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Our president-elect is obsessed with Lincoln, who changed the country both by changing government policy and by
using the bully pulpit to help us change ourselves.
Now it’s Obama’s turn to pull off this rare presidential double play.
One of the primary ways he seeks to do so is by making a call to service a central cause of his presidency. "We will
ask Americans to serve," he said in a signature speech on the subject.
"We will create new opportunities for Americans to serve. And we will direct that service to our most pressing
challenges."
And those challenges have never been more pressing in our lifetime. As unemployment heads ever higher, layoffs
mount, foreclosures stack up, and local governments gird themselves for a coming wave of service cutbacks and
hospital closures, we have metaphorical fires burning all across the country. Fires that threaten to turn into
a social conflagration.
In the past, Americans could look to the safety net of social programs put in place by FDR during the Great Depression to
mitigate the effects of an economic downturn. But the U.S. has become a far different place since the last major
recession: unemployment insurance is less generous, welfare has been scaled back, as have job training and
housing programs.
These holes in the social safety net make a commitment to service even more urgent. This is a moment when it isn’t
enough to look to the government; it’s a moment when we need to look to each other — and to ourselves.
Obama is tapping into his lengthy e-mail file and list of supporters in an effort to fuel this societal shift. His
high-tech outreach was instrumental in getting people across the country to donate millions of dollars and contribute
millions of hours working on the campaign. Will it now become a hub for civic action?
We’ve seen the American people rise to the call of service time and again in times of national tragedy — witness the
outpouring of money and volunteers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11.
After 9/11, Americans showed they were eager to work for the common good, to be called to a higher purpose. It was
the best of times amidst worst of times.
Obama’s challenge is finding a way to direct this national impulse into an ongoing effort to deal with the dark days that
unquestionably lie ahead.
This will take more than soaring rhetoric and online calls to action. Every president pays lip service to service. Even
President Bush, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, declared: "We have much to do, and much to ask of the American
people." A month later he echoed the theme, saying simply: "America is sacrifice." Of course, the sum total of that
sacrifice turned out to be shopping, going to Disney World, and offering tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.
Obama must turn his words into action and follow through on his promise to emulate FDR’s Civilian Conservation
Corps, JFK’s Peace Corps and LBJ’s Vista.
"The ultimate measure of a man or woman," said Martin Luther King, "is not where he stands in moments of comfort
and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
By reminding us that "our destiny as Americans is tied up with one another," Obama has the chance to do more than
salve the economic suffering all around us. He has the chance to help reconnect us to the ideals of America’s founding.
From the beginning, America has been dedicated to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." But, for our
founders, the happiness that was to be pursued was not the buzz of a shopping-spree high.
It was the happiness of the Book of Proverbs: "Happy is he that has mercy on the poor." It was the happiness that comes
from feeling good by doing good.
If Obama can inspire us to include service to others on our to-do list and, in the process, redefine the way Americans
view the pursuit of happiness, his will truly be a transformational presidency.
Arianna Huffington is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, a nationally syndicated columnist and
author of 12 books. She is also co-host of "Left, Right & Center," public radio’s political roundtable program. Contact
her at arianna@huffingtonpost.com
Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration Articles
Reviewing Presidential Inaugural History
The inauguration of the first black president will long be remembered as a momentous day in history, but many past
inaugurals also have had their memorable moments. Inaugurals are a mixture of pomp, festival and gravity, the
American equivalent of a coronation. Their rituals are laden with symbols of national purpose, continuity and
unity. For 220 years, they have marked the peaceful transfer of power, a feat few other countries have achieved.
Obama Presidential Inauguration Schedule & Events
With all of the excitement surrounding the event, it’s easy to forget there have been many inaugurations before it. Over
the years, the inauguration has become highly formalized, with the day’s scheduled events taking on almost ritualistic
significance. A look at the Obama Inauguration schedule, events from past inaugurals and how & when certain inaugural
events became part of Inauguration Day.
