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Dispatch from DCist: Celebrating Outside the White House

2008_11_bushwh2.jpgShortly after President Bush called and congratulated President-elect Obama, throngs of people ended up outside the White House. DCist editor Sommer Mathis writes, "As we moved from U Street...and headed south to the White House, the celebration didn't slow down. Down 14th street to Thomas Circle, everyone hooted and hollered. They stood up through their sunroofs to cheer on passersby on the sidewalk. They danced. They played drums. They honked and honked and honked... At the White House, big crowds gathered on both sides of the compound to let the least popular president in U.S. history know they were glad to see him go. Spontaneous renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner and 'Nananana nananana hey hey hey goodbye,' broke out within the ebullient masses." (Photographs here.)

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  • fun22watcher

    Future T -

    "Bush Begone like a Brazilian Wax"

  • babyhitler

    clarence thomas might pull a colin powell and go black for obama.

  • JenChungsBaby

    "Collective I.Q. of Washington Rises 8 Points as Bush Family Replaced by Obamas at White House"

  • Future Taliban

    Suggested headlines for Bush's end of term (finally!):

    "Village gets its idiot back"

    "Evicted!"

    "Don't let the door hit you on the way out"

    "Make like a tree and LEAVE"

  • RevWaldo

    Everyone in the DC crowd should have brought empty boxes for Bush to pack up all his stuff.

    Used ones, of course. Reduce, reuse, recycle, ya know.

    Of course, there's the risk that they'd been used for a bonfire in front of the White House, but what can you do?

  • NannyState

    Be grateful that the last holdout of the Burger Court lived long enough to pass the baton for Obama. And don't forget that Justices Thomas and Scalia are two classic 'heart attacks on a plate'. Their arteries claudify with each passing day...

  • Any news on the tool carrying the USSR flag outside the WH? Fox was worried about it.

    I figured it was just a drunk frat boy who might be a future GOP nominee. It looked odd, tho.

    Is the old McCain back now?

  • JenChungsBaby

    You're totally right about Bush thinking he's great until the day he dies. And he'll be sure to surround himself only with people who will tell him that.

  • Spirit of 76

    And forget about a conservative Supreme Court too, because Obama will likely get to make three appointments in his first term.

    The problem there is that the justices that retire are likely to be the liberal ones, so all Obama can do is maintain the status quo on the bench, which leans conservative right now. Too bad Sandra Day O'Connor couldn't hold on until next year.

  • Spirit of 76

    Don't forget that on his watch, he singlehandedly managed to drive down the percentage of registered Republicans back to pre-Reagan levels.

    I'm totally convinced that Dubya is so deluded that he will go to his grave thinking he was a great president, that history will vindicate him and the country will eventually come to its senses about his wonderful legacy.

  • JenChungsBaby

    Bush was going bye bye anyway, so I don't see the point in chanting nah-nah-nah-nah now. They should come back and do it on January 19.

    How about that permanent Republican majority that Karl Rove bragged about, eh? Bush isn't even out of office yet and already the Dems have solid majorities in both houses of Congress and a black president-elect waiting in the wings. And forget about a conservative Supreme Court too, because Obama will likely get to make three appointments in his first term. It's enough to make me laugh.

  • Colochita

    Amanda - get ahold of yourself, hon! Also, look up the word "alleged."

  • smokedgouda

    There is an article in the WSJ today about how "poorly" Bush has been treated. It's like reading something from another universe. Sadly no marches or rejection will ever sink in to Bush's thick skull.

  • Amanda Harletsch

    Going to the white house and merely chanting is called nothing that PUBLIC MANIFESTATION OF JOY!!! Lack of class my ass!

    "Class" having republicans elected the biggest moron in History and sunk the country in the dark ages?, and proposing more of it with Medieval Palin?

    If you wanna call abundant "class" what the big majority of progressive and educated Americans see as pure complacency with stupidity...go ahead we are totally classless

  • SeasTooFarToReach

    awww... stop it. you are gonna make Bush feel unwelcome now.

  • Colochita

    Why are people citing classless behavior on the part of McCain supporters as a justification for (alleged) classless behavior on the part of Obama supporters?

    I voted for Obama in the primaries and again yesterday… I am so thrilled that he won that I can’t even express it. But I really hope that we can celebrate with class – as Obama himself is demonstrating. McCain lost, Bush is almost out. Let’s just cheer for Obama and hold ourselves to the high standard to which he holds himself.

  • zodak

    poor little jaypea11, someone bring me my tear vase, that i may weep for him.

  • r1b2

    Recognize the basics: everyone, EVERYONE, will be happy to see the door close on W. There is elation. He stole the election, stole the office of president, pissed off our allies, and made us a laughing stock among other nations. He sucked. I mean, he really, really sucked. If it was the private sector, his ass would have been fired long ago. But he was so awful that the people who worked to have his sorry self re-elected in '04 wound up voting for a black man to try to make it all better. Can you imagine how badly he had to suck to get folks in those states to vote democrat, when the democratis candidate was a minority?!!

  • kapusta

    yo,people...calm down.

    W did his job.

    record profits for Exon...

    W's work here is done...he can retire in triumph (the insult dog) to His ratty ranch in texas.

    you people seem to think W should have been some kind of leader or something...

  • r1b2

    jaypea, what about all the people at McCain rallies calling out anti-Obama epithets? C'mon, grow up.

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