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bigtree

(85,915 posts)
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 10:40 AM Jan 2013

I'm fighting them right now

tweeted by, On Politics ?@USATOnPolitics

Civil rights icon John Lewis says he'll fight tears as Obama takes oath on Lincoln Bible on MLK Day

Rep. John Lewis, a leading figure in the 1960s civil rights movement, hopes the sight of President Obama being inaugurated on the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday doesn't turn him into a waterworks.

"I'm going to do everything I can to keep from crying," Lewis, D-Ga., told USA TODAY's Marisol Bello. "Four years ago, I just cried and cried."

Lewis told USA TODAY that Obama's second inauguration is especially poignant because the president will take the oath on the Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration in 1861. If today's date weren't already about history, Lewis said, then the link from Lincoln to King to the nation's first black president gives the inauguration a little something extra.

"Lincoln freed the slaves, and King freed a nation," Lewis said.


read: http://usat.ly/10gEGUb #inaug2013


11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
I'm fighting them right now (Original Post) bigtree Jan 2013 OP
Kick! Heidi Jan 2013 #1
Me, too... CherokeeDem Jan 2013 #2
We have something very special today, and it makes me very, very proud lunatica Jan 2013 #3
John Lewis's fight for civil rights helped put Obama in office Evergreen Emerald Jan 2013 #4
An epic date of historic proportions, indeed. dixiegrrrrl Jan 2013 #5
What an incredible day! MoonRiver Jan 2013 #6
+1 freshwest Jan 2013 #7
Go ahead and cry, Mr. Lewis... sheshe2 Jan 2013 #8
To one of the kindest and most loving men that walks the earth! ReRe Jan 2013 #9
^ ^ ^ THIS ^ ^ ^ !!! lastlib Jan 2013 #10
"Find the good, and praise it!" ReRe Jan 2013 #11

CherokeeDem

(3,709 posts)
2. Me, too...
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 10:45 AM
Jan 2013

These are certainly tears of joy...and thanks that Barack Obama has been re-elected. Otherwise, my tears today would be of despair.

Today is a good day...

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
3. We have something very special today, and it makes me very, very proud
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 10:47 AM
Jan 2013

The first time I actually felt a swell of pride in being an American per se was with MLK Jr. I felt, and still feel lucky to be a fellow American of his.

Evergreen Emerald

(13,069 posts)
4. John Lewis's fight for civil rights helped put Obama in office
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 10:52 AM
Jan 2013

He is an American icon. The fact that he is alive and well and able to participate in this day, moves me to tears.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
5. An epic date of historic proportions, indeed.
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 10:57 AM
Jan 2013

I have my differences about some of the this Admin's policies, but cannot deny the importance of having Pres. Obama elected not just once, but twice!

MoonRiver

(36,926 posts)
6. What an incredible day!
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 11:00 AM
Jan 2013

John Lewis, go ahead and cry for joy! You're one of the reasons this is happening!

sheshe2

(83,319 posts)
8. Go ahead and cry, Mr. Lewis...
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 11:38 AM
Jan 2013
Obama awarded Lewis, who has represented an Atlanta district in the U.S. House since 1987, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Obama hailed the man known as the "conscience of the United States Congress" for his courage and commitment to social justice.


You will not be alone!

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
9. To one of the kindest and most loving men that walks the earth!
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 12:33 PM
Jan 2013
K&R

Thank you John Lewis, for you humble forgiving soul.

You are one of the most precious heavenly "assets" to be found in in the U.S.A. today!
I salute you, dear Sir!

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
11. "Find the good, and praise it!"
Mon Jan 21, 2013, 02:06 PM
Jan 2013

... a quote from Alex Haley, which was used today by the Senator from Tennessee in the Inauguration Ceremony.

There is a mountain of good in the soul of Representative John Lewis. He is the one who forgave George Wallace for Wallace's horrendous words at his gubernatorial inauguration ceremony: "Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!"

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