Series for Miami’s emerging art collectors begins Thursday

For art enthusiasts interested in bring their interest home, Miami’s Bakehouse Art Complex is hosting a lecture series for emerging collectors. The first panel, slated for Thursday at 6 p.m., features arists and curators who will talk about fine tuning your taste and learning to make informed decisions. The second session, Feb. 7, is oriented to the mechanics of purchasing. The third, on Feb. 21, explores how to manage your collection.

Moderating all three panels will be Denise Gerson, independent curator who served as associate director for the Lowe Museum of Art for 24 years. Cost is $25 per session or $60 for the series. Seating is limited; reservations are recommended.

Information at 305-576-2828; www.bacfl.org.

Jane Wooldridge

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Story of a lifetime: FIU students covering Monday’s inauguration

It started with an e-mail Florida International University journalism major Anthony Cave sent to South Florida News Service news director Chris Delboni asking whether a group of students could go to Washington, D.C., and cover the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.

“I was doing some research about the inauguration and thought it would be too late to get media credentials to go to the inauguration,” said Cave, a junior at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “I emailed Chris during winter break to see if there was something we could do.”

Delboni forwarded the e-mail to the Society of Professional Journalists’ FIU student chapter, enlisted the assistance of her frequent collaborator professor Neil Reisner and immediately began hearing that there wasn’t enough time or money to organize such an ambitious endeavor.

That’s when six students decided to do what they could to raise – in a short time — the $1,875 cost of the trip to head north.

And, with the help of the SPJ national office, SJMC Dean Raul Reis and an anonymous donor, they did it.

Early Sunday, the team of students and Reisner set out to Washington, D.C., traveling on a charter bus sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Coordinating Committee of West Palm Beach.

The six South Florida News Service reporters and editor will cover the experiences of the 38-member group as they happen on the bus and during the inauguration.

Their work will be available on the SFNS website, sfnsonline.com, on Twitter , at hashtag #spjfiuDC, and in several local newspapers. At the trip’s end, they plan to produce a mini-documentary about their experiences.

The MLK Coordinating Committee travelers refer to themselves as the Freedom Riders, commemorating the original Freedom Riders, the civil rights activists from throughout the country who took buses to the segregated South in the early 1960s to fight for equal rights.

Journalism students Julissa Alburqueque, Michae Baisden, Barbara Corbellini Duarte, Jonathan Simmons, Brittny Valdes and Cave, who call themselves Freedom Writers, are reporting, writing, shooting photos and video on the bus and at the inauguration.

Reisner, a veteran newsman who also edits the SJMC’s Liberty City Link, is serving as editor while Delboni handles web production in Miami, along with other SFNS staff working on this team coverage.

Alburqueque, a student in Delboni’s Advanced News Writing class and a member of SPJ, jumped on the opportunity to take part on the trip. “We will be writing down what we see on the bus, and what goes on when we get off of it,” Alburqueque said.

Corbellini Duarte hopes to find stories that are not being told and to be able to tell those stories in a way that captures other people’s attention.

“We are not just going to witness history, but we will be part of the people writing it,” she said.

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RIM heats up as BlackBerry 10 launch nears

Research In Motion (RIMM) shares are soaring ahead of the imminent launch of the firm’s next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform. The stock’s recent run could come screeching to a halt at any moment as short interest grows, but Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek thinks there’s plenty more good news ahead for RIM. In a note to investors on Friday morning, Misek told clients to buy RIM stock and set a new 12-month price target of $ 19.50, up from his previous $ 13 target with a Hold rating.

[More from BGR: Samsung’s latest monster smartphone will reportedly have a 5.8-inch screen]

“Our checks indicate that the carriers have agreed to volume commitments for the first two quarters post-launch,” Misek wrote. He also notes that “BB10 builds have been raised from 500K/month in early Dec to 1M-2M/month,” and “Developers are supporting BB10 more than we expected. RIM is targeting 70K BB10 apps available at launch.”

[More from BGR: Cable companies called ‘monopolies that stifle competition and innovation’]

Misek says that RIM’s next-generation platform will enable secure corporate email services on iOS and Android devices and the market has overlooked this major change so far. The analyst believes RIM’s March- and August-quarter results will beat Wall Street’s current consensus now that RIM’s huge installed base will finally have a “legitimate upgrade opportunity.”

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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Gayle King Reacts to Oprah Winfrey Interview with Lance Armstrong

ET's Rocsi Diaz chatted with Oprah Winfrey's best friend Gayle King on Sunday, where the CBS This Morning co-anchor revealed that Lance Armstrong wasn't the only one with a lot at stake during last week's interview.

