able to improve things. That doesn't mean they're optimistic, but it does mean they hope he succeeds.

    Posted by Thrawn at 01/23/2009 @ 12:15am

    I may not be right, it's just an observation. However....

    By 28%'ers, I am referring to the minority of people who approve of G.W. Bush.

    Many Republicans have disavowed G.W.B as a failure and contrary to true conservative ideals.

    Many Republicans have expressed hope and regard this inauguration as a new beginning, I'll concede that....It is jus an observation that there are 29% who are not confident Obama will turn country around.

    Posted by koroviev at 01/23/2009 @ 02:43am

25. I think Prez Obama will change this country around totally given the chance, we can't expect miracles over night that's for sure. He has started off very well so far and look forward to seeing what else he will do, so I am very confident in him.

    Posted by Caj at 01/23/2009 @ 08:48am

26. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/22/2009 @ 10:22pm

    You're right, HAPP. You have until August. I'm happy to admit I was wrong...and happy to wait.

    BTW, you now MUST stop calling The President "Magic".

    "I'll repost this and let it sink in a bit.....about the state of our country and the general lack of respect toward authority and of course, BDS!"-----Posted by 2HAPPY at 08/26/2008 @ 11:45am

    Posted by Mask at 01/23/2009 @ 09:24am

27. HAPP, you ARE going to stop your "general lack of respect toward authority and of course," Obama "DS"....right???

    Posted by Mask at 01/23/2009 @ 11:11am

28. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 01/23/2009 @ 11:27am

    Ohhhhhhhh...you don't think "Magic" is disrespectful, so AMAZINGLY you're not being hypocritical....of course.

    Posted by Mask at 01/23/2009 @ 12:26pm