The Political Voices of Women

Here is the schedule for Barack Obama’s Inauguration…

Cameras will be following the president-elect and his family every step of the way during the day — and you’ll be able to watch it live streaming on MTV.com. Here’s a look at where they’ll be for the ceremony, the parades — and of course the Youth Inaugural Ball and other balls throughout the evening.

» 8:25 a.m.: Obamas leave Blair House for prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church

» 8:35 a.m.: Prayer service

» 9:45 a.m.: Church service ends; Obamas depart for the White House

» 10:05 a.m.: Obamas arrive at White House for coffee with the Bushes

» 11 a.m.: Motorcade departs for the Capitol

» 11:30 a.m.: Bushes and Obamas proceed to platform on the West Front; California Senator Dianne Feinstein will issue the call to order and deliver brief welcoming remarks, followed by an invocation from Dr. Rick Warren and a performance from Aretha Franklin (who also sang at Bill Clinton’s first inauguration)

» 11:50 a.m.: Joe Biden is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice John Stevens

» 12 p.m.: Barack Obama is sworn in as president by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Obama, with his hand on Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural Bible, will recite the same oath as his predecessors: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Musical performance from John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill, followed by “Hail to the Chief” and a 21-gun salute

» 12:05 p.m.: Inaugural address, followed by a poem written and recited by Elizabeth Alexander and a benediction from Dr. Joseph Lowery. The national anthem will be performed by the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters

» 12:30 p.m.: Ceremony concludes

» 12:35 p.m.: Bush departs via helicopter; Cheney departs by limo

» 12:45 p.m.: Obama signs inauguration papers in the President’s Room

» 1:00 p.m.: Obama attends congressional luncheon

» 2:15 p.m.: Obama and Biden review troops at Capitol

» 2:30 p.m.: President Obama leads the parade from the Capitol along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House

» 3:15 p.m.: Arrival at the White House

» 3:45 p.m.: Obamas and Bidens proceed to the reviewing stand; inaugural parade continues until 6 p.m.

» 7 p.m.: The official inaugural balls begin with the Neighborhood Ball at the Washington Convention Center, with performers scheduled to include Beyoncé. Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Stevie Wonder and others. Nick Cannon will DJ.

The event, expected to include the president and first lady’s first dance of the night, will be broadcast on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. From there, it’s on to other celebrations, including MTV’s Youth Ball.

Here is a video of Keith Olbermann’s Special comment on whether or not the Bush administration is guilty of war crimes and torture…

What do you think? Let me know in comments.

Last week, I had the privilege of spending just under an hour on the phone with Senator Joe Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden. Thanks to Women for Obama, a small group of women bloggers asked questions about Dr. Biden’s thoughts on the problems of our educational system and what she thinks we should do about it. Many of the women on the call are teachers, and from the conversation, we gauged that an Obama/Biden administration will address the problems in our educational system head-on.

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Colin Powell Endorsing Barack Obama. See full video from Sunday’s Meet The Press…

What do you think? Are you influenced by Colin Powell’s endorsement? Do you think this endorsement will have an effect on the outcome of Election? Let me know what you think in comments.

Here is a guest post from community member Onedia Hayes Sylvest.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Last November 26 as the race for nomination began in earnest I posted an Open Letter to the Candidates. I think it relevant that I now post it again with a few additions highlighted in bold.

Well, since it is here and easy to step onto, I am pulling out the soapbox this morning. This is an open letter to all the presidential candidates about what I want from my next president. Here it is not in priority order since I don’t want to make this too hard:

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Here is a guest post from community member Anita S. Lane.  You can read more from Anita at her blog Unconventional Politics.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Have you heard the latest phrase from the McCain-Palin stomp speech? It consists of two very powerful words. “I’m angry.” To place the statement in context, Palin has said, “There is anger about the dealings of insider lobbyists, anger about the greed of Wall Street, and there’s anger about the arrogance of the Washington elite, and there is anger about voter fraud.” McCain has himself said, “You’re angry and I’m angry too.”

However, the issue I have with the “angry” statement is this: What are all these angry people supposed to do with their anger? The election is not until November 4th. Until then, are folks to let their anger simmer until it boils over into something ugly? God forbid McCain actually loses the election— then what are they to do with their anger? Are they to do as some extremists in the McCain-Palin crowd have suggests when they shouted “Off with his head,” Kill him! Get him!?”

McCain may want to say that he is utterly appalled, and state that he totally rejects Congressman John Lewis’ reference to John Wallace, in his condemnation of McCain’s campaign rally etiquette. However, the fact is, if McCain refuses to fiercely and immediately— on-the-spot—denounce such statements that come from the crowd at his campaign rallies, he is inadvertently condoning them.

I believe that that Congressman John Lewis—in his statement that “McCain and Palin were sowing seeds of hatred and division”— was simply saying that to allow such unbridled anger and hatred to bubble up and fester is dangerous, and has the potential—if unchecked—to lead to violent acts on the part of some. The campaign has a responsibility to not incite it, allow it or condone it.

