Democracy Submerged

The BullMoose has a post which suggests that today is a day for "noble sentiments" and "elevated aspirations". ARE YOU EFFIN' KIDDING ME?

This sort of sentiment demonstrates once again how little interest even the most engaged person has in democracy. The swearing in of any President is a cause for extreme ambivalence at best, mild irritation at most. Millions of dollars are spent, platitudes echo in the air, and hundreds of thousands of people are inconvenienced. All of this waste and spectacle to celebrate the fact that some scoundrel has managed to con the country once again. We'd be better off if, prior to being sworn in on inauguration day, the duly elected would place themselves in a dunking booth and allow all those assembled three good throws. It would be even better if it were a cold day like today, since the duly elected would stand a chance of having to take the oath with a spankin' new chest cold. This would accord the duly elected the respect he or she deserved.

As for the Moose's question:

Can the President unite the red-state, blue-state America as he did briefly after 9-11? Can this President inspire Americans, as John McCain eloquently puts it, "to enlist in causes greater than their self-interest."?

Well, we offer our usual rabinical response.