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By ELvin Lim

Conservatives hate it; liberals love it. His Second Inaugural Address evinces Barack Obama coming into his own, projecting himself unvarnished and real before the world. No more elections for him, so also less politics. He is number 17 in the most exclusive club in America — presidents who get to serve a second term. Yes, there’s still the bonus of a legacy. But the legacy-desiring second-term president would just sit back and do no harm, rather than put himself out there for vociferous battles to come.

For better or for worse, Barack Obama believes that the constitutional compact from whence he derives the fullness of his authority gives him a responsibility. He believes that the framers of the Constitution “gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people. Entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.” But he did not mean that he was an originalist, or a “constitutional conservative.” Indeed, the very opposite is true. Obama believes that the “founding creed” is no less than this: “we have always understood that when times change, so must we, that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges.” Originalism means change, he is telling us.

This is a president no longer prepared to dally, or to punt on his liberal beliefs. “The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative. They strengthen us,” he said. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he also proclaimed. In his mind, there is no need to coddle the political right anymore, and he believes that the truth as he tells it will set us free.

So unreserved was Obama’s conviction that he took the sacred line of modern conservatism, “We the people declare today that the most evident of truth that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still” and turned it into the most liberal of philosophies, that “our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.” Obama never really had much of a stomach for unadulterated libertarianism; in his heart of hearts, this former community organizer is a communitarian. This is why he cited “We the People” five times in his address.

Call Obama liberal, or call him correct; the point is half the country does not agree, and there are tough wars to come. That Obama has been so uncharacteristically upfront about his intentions signals, though, his belief that the national political tide has turned. That on gay rights, immigration, and so forth, either because of his electoral mandate or the changing demographics of the country, he believes he holds the upper hand.

And however short his second-term “honeymoon,” I think he does. Had Obama not been re-elected, his first term might have been construed as a fluke; a bit of electoral charity from a guilt-ridden America willing to give a half-African-Anerican a chance to deliver at the White House. But Barack Obama was re-elected by a vote differential of 5 million. Only the most measly of partisan spirits will deride this victory, and deny Obama the honeymoon that he justly earned.

Elvin Lim is Associate Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The Anti-Intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com and his column on politics appears on the OUPblog regularly.

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The post Obama’s Second Inaugural Address appeared first on OUPblog.

Ladies, how many of us are still awaiting our Prince Charming and dreaming like little girls about that fairytale wedding that’s just gotta happen?  How many of us are at our wits end because it doesn’t seem as though he’s out there?  Well ladies, why not marry ourselves?  I mean, yeah it sounds a little crazy and even desperate, maybe, but think about it.  Who could possibly love us more than we love ourselves?  You do love yourself, don’t you? 

Here’s what you gotta do.  Start planning your wedding.  Don’t tell anybody yet, cause trust me, they’ll think you’ve lost your mind.  Your wedding can be as big or as small as you like.  Remember to budget cause you still got to go on your honeymoon.  The first thing you should do is pick the date.  If you’re not inviting anyone, this should be easy.  But perhaps you will want a girlfriend or two to share your special moment with you, you decide, who knows, if they are single, they might just want to marry themselves as well.  But it has to be girlfriends you trust because remember, hush is the word, you don’t want your sanity questioned.

Okay, after you’ve picked the date, it’s time to outline the events of the day.  Since most weddings are performed in the spring and summer months, you should find plenty of interesting things to do on your special day.  But if you decide on a winter or fall wedding, that’s fine too.  Since this is a non-conventional event, who says you have to follow the norm.  First and foremost a trip to the spa is essential.  Nothing says “I love me” more, than a pampering session.  But before you even do that, treat yourself to a nice breakfast to start the day off right.  You can either prepare yourself a breakfast filled with all of your favorite edible delights or you can check into a hotel the day before and on the morning of your wedding order-in room service.  It’s your wedding day, do it how you do it! 

Since you’ve pre-planned this day, I’m sure you’ve already made a hair appointment for the occasion.  You know the queen’s locs have to be tight.  So let’s see, we’ve got breakfast with ourselves, a trip to the spa and hair salon on our agenda, what else do we have to do?  Oh yeah, before I forget, how about the reception?  Now this is where you can invite other people to join in the celebration.  You can have a traditional reception in party style or you can have a quaint little dinner some place with your selected guest.  Hum, let’s see, oh, mercy, I almost forgot the ring.  Now that I think about it, you can either do a ring or perhaps a necklace or other piece of jewelry.  Once again, you decide, it’s your day! 

I must admit, as I’m typing this, I’m starting to question my own sanity at this point.  Am I really sitting here telling women how to plan their own wedding to themselves?  Let me continue, I think I’m on to something.  Where was I?  Aww, yes, remember when picking out your ring or whatever, please stay within your budget.  You don’t want to purchase something that later will have you resenting yourself for spending too much money.  It’s one of the number one causes of disdain in a marriage; you’re not trying to cause any conflict within your marriage. 

