‘On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.’ So said President Obama on his inauguration.
‘On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.’ So said President Obama on his inauguration. It is not often that an American President so immediately, so publicly and so thoroughly trashes his predecessor. The Romans had a phrase for it: damnatio memoriae. It applied after the death of anyone considered a state enemy.
There was no standard package of retribution. It could involve anything from removal of images and fines to confiscation of property and exile of family members.
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