Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Inauguration of Barack Obama

There are two posts that are worth pointing out: My twin has a post up about Obama's rhetoric in his inauguration speech. Mike Dunford is taking bets on how long it will take before crazies start claiming that the blooper with the oath of office means that Obama isn't really President.

One thing that my twin noted and I think is worth analyzing further is that Obama had a very inclusive line in regards to religious belief in the United States. "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and nonbelievers." I thought that the phrasing made the last part sound tacked on. However, this is noteworthy since previously some atheists have complained that Obama's rhetoric has left them in the cold. This is in sharp contrast to the recent senate campaign in which Elizabeth Dole tried to smear her opponent for associating with atheists and her opponent responded by denying she had any connection rather than trying to argue that there was nothing wrong with such a connection. However, the rest of Obama's speech contained a large amount of religious rhetoric. This is a step forward for toleration of agnosticism and atheism in the country.

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