The Inauguration Audience
EmailWhatever he does for the economy in the long term, Barack Obama’s inauguration may not be the best thing for the nation’s productivity tomorrow: Three in four Americans plan to watch or listen in as the 44th president takes office.
That peaks, naturally, in Obama’s highest support groups – 90 percent of Democrats plan to tune in, compared with a low of 54 percent of conservative Republicans. But any way you slice it, the overall number’s an impressive one: Among all adults, 74 percent in our latest ABC News/Washington Post poll plan to take in the ceremony.
Perhaps most striking is the evident pride among African-Americans as the first black president takes office. A remarkable 93 percent of blacks say they’ll watch or listen as Obama takes the oath of office on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible. That compares with 71 percent of whites and 77 percent of people in other racial groups.
The poll also finds little in the way of broad controversy about one planned speaker, the evangelical pastor Rev. Rick Warren, who’s to offer the invocation. Some liberal and gay rights groups have complained, noting that Warren supported California’s newly passed ban on gay marriage. In our poll, however, just 23 percent oppose Warren’s selection, with yet fewer, 11 percent, strongly opposed.
Even among liberals, substantially more support Warren’s participation, 54 percent, than oppose it, 30 percent.
In apparent response to the criticism, Obama separately asked the Rev. Gene Robinson, a gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire, to give the invocation at a pre-inaugural event yesterday. These could be the kind of moves that have helped Obama earn, as we reported yesterday, the most centrist ratings of any president in the past 30 years.
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The numbers are not accurate. The Media is bought out. Mr. Obama has trashed the Constitution for which he will promise tomorrow to uphold—he was NOT born in America. He is willing to risk Civil War in this country rather than just pay $10.00 to show his birth certificate and where he was born and to pay millions to attorney’s to fight the law suits—yes, he loves this nation enough to destroy it.
Posted by: Mike | January 19, 2009, 1:42 pm 1:42 pm
Contrast these numbers with the minimal buzz surrounding Bush’s farewell speech last week. It’s definitely the beginning of a new era.
Posted by: matt | January 19, 2009, 1:57 pm 1:57 pm
who cares, every single president that comes in always makes the big promises to do all these miraculous things, and they never do any of them. it would be nice to see where the hell he was born, but you know a liar can never reveal his secrets!
Posted by: cassie | January 19, 2009, 2:09 pm 2:09 pm
Would all of the hype still be there if Obama would have looked more white than black. He still is half white. I wish him luck in turning this country around but can we please leave this race BS out of it.
Posted by: jessiesucksalso | January 20, 2009, 5:32 pm 5:32 pm
So today we as a nation started out with a new president who lies already!!!!!!!! First of all Barack Obama is not the first Afro American president he is the first biracial president. This man who is supposedly so proud to be an American praised his black father from Kenya who abandoned him and left his white mother to raise him as a single mom and then he never mentioned his white mother who struggled to raise him nor his white grandparents whom he swore he couldn’t denounce anymore than he could Rev Wright. I am not a predjudice person my nephew in law is a true black Afro American and all of my black friends say Obama is not the first Afro American president they all agree he isn’t really black. So what is the race that was marked on his birth certificate or did he have that changed too. I wish him the best of luck and I will pray for him everyday. I just want the lies to stop here and now!!! Many people say President Bush made alot of mistakes well maybe he did he admitted them and went on to say he left office with a good and clear conscious Obama can’t even start out with one!!!!
Posted by: Susan Leber | January 20, 2009, 6:38 pm 6:38 pm
The only thing that is clear is that there are those who still believe that they are the only one’s you have a right to determine when race is or is not important. Your values are what they are, and President Obama’s are what they are. His White Grandmother, and His Black Father inclusive. It’s a matter of what you see as important that rings true. He’s just keeping it real and embracing His truth. Respect that.
Posted by: Donna M. Wilson | January 21, 2009, 1:58 am 1:58 am
everyone of u got it mistaken…cherish the moment while it lasts
Posted by: walter | January 21, 2009, 2:14 am 2:14 am
I thought I heard a NPR reporter say it was disappointing that 90% of the people that attending (I assume in the audience not the VIPs and Politicians) were black. The news coverage was very careful, in my opinion, to not show wide shots and always seemed to focus on white women (usually young and attractive) when not focusing on the Obama’s or other VIPs. What was the crowd really like there? Obviously DC is mostly black but was it really 90% black like some media reported?
Posted by: Ed | January 21, 2009, 9:23 am 9:23 am
I don’t care about race as far as running the country goes. My biggest problem with this whole thing is: Our country is in a state of financial crisis. It’s great that President Obama froze the salaries of people making over $100,000. But why then did the big wigs in DC spend millions of dollars (our dollars) on such an elaborate celebration. I guess that’s what is called living “high on the hog” or deer in this case. What a waste of money; we could probably feed all the homeless in America for weeks with all that money.
Posted by: Kevin | January 22, 2009, 2:48 am 2:48 am
The stimulus is wrong. The idea of spend spend spend is insane. HOW is this sustainable. How does it help anyone have a real job that lasts? How does it increase home prices? All this does is buy votes. The CBO says its crazy. Wake up America its time to protest
Posted by: ChicagoBob | January 27, 2009, 9:39 pm 9:39 pm
The stimulus bill is what is needed. Giving tax cuts assumes people are spending money so businesses will have taxable income. My small buisness is not selling anything. I don’t need a tax cut, I need people to spend money in my store. Tax cuts can help later but right now the Republicans don’t understand where our eoncomy is. They still believe people are spending money. I wish they would open thier eyes. OBAMA has to take them on for the American people.
Posted by: John Jamison | February 6, 2009, 8:30 am 8:30 am