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Here is a guest post from community member Marcia G. Yerman, who also blogs at The Huffington Post.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Like everyone else in America, I was waiting to see how the match up between Palin and Biden would transpire. Beyond the giddy atmosphere that was building (somewhat between a sporting event and a game show), was a deeper, darker space. It was a low, wide valley occupied by symbols and ambiguities of murky distinctions — the roles of gender and race in the 2008 election.

Those specific issues were discussed and debated at a two-day symposium at St. John’s University. As
I sat down to watch the two Vice-Presidential contenders, the presentations of the conference’s speakers reverberated in my head.

Presented by the university’s law school, there was a heavy representation of scholars focusing on media and law, election law, and legal theory. In addition to those emanating from the academic world, there was a cross section of journalists and activists.

Perspectives on Gender in the 2008 Elections; The Role of the Media in Shaping Perceptions of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the 2008 Elections; The Intersectionality of Race, Gender, Media, and the Political Process; A Dialogue on Legal Constructions of Race, Gender, and Identity in the 2008 Elections, were some of the panels which I attended.

The concerns that had been come up earlier in the election season got turned on their heads once again with the placement of Sarah Palin onto the McCain ticket. Charges of sexism, reverse sexism, populist feminism, anti-feminism — and permutations on the theme — were doled out in abundance. Prominent in the mix was the role of the media, both amplifying and exacerbating misconceptions to the public.

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President Bill Clinton in Richmond…

Clinton Stumps for Obama…

President Clinton campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Roanoke on Sunday evening, exciting a crowd of thousands with his praise for Obama’s commitment to policy change.

At the outdoor rally at the City Market in downtown Roanoke, Clinton said that Obama had the instincts to be president, citing his plans for financial recovery and proposals for health care reform.

“Barack Obama and Joe Biden are going to win here on Election Day with your help,” Clinton said. “For the first time in 40 years, Virginia will be a Democratic state. We have a chance to fundamentally change the direction of the country.”

Hillary Clinton in Scranton with Joe Biden…

Here is another great Saturday Night Live video. The Biden/Palin VP Debate…

Crossposted from What Tami Said

I’ve had a crazy-making fortnight with a lot of stuff going on both at work and home, so I haven’t been posting as much. I wish I had written the post that was swirling around my head over the last week, so that this morning I could look like a wise and prescient cyberpundit. I knew that Sarah Palin would perform better than her Couric and Gibson interviews would suggest. I knew Joe Biden was unlikely to make one of his trademark gaffes. I guessed that Palin would appeal to those who like bright, shiny and pretty–packaged lines and zingers and “personal connection,” not wonkiness. I thought that Biden might look a little old and dusty next to the Republican’s “breath of fresh air” candidate, but I knew that once he demonstrated his vast knowlege of foreign policy and the economy, most viewers would remember that new ain’t better if there is no “there” there. So, last night’s debate turned out just like I thought. The veep candidates’ performances likely cemented opinions on both side. Joe Biden won, but the game remains unchanged.

About Sarah

Sorry, Joe, but no one was tuning in to see you last night. We’ve seen you debate like a gazillion times. Last night’s vice presidential debate was all about Sarah. Would her performance confirm fears about readiness stoked by refusals to talk to the press, and horrific stumbles during a handful of media outings? If you were really watching last night, you would say “yes.” But it seems even though conventional wisdom says Biden won, it also says Palin performed well.

Look, folks were never going to see the debate train wreck they hoped for. You don’t get to be a mayor or governor without political acumen and the ability to discuss issues. To believe that what we saw in the Couric and Gibson interviews is all there is to Sarah Palin is to believe that either the people of Alaska or Sarah Palin are nitwits. And that’s not the case. The problem with the Republican candidate for vice president, who likely acquits herself on local and state issues perfectly well, is that she is someone with no interest, knowledge or experience with national or international issues and her handlers are trying to stuff her full of talking points and factoids to disguise that fact. Last night, Sarah Palin appeared well media trained, but still unable to discuss the details behind the talking points.

Palin also appeared too cutesy by half. If you watched any of her Alaskan debates online, where she appeared sober and adult, then last night’s winking and “gosh darn it, Joe” was revealed for what it was–an attempt to win on moxie and charm, not substance. The superficiality of this act was never more clear than when Joe Biden choked up when referencing the accident that claimed his first wife and one child. It was a wrenching moment that left a lump in my throat. But Palin’s response was a chipper canned talking point about the McCain/Palin ticket’s maverickiness. Media training shouldn’t override natural instincts or voice. In that moment of the debate, talking points obscured Palin’s humanity and that’s not good.

Whose fault is it?

Sarah Palin’s public performances say less about her than they do about John McCain, who at a time of several national crises chose a running mate who has to cram for the role vice president like a college sophomore. It was the most cynical of moves: using a Republican woman (and not one of the many qualified ones) to attract disaffected Democratic women, who McCain reckons won’t notice his running mate’s beliefs, policies and lack of national and international knowledge, if she is folksy, charming and drives her kids to hockey practice just like them. McCain would put a vice president who is out of her depth a hair’s breadth from the presidency to win. Country first? Looks more like “me first.”

Just like I thought.