What’s next?  Your outfit for the occasion is the next order of business.  Most brides get married in white dresses.  The traditional white dress was worn to signify purity.  I don’t know about you, but my very thoughts would prohibit me from wearing a white dress, so color is definitely not an issue here.  Decide what you’re going to wear on this once-in-a-life-time event.  I can say that with certainty cause I don’t believe you’ll be divorcing yourself.  If it’s within your budget, go on and splurge on your dress.  Go on and buy you a real wedding dress.  Okay, I’m strongly starting to question my sanity here.  But really, this is serious business.  I believe if you make this as real as the real deal, you’ll have a sense of closure on the whole, I want to get married thing.  Trust me when I say, with the divorce rate extremely high and people doing a Jekyll and Hyde after they get that piece of paper, this way is much better. 

Now for the hard part, which probably should have been done before any of the other things, but hey, this is my first time planning a wedding where a person would be marrying themselves, so cut me some slack, alright?  Who’s going to officiate the wedding?  There are all kinds of places that perform unconventional marriages, so this might not be too hard to find, now that I really think about it.  And since some people are opting to just live together so that they won’t have to worry about paying that nice chunk of change to get unhitched, the wedding performers might be a little desperate themselves.  So check around and see what you can find. 

Last but certainly not least, as they say, what are you doing for the honeymoon?  This one is limitless.  You can either go on a solo cruise, a few of your pals and yourself cruise, or you can take about a week off from work and hole up in a swank hotel suite.  Do whatever you like, this is all about you!

Well, I think I’ve covered everything.  I’ve been married before and there wasn’t much planning or money that went into my trip into Helly Matrimony, and I am truly thankful for that.  But, if I were to do it again, which by the way, I have more of a desire to marry myself, than I do a man, these plans look about right. 

I sure hope this has been most helpful, if only for a good laugh.  Once my money gets right, I might have to put this into action.  After all, I do kind of miss the institution.

Ladies, how many of us are still awaiting our Prince Charming and dreaming like little girls about that fairytale wedding that’s just gotta happen?  How many of us are at our wits end because it doesn’t seem as though he’s out there?  Well ladies, why not marry ourselves?  I mean, yeah it sounds a little crazy and even desperate, maybe, but think about it.  Who could possibly love us more than we love ourselves?  You do love yourself, don’t you? 

Here’s what you gotta do.  Start planning your wedding.  Don’t tell anybody yet, cause trust me, they’ll think you’ve lost your mind.  Your wedding can be as big or as small as you like.  Remember to budget cause you still got to go on your honeymoon.  The first thing you should do is pick the date.  If you’re not inviting anyone, this should be easy.  But perhaps you will want a girlfriend or two to share your special moment with you, you decide, who knows, if they are single, they might just want to marry themselves as well.  But it has to be girlfriends you trust because remember, hush is the word, you don’t want your sanity questioned.

Okay, after you’ve picked the date, it’s time to outline the events of the day.  Since most weddings are performed in the spring and summer months, you should find plenty of interesting things to do on your special day.  But if you decide on a winter or fall wedding, that’s fine too.  Since this is a non-conventional event, who says you have to follow the norm.  First and foremost a trip to the spa is essential.  Nothing says “I love me” more, than a pampering session.  But before you even do that, treat yourself to a nice breakfast to start the day off right.  You can either prepare yourself a breakfast filled with all of your favorite edible delights or you can check into a hotel the day before and on the morning of your wedding order-in room service.  It’s your wedding day, do it how you do it! 

Since you’ve pre-planned this day, I’m sure you’ve already made a hair appointment for the occasion.  You know the queen’s locs have to be tight.  So let’s see, we’ve got breakfast with ourselves, a trip to the spa and hair salon on our agenda, what else do we have to do?  Oh yeah, before I forget, how about the reception?  Now this is where you can invite other people to join in the celebration.  You can have a traditional reception in party style or you can have a quaint little dinner some place with your selected guest.  Hum, let’s see, oh, mercy, I almost forgot the ring.  Now that I think about it, you can either do a ring or perhaps a necklace or other piece of jewelry.  Once again, you decide, it’s your day! 

I must admit, as I’m typing this, I’m starting to question my own sanity at this point.  Am I really sitting here telling women how to plan their own wedding to themselves?  Let me continue, I think I’m on to something.  Where was I?  Aww, yes, remember when picking out your ring or whatever, please stay within your budget.  You don’t want to purchase something that later will have you resenting yourself for spending too much money.  It’s one of the number one causes of disdain in a marriage; you’re not trying to cause any conflict within your marriage. 

What’s next?  Your outfit for the occasion is the next order of business.  Most brides get married in white dresses.  The traditional white dress was worn to signify purity.  I don’t know about you, but my very thoughts would prohibit me from wearing a white dress, so color is definitely not an issue here.  Decide what you’re going to wear on this once-in-a-life-time event.  I can say that with certainty cause I don’t believe you’ll be divorcing yourself.  If it’s within your budget, go on and splurge on your dress.  Go on and buy you a real wedding dress.  Okay, I’m strongly starting to question my sanity here.  But really, this is serious business.  I believe if you make this as real as the real deal, you’ll have a sense of closure on the whole, I want to get married thing.  Trust me when I say, with the divorce rate extremely high and people doing a Jekyll and Hyde after they get that piece of paper, this way is much better. 

