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Originally Posted by mom2twins2  Obama should get no more special treatment than our past presidents.
Speaking of the great amount of money being spent, I might add this -- Obama is taking a train into Washington today, picking up Biden along the way. Obama wants to link himself to Lincoln so much that he's doing the train ride like Lincoln did. Can you imagine the extra costs this train ride (over 100 miles) is going to cost, what with security, etc.? I think that was totally uncalled for. It's just another way to draw attention to himself. |
You know he is not the first modern president to do this, Lincoln took 12 days to get from Illinois to Washington may times he was brought into the next stop under disguise because of fears of assassination.
Recent Modern Presidents who have did the "Whistle Stop" train ride are:
<Snipped from article on start.shaw.ca>
The train tour itself represented a return to tradition.
Inaugural train trips, which started with William Henry Harrison in 1841, were commonplace before the advent of air travel.
Even some modern-day presidents took to the rails to deliver their messages to small towns across the United States.
Harry Truman went on a long train tour throughout the rural U.S. in 1948 during his second bid for the White House.
Gerald Ford went on a whistle-stop tour of Michigan with his wife in 1976. Ronald Reagan went on a Truman-esque tour in 1984, and Bill Clinton took to the rails in 1996.
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney also toured battleground states by train during Bush's first campaign in 2000.
©The Canadian Press, 2009
I seem to think there were more who did it according to my local news but I cant find that info this morning. Roosevelt comes to mind as one who did it.
So it is something that other President Elects have done maybe they weren't as fully covered they did not have as much historical value or that people see so much hope in him and are so ready for a change in government. No matter if it were Hillary or MCCain who got in this Inauguration would have been a historical event. Hillary because she is a woman (although in my opinion she ran the White House when Bill was President so it would be her 3rd term) MCCain because he would be the oldest and have the first ever Female vice president. People would moan and groan about it all then.
Things in my neck of the woods in Alexandria VA have been bad I watched 2 family owned long-time restaurants on our main road Richmond Hwy or "The Highway" as we call it shut their doors in the last 3 months because business is bad. I have seen other small businesses cut their working hours and lay off their staff.I have seen the increase of people in need at the food pantry, I have never seen so many evictions in my complex for not paying lot rent before. Even the resale homes here are not selling some have been sitting there for 6-8 months and they are not expensive like the new ones they brought in which have sat for over a year now. Just because we are part of the Beltway area we are not as prosperous as people think many are suffering. I had to get a PT job this year doing Taxes again to make ends meet as our disability is not paying the bills anymore since everything has went up so high.
I may hate the traffic nightmare this is bringing but I welcome the ecomonic stimulation it is bringing because it will bring money in to hopefully help the budget shortfall our school system and social services systems are facing and the schools are talking about increasing classroom sizes and cutting jobs across the board not just admin but teachers for the next fiscal year. Our Social Services and Mental Health system is a mess and the taxes from Hotels will help with this. I donated to Obama's Inauguration fund not much a mere $5 but I donated to a person I believe can help this country change and put us back on the map as a respected country that is not hated by all.
Ok my .05 cents worth