RELATED: Biggest Celebrity Scandals

"I've only seen [Oprah] nervous twice -- Michael Jackson, back in the day that was live, and with Lance Armstrong," Gayle said at The Daily Beast/Newsweek bipartisan brunch. "She knew that there was a lot at stake. She knew that people would be watching her and she knew that people would be watching him."

Those nerves may have brought out the best in Lady O, as Gayle revealed Oprah's preparation leading up to the sit down. Gayle told Rocsi that Oprah looked at every interview that Lance has done, read the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report and three books all in one week.

On the day of the interview, Oprah issued a series of rapid-fire yes or no questions, in which the retired cyclist confirmed that he had blood transfusions and used the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO) during his career -- particularly during all seven of his Tour de France victories.

RELATED: Lance Armstrong Movie Already in the Works

"You know it's a good interview when you're done and you get in the car and you say, 'There's not another thing I wish I would've asked him,'" said Gayle. "That's pretty good, and that's how she felt."

The brunch was a part of the festivities surrounding the Presidential Inauguration. Other attendees included Eva Longoria, Star Jones, Kerry Washington and Rosario Dawson.

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‘Safe’ drivers give kids crash course

They claim they’re fighting to keep children safe, but statistics show that city school-bus drivers — the vast majority members of the striking union — are really hell on wheels.

Buses with public-school contracts were involved in more than 1,700 accidents in which the driver was at fault in each of the past five years for which numbers are available, according to statistics compiled by the Department of Education.

These incidents range form minor fender-benders to collisions that resulted in 912 injuries in 2011, the latest year available, the data show.

A year earlier, there were 1,792 accidents resulting in two deaths and 1,796 injuries.

Despite this bloody record, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 claims its crippling bus strike is being waged in the best interests of its student passengers — because only it can do the job safely.

One of the union’s top goals with its strike is to keep job protections that prioritize seniority for its 8,800 drivers and matrons.

“The mayor has removed a requirement that keeps the most qualified, experienced and skilled drivers on the job,” it said when it announced the strike.

That argument didn’t fly with parents of children hurt on the buses.

“Right now, they need to screen these matrons. They need matrons that really care for the kids,” said Tellison Forde, of Queens, whose severely autistic daughter, Donia, suffered bloodied hands and feet during a ride on a Logan Bus in May 2010.

“She could have been sliding on the seat and the driver and matron were probably not paying attention and talking with each other,” she said.

That incident, when Donia was 9, is now part of a lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court.

In a more recent case, a Lonero Transit matron is accused of trying to cover up how Nehemiah Rondon, 10, bashed his head on the floor of a moving bus.

“The bus stopped. He starts walking, and when he gets to the door, the bus starts again and lurches forward and banged his head,” said his attorney, Igor Grichanik.

The matron allegedly tried to coerce the boy into not telling what happened.

“Since the day of the incident, [Nehemiah] has been singled out, coached and/or questioned by the ‘matron’ regarding the happening of the incident,” the boy’s lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court charges.

Grichanik added: “The kid says, ‘I go to church. God doesn’t let me lie. Why are you making me lie?’ ”

The coalition that represents several of the private bus operators, which in total receive about $1.1 billion a year in contracts from the city, disputed the city’s tally of accidents.

“Our insurance reports distinguish between driver fault and nonfault, chargeable versus nonchargeable, and show the large majority of incidents are not the fault of school-bus drivers, and most are minor incidents without children on board,” said spokeswoman Carolyn Daly.

About 67 percent of drivers are striking.

Additional reporting by Christina Carrega and Julia Marsh

chuck.bennett@nypost.com

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Three-generation family businesses share their secrets of success

In 2009, when Larry Zinn took over as sales manager for the Infiniti dealership that his father owned, he had a great idea: retrain the sales staff in a team approach and offer customers complimentary add-on services for the first year.

Some salesmen who were used to selling the same way for decades up and quit. But that didn’t deter Larry from insisting a new sales culture and value proposition for new car buyers was necessary. “I was persistent with everything I’ve believed we needed to do going forward. People were going to embrace change or move on,” says Larry, 28.

The resistance quieted, however, after Larry recruited young salespeople and had them trained in the new advantage program. The new approach helped push sales volume up 72 percent. "We had a lot of success with it,” he says.

Larry Zinn’s experience is not unusual for family-owned businesses that survive into a third generation and employ new tactics to keep from becoming obsolete.

Nationally, family-run businesses account for nearly 35 percent of the largest companies including Ford, Koch Industries, Hilton, Wal-Mart, Loews and Ikea. In South