Overshadowed

There were good and bad things about Obama's inaugural address.

Good: It was short and made some decent points (such as the fundamentals of our economy are strong). Overall, it was flat and uninspiring, which I think struck the proper tone.

Bad: A lot of it was about the importance of a competent government to solve our problems, which is a dangerous message.

But the whole thing was overshadowed by the Reverend Joseph Lowery. What is it with Obama and his Reverends? Lowery's benediction ended with this:

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right.

Appalling. He decided what fit best at this occasion was the inclusion, as his climax, of a schoolyard taunt. Making it all about race is bad enough, but this is embarrassing.

It's just more evidence that old fighters for civil rights have become reactionaries. This country has become less racist with each succeeding generation at least since World War II, but as far as they're concerned, it's always the 1950s and we're in the Deep South. As much as we may honor them for their earlier work, their hidebound beliefs have held sway for too long, holding back the civil rights establishment as well. We'll continue to make progress, but no thanks to them.