Isn't this a bit hypocritical?

I think this is a question that is burning in the back of many peoples minds.

If race has nothing to do with this, why is this such a historical and memorable event?

If race has nothing to do with it, what makes him so different than the 43 men that preceded him?

Not hypocritical at all. This is a historic inauguration, something most of the people in this country never thought they'd live to see.

The color of a person's skin should not be unimportant. But, sadly, at this time, in this country, it does make a difference in how a person is viewed. Obama's election shows an entire group of people that yes, they too can aspire to become anything they desire, even President of the United States, and they can achieve their goals.

Yes, it is hypocritical. Society is hypocritical. The truth is that we want to see Obama as 'just another guy,' not as 'a black guy.' But in reality, we can't. Especially the grownups (I'm 18, but I don't consider myself an adult). I mean, just a little over 50 years ago, the Jim Crow laws were still in effect, and racism has only gradually been declining since then. A lot of grownups still have the old prejudices ingrained in them, even though they may not want them.

It's the same for me, actually. I don't want to think of African Americans as different, but I do. I try to avoid it, but it happens. So the reason for the hypocrisy is that people WANT it to be true that Obama's race makes no difference, but in reality, his race does make him different.

It is actually about the same as before.

The massive uptick in cost is in security, not in inauguration festivities. If you take out the security costs, as we did with all previous inaugurations; Bush spent about $40 million on his inauguration, and Obama is spending $45 million.

But right now the ones trying to attack Obama are saying Bush spent $40 million (which does not include security), and that Obama spent $150 million (that does include security).

Obama has no control over who shows up for his inauguration. He has no control over who threatens to kill him and who does not.

That is what sent the cost so high, the number of people coming and the number of threats he has received. There is no hypocrisy here.

And in fact, Obama is paying for most of this himself. He is using less taxpayer money than Bush did in either inauguration, than Clinton did in either of his. He is using the considerably large donation sum that he raised during his campaign.

It is if that message is coming from the people planning his inauguration, which it isn't.

The cracker-box lessons in racial equality you get in elementary school have little to nothing to do with reality. To insist that there are no differences between ethnicities is a ludicrous idea that no one proposes. There are differences, but they are not dictated by genetics. They are merely an artifact of our shared history and culture. And they are not inherently negative.

So, it makes sense to celebrate the fact that inauguration not only because it represents a much needed ideological shift from the past eight years, but also because it reaffirms everything we've always told ourselves about our country: that men are judged by the content of their heart and not the color of their skin.

And I'm goddamned proud of that, myself.

It can be taken in a non-hypocritical manner. This is the way of saying, we've gotten to the point where skin colour doesn't matter - we've changed as people, it's a great day cause we don't care about colour.

it is supposed to but people have yet to see it that way due with a lot of the hatred surrounding the issue. to have people see no color, they first have to know that there is a difference in our looks but that is it.

Do you seriously believe that the vast majority of people in America honestly don't notice skin color?

That being said, this is an historical first. There will be a big show when a woman becomes president, when an openly gay person becomes president, and when a non-Christian becomes president. In theory, none of those factors matter. In practice, they do.

idk how all other liberals think, since we're not all the exact same, but what i think is race was not an issue before the election and it didn't factor into who i voted for. i only voted for the person i agreed with most, and that was obama. but now that he has been elected, it is a huge deal that he is also the first black president of the US. do u understand where im coming from? hope that helps...again, im not speaking for all liberals, only myself

That's what they want you to think, but in telling us skin color doesn't matter, they simultaneously made it/continue to make it the most important issue.