150th Gettysburg Address

[Mr Mystery]

This is why America needs a monarch. We need someone to do this useless ceremonial **** while the elected officials see to the business of running the country.

Honestly, I've got enough reasons to be disappointed in Obama's policies - I still support him, I'm glad we had him instead of any of the alternatives - but seriously... I have bigger beefs than whether or not he showed up at a speech.

We can do you a sweet deal on Prince Edward. He's not up to much over here?

[Psychosplodge]

Not Andrew?

[ElectricPaladin]

We can do you a sweet deal on Prince Edward. He's not up to much over here?

Isn't he that all the women want and the men want to be (except for the gay men, who want both, and the lesbians, who want either both or neither, and the trans and non-gender-binary folks, who occupy all sorts of positions in-between)? The one who got recalled from the Iraq war because the enemy was gunning for him and it put his unit in danger?

Yeah. We'll take him.

[Mr Mystery]

Nah. I think they deserve Edward more.

And....yes.....yes that's the one......

[ElectricPaladin]

Nah. I think they deserve Edward more.

And....yes.....yes that's the one......

Oh, right. I see. It's the other one.

That's ok. I'll keep the secret. Maybe if he shows up here to be our useless royal and everyone's looking up to him and thinks he's actually his sexy, heroic brother, it'll do him good.

[Mr Mystery]

I hear you have plenty wildlife.

Just give him a Horse, some hounds and a bunch of Toffs to charge about with and I'll sure he'll be fine.

(snickersnicker....silly Yanks! They've not twigged which one Edward is!.....This is almost as much fun as when we sold them London Bridge!)

[ElectricPaladin]

I'm telling you, man... I don't care which one it is. I don't care if he's a coke-head... no, wait, that was our last president. Ok, I don't care if he's an alcoholic... no, Bush had a drinking problem, too. Ok, I don't care if he has a degenerative brain condition... no, that's Reagan. Um... a philanderer? Clinton. Takes too many vacations? Bush again. Crap.

Do you see what I mean? It will be an improvement over our current situation to have anyone to be the symbol and figurehead of our country, even if he's a loser.

[Mr Mystery]

Certainly Sir.

One workshy fop coming right up.

That'll be your entire GDP for the next 100 years. Pleasure doing business with you.

[Wildeybeast]

I've never heard of it as an annual event before. I'm not at all suprised that they'd have an anniversery ceremony. The Gettysburg Address is, I dunno, our equivalent of the signing of the Magna Carta. It's right up there with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And signing the Constitution.

Hate to tell you, but you guys put more store in the Magna Carta than we do. No one really cares about it over here. It's a big marker on the road to universal emancipation, but that's all. Hell, it didn't mean that much when it was signed, never mind now.

Edit: Also, good job on selling the Yanks Edward, Mystery.

[Nabterayl]

Hate to tell you, but you guys put more store in the Magna Carta than we do. No one really cares about it over here. It's a big marker on the road to universal emancipation, but that's all. Hell, it didn't mean that much when it was signed, never mind now.

That ... might not be too different from the Gettysburg Address, really. I mean, it was just a speech by the president in commemoration of a battle. A battle with significance to the strategic course of the war as well as global military history, and a speech that did a good job of encapsulating some American ideals, but still just a speech in commemoration of a battle. It does not have, and does not purport to have, any governmental effect. It was not much noticed at the time. For a while every American schoolchild memorized the damn thing, but not anymore. What importance it has is entirely symbolic. So ... maybe not so different from Magna Carta after all.