As I prepare to take leave for Washington DC to join in the nationwide celebrations of Barack Obama's election to the US Presidency, I can't help but look back to 4 years ago when I attended George W. Bush's inauguration as a protester.
It was a very emotional time. We were in a war few Americans wanted to be in. The country was severely divided. As Bush said, "if you are not with us, you are against us." Never in my lifetime have I felt so marginalized by my government.
There were many, many protesters participating in demonstrations through out the capital. I marched in some of them. What amazed me was that there was no mention of any of them in the media. Talk about feeling invisible!
Here are a few images from the 2005 presidential inauguration...
I heard Bush give his final press conference earlier this week. One (of many) comments given made my jaw drop....
Question:
When you look back over the long arc of your presidency, do you think, in retrospect, that you have made any mistakes? And if so, what is the single biggest mistake that you may have made?
THE PRESIDENT:
I've thought long and hard about Katrina -- you know, could I have done something differently, like land Air Force One either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge. The problem with that and -- is that law enforcement would have been pulled away from the mission. And then your questions, I suspect, would have been, how could you possibly have flown Air Force One into Baton Rouge, and police officers that were needed to expedite traffic out of New Orleans were taken off the task to look after you?
WOW
It was a very emotional time. We were in a war few Americans wanted to be in. The country was severely divided. As Bush said, "if you are not with us, you are against us." Never in my lifetime have I felt so marginalized by my government.
There were many, many protesters participating in demonstrations through out the capital. I marched in some of them. What amazed me was that there was no mention of any of them in the media. Talk about feeling invisible!
Here are a few images from the 2005 presidential inauguration...
I heard Bush give his final press conference earlier this week. One (of many) comments given made my jaw drop....
Question:
When you look back over the long arc of your presidency, do you think, in retrospect, that you have made any mistakes? And if so, what is the single biggest mistake that you may have made?
THE PRESIDENT:
I've thought long and hard about Katrina -- you know, could I have done something differently, like land Air Force One either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge. The problem with that and -- is that law enforcement would have been pulled away from the mission. And then your questions, I suspect, would have been, how could you possibly have flown Air Force One into Baton Rouge, and police officers that were needed to expedite traffic out of New Orleans were taken off the task to look after you?
WOW