Now for the hard part, which probably should have been done before any of the other things, but hey, this is my first time planning a wedding where a person would be marrying themselves, so cut me some slack, alright?  Who’s going to officiate the wedding?  There are all kinds of places that perform unconventional marriages, so this might not be too hard to find, now that I really think about it.  And since some people are opting to just live together so that they won’t have to worry about paying that nice chunk of change to get unhitched, the wedding performers might be a little desperate themselves.  So check around and see what you can find. 

Last but certainly not least, as they say, what are you doing for the honeymoon?  This one is limitless.  You can either go on a solo cruise, a few of your pals and yourself cruise, or you can take about a week off from work and hole up in a swank hotel suite.  Do whatever you like, this is all about you!

Well, I think I’ve covered everything.  I’ve been married before and there wasn’t much planning or money that went into my trip into Helly Matrimony, and I am truly thankful for that.  But, if I were to do it again, which by the way, I have more of a desire to marry myself, than I do a man, these plans look about right. 

I sure hope this has been most helpful, if only for a good laugh.  Once my money gets right, I might have to put this into action.  After all, I do kind of miss the institution.

Elvin Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The Anti-intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com. In the article below he reflects on the time before Obama takes office. Read his previous OUPblogs here.

In recent weeks, President-elect Obama has shown himself to be a cautious pragmatist. In keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his cabinet, he is signaling to his liberal base that there will be no precipitous pullout from Iraq. In selecting Senator Hillary Cinton to be Secretary of State, he has endorsed her aggressive campaign stance toward negotiating with rogue-nations. We no longer hear about the windfall profit tax on oil companies that Obama had proposed during the campaign trail, and the next president is probably going to wait a while to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

Barney Frank said it best in response to Obama’s claim that there is only one president at a time, “I’m afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have at the present time.” There is so much frustration against the Bush presidency, and so much pent up anticipation for what is to come that if they had their way, Democrats would have moved inauguration day to the day after November 4. Liberals looking for change are doubtless disappointed and even agitated, but this is an administration-to-be saving its ammunition for the battles ahead.

The perceived prudence of the president-elect must be viewed in the light of the fact that he has no authority to do anything now. (He is not even a Senator anymore.) All the power he possesses now comes from the law of anticipated reactions. Until he takes the oath of office, he has no formal authority, though he possesses more power now than he ever will. Some call it a store of good will; journalists call it a honeymoon. But this is power that will not persist; it will start to dissipate just as Obama hits the ground running. As he finally sits down to to take the presidential test, and the distance between hope and reality, rhetoric and action narrows, his honeymoon, like the law of all good things, will end.

That is why I do not expect the prudence ex ante to continue ex post. Now is the calm before the storm. Come January 20, there shall be a flurry of activity and a big stimulus package which would include, among other things, a big infrastructure program to rebuild roads and bridges around the country. There is so much pent-up anticipation for Obama to use his electoral mandate that he is likely to benefit from the restraint he is exercising (and the angst he is causing) now. This man who has proved adept at beating the Clintons at their game during the primary season will not likely repeat their mistake of front loading his first 100 days with more than he can handle. His legislative agenda will not be cluttered, but it will surely be bold.

By Anatoly Liberman

English and Japanese spelling. In one of the comments on spelling reform, my brief statement on English versus Japanese was criticized. A month ago, in the previous set of “gleanings,” I responded to someone’s remark asserting that the complexity of spelling and the level of literacy are not connected, as the experience of Japanese allegedly shows: Japanese spelling is hard to master, but the Japanese, as we hear, are overwhelmingly literate. I suggested that the two systems should not be compared, for hieroglyphs are different from letters. (more…)

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By Anatoly Liberman

Two opposite forces act on the brain of someone who sets out to trace the origin of a word. Everything may seem obvious. To cite the most famous cases, coward is supposedly a “corruption” of cow herd and sirloin came into being when an English king dubbed an edible loin at table (Sir Loin). Such fantasies have tremendous appeal, for they show that the homegrown linguist, unlike some simple-minded observer of facts, will not be deceived by appearances. But folk etymology also enjoys creating problems where there are none. Here perhaps a well-known example is the attempt to prove that beef eater is not an eater of beef but beaufetier ~ buffetier in disguise. One cannot know in advance when naiveté should be recommended (a beef eater is a beef eater, and that’s all there is to it) and when sophistication is the best policy (stop deriving coward from cowherd!), but research usually clarifies matters. Etymological games with honeymoon resemble those with beefeater. (more…)

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This sketch is for an article titled "Dealing with Parents" for a drug facts booklet. It's my second "stab at the chicken" as they say (or do they?) for a contest under Maple Leaf Publishing. I'm working on the "dad" in the picture a bit more as he isn't as cleverly sylized as the "mom". However, the real trick will be to ensure bright, nauseating colors which are sure to print clear as a bell on newsprint. Until another day!