Political Processes & Rhetoric – Page 96 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

An Inaugural Scrooge

Post author:Richard M. Esenberg
Post published:January 19, 2009
Post category:Political Processes & Rhetoric

A post by Paul Horwitz over at Prawfs on the iinaugural spectacle prompts me to confront my own reaction which is, for the most part, one of bemusement. It all strikes me as too much by half.

Of course, the election of an African-American president is a significant event. I was not one of those who doubted that the U.S. would elect a black president. Contemporary racial bias seems to express itself in presumptions about people that we don’t know. In a nation that has — for reasons that are lost on me — made Oprah its most admired person, the election of an African-American is not all that surprising.

But that doesn’t make it any less momentous. As others have noted, Obama could not have been served lunch at many restaurants in North Carolina during the year he was born. Last fall, a majority of the state’s electorate voted for him for President.

We Know Where You Live

Post author:Richard M. Esenberg
Post published:January 13, 2009
Post category:First Amendment Human Rights Political Processes & Rhetoric

Opponents of Proposition 8 have put up a map purporting to show where donors to the “Yes on 8” campaign live. You can get the name, occupation, and amounts of donation for each mapped donor. While you can’t get the exact address, it would be quite easy to use the map to find the homes of donors.

The information used to create the map is all publicly available, but it does make it more accessible and convenient to use. But for what end?

Obama and Lincoln’s Bible

Post author:Daniel D. Blinka
Post published:January 2, 2009
Post category:Legal History Political Processes & Rhetoric

Although every presidential inauguration is historically significant, some are more so than others. (Think about Coolidge’s 1925 inaugural — if you can.) President-elect Barack Obama’s upcoming inauguration is important for all the obvious reasons, yet it is intriguing to watch how skillfully he is using history to further underscore its significance while building legitimacy. Putting aside all the tripe about his “team of rivals,” Obama’s announced intent to use Lincoln’s Bible for the oath of office bespeaks how attuned he is to the use of symbols in our political (and legal) culture, particularly Lincoln’s legacy. Lincoln, too, skillfully used American history and religion to explain and to justify his actions.

Lincoln’s Bible resonates at different levels. First, it is deliciously ironic that a Democrat will make the first use of the first Republican president’s Bible since Lincoln himself in 1861. Second, the decision generated considerable press, which in turn subtly emphasizes Obama’s willingness to publicly embrace religion as part of our political discourse. Third, it poignantly ties Obama’s inauguration to the Civil War, the emancipation of the slaves, the country’s continuing struggles over race, and, of course, Lincoln himself. By using Lincoln’s Bible, Obama portrays himself as Lincoln’s heir. Lincoln’s Bible will become Obama’s Bible as well.

As an historian, I applaud Obama’s willingness to consciously craft historical memory and, most of all, his rich appreciation for symbols in American politics.