Via White Crane Institute // Inaugurations

 

Noteworthy

George Dubyah Bush

2001 -

On this date some 25,000 protesters gathered in Washington, DC for the inauguration of President George W. Bush along with some 7,000 police. George Bush, the so called "1st President with an MBA," was inaugurated as the nation's 43rd President in Washington DC. The "compassionate conservative" vowed to lead "through civility, courage, compassion and character."

 

Four years later on this date in 2005 the inauguration ceremony for Bush was held in Washington DC. Anti-Bush demonstrators jeered the president's motorcade during the inaugural parade. The event was expected to cost $40 million the administration asked DC to use $11.9 million of its own federal homeland security funds to help pay costs. Pres. Bush pledged to spread democracy and support democratic movements worldwide.

 

In case anyone has forgotten in the current atmosphere of rehabilitation for Dubyah by comparison to Trump, after eight years involving two wars, three attacks in the country, near economic collapse that dwarfed the Great Depression Black Monday Crash, massive hurricane damage with little response from the Feds, and more than can be enumerated on this list (like his being the first president to call for the codification of anti-Gay legislation into the constitution), Bush left office with the lowest approval rating of any U.S. President in history (22%, beating the former record holder -- Truman who had 32%). But wait! There would be so much more!...

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President Barack Hussein Obama

2009 -

President Barack Obama was inaugurated into office in Washington, DC with great expectation to make sweeping change. It was a great day with great fanfare (Aretha's hat!) and record crowds for an inaugural in bitterly cold weather. Though his administration took on one of the most dire economies since the Great Depression he continued to be blamed by many Americans for the economic predicament (forgetting the prior right years of disastrous economic and politics.)

 

And while he was a disappointment to some progressives, he did manage to fulfill the promise of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the legalization of Marriage Equality. Whatever his shortcomings he would be sorely missed as we bore up under the Dark Age of Donald J. Trump, now, thankfully, out of office...for now.

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Separated at birth

2017 -

Donald J. Trump received the nuclear codes. Post-swearing in on this date he appointed as many or more Wall Street executives to a variety of positions in his administration, many of whom were formerly adamantly opposed to the missions of their appointed agencies. At the same time his Secretary of State, a lifetime employee and finally CEO of Exxon-Mobil, Rex Tillerson, while he lasted, relentlessly gutted the state department. The Foreign Service officer corps at State lost 60 percent of its Career Ambassadors since January of that first year. Ranks of Career Ministers, State's three-star equivalents, were down from 33 to 19. The ranks of two-star Minister Counselors fell from 431 right after Labor Day to 369 —and continued to fall. 

Trump, a vulgar narcissist, praised racists and white nationalists, which should come as no surprise considering he installed tinfoil-hatted nationalist Steve Bannon in the White House (and pardoned on his way out). Bannon departed but the damage he continues to wreak from the sidelines is no less worrying. 

And then there was the whole matter of Trump's seeming love affair with Vladimir Putin and the trail of crumbs and bums that lead back to Moscow. A self-proclaimed sexual predator, and under investigation for conspiracy and collusion he will go down in history as the Worst President in American History, and as the only president ever to be impeached twice. Stay tuned. We await the  indictment of the Orange Menace, his slimy family and his greedy cronies. As one of his last gasps while declining to acknowledge his loss in the 2020 election, he incited a mob of his followers to invade the Capitol in an attempt at a coup. Stay tuned.

A draft-dodging three times-divorced liar and grifter who wraps himself in a false flag of patriotism he remains the darling of the craven right wing theocrats. He is a disgusting person. It is impossible to run out of negative things to say about him because as soon as you think you've hit on it, he goes lower. 

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