Such events are always repellent to those who retain their critical faculties. But the hoopla inevitably exhausts itself and what remains after the litter is swept away is reality—in this case the coming to power of the man who will preside over the most reactionary state in the world, under conditions of an unprecedented crisis of American and world capitalism. The policies of the Obama administration will be determined not by media image-making or hollow rhetoric, but by the imperatives of the crisis and the social interests which Obama represents.

Reading the transcript of Obama’s inaugural speech was like reading a J.R.R. Tolkien history of US foreign policy, as if they are hobbits battling the forces of Sauron. Ironically racism underscores the entire thing—the millions slaughtered by the US during the ‘Cold War’ can be conveniently left unmentioned, because they are essentially treated as untermenschen within political discourse.

There appears to be two dominant religions in the US, Christianity and Americanism—belief in the latter requires a fairytale view of American history, and its holy texts are updated each year by Hollywood.

Obama and his administration are real enemies of the working class—there will be a lot of very disappointed people this year.