Obama Inauguration Facts, Trivia and Information for Kids
Parade, luncheon, ball. Being inaugurated sounds like fun. But what exactly is an
inauguration? What happens? Here are answers to your most pressing questions. Plus Inauguration Trivia, Presidential
Pets and the Obama Girls
Obama's new Home was Slow to Integrate
Not too long ago, Barack Obama would have found when he moved his family to Washington that his daughters
couldn’t attend the same schools white children could. They couldn’t try on clothes or shoes at most
local department stores, or eat at downtown lunch counters. Or see a play at the National Theatre or a
movie just a block or two from the White House.
Obama Isn't the Only One Being Inaugurated on January 20th
Arianna Huffington
Barack Obama is not the only one being inaugurated on January 20. And that's not just because Obama has promised to make a call to service "a central cause" of his presidency.
Top 43 Hits - Memorable Lines from Past Presidential Inaugurals
On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama will stand before Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and swear the
oath prescribed in Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution as the 44th President of the United States.
After taking the oath President Obama will give an inaugural address. Since George Washington's first
inaugural address, many memorable words have been spoken and are among the most enduring and frequently
quoted.
America Receives a Leading Man for the Dramas Ahead
Garrison Keillor
When President Obama takes his hand off the Bible and walks to the Capitol lectern, he carries real power in his pocket,
maybe more than any president since FDR, and some of it he has earned and some is a gift.
Don't Take that Oath, Barack
Mark Bazer
Personally, I'm hoping for a new piece of presidential trivia come Inauguration Day. I'm hoping Barack Obama becomes the
first person elected president to refuse to take the Oath of Office. In other words, I hope he turns down the job.
Don't get me wrong — I like and admire Obama. But that said, and for all Obama's clearly evident wisdom and sound judgment, I just don't
know if president of the United States is the ideal job for him.
Riding on the Wings of Change
Amy Dickinson
Our new president is offering us more than the promise of change. With his historic election, he offered us the
optimistic idea that we can do what we must do. In my experience studying the human condition, we only change
when there is no alternative. And now, there is no alternative. Our national challenges trickle down into our
households. We have family members at war, our jobs aren't secure, our retirement savings seem to be disappearing
and our material lifestyle is under assault.
America in Shock
Nathan Gardels
As we head into 2009, America is in shock. It is not because of the unusual sight of the first black president
taking up residence in the White House. Barack Obama's profile, after all, is familiar to the diverse
population of today's ethnically and racially hybrid America. America is in shock because our economic
and financial landscape is suddenly unrecognizable.
Great Expectations
Cal Thomas
With Barack Obama, it is the reverse. Perhaps because of his
eloquence, lithe body, handsome face and beautiful family (and because he is not George W. Bush),
expectations are so high that they are beyond the reach of any mortal. Perhaps that is why Obama
has been disparagingly referred to as "the messiah" and "the one."
Awaiting the Transformational Presidency
Arianna Huffington
President-elect Barack Obama is obsessed with Lincoln, who changed the country both by changing government policy and by
using the bully pulpit to help us change ourselves.
Europeans Love 'Alabama'
Rick Steves
With a new political era dawning in America, the world is paying attention. I remember the first time my Italian
friends expressed a curiosity and enthusiasm about some black politician named "Alabama." Now everyone knows
Obama's name, and we have a president whom people around the world want to look up to.
Is This the End of Black
Leonard Pitts
Those who claim we live in a post-racial America are guilty of no sin greater than wishful thinking. But
that doesn't make them any less incorrect. Not simply because people are still being pulled over for driving
black but, more fundamentally, because Obama's victory does not mean what some of us think it does. I don't
mean to suggest it does not embody breathtaking progress — it does.
A New Way of Being on this Planet
Robert Koehler
Something has to change about how we conduct our business and live our lives . . . no, that's putting it too mildly. A spiritual
awakening has to occur, the shock and awe of awareness as we look unblinking at the state of the world as it really is.
As the Decider, The True Barack Obama will Become Clear
Jonah Goldberg
Over the interminably long campaign, Obama's positions "evolved" to suit his political needs. This is hardly
extraordinary. Pretty much every successful presidential candidate embarks on a similar ideological migration
Special Inaugural Crossword Puzzle
Can you solve this special inaugural crossword with your mom, dad or your favorite grown-up?
Yes, you can! Kids solve the across clues while adults tackle the down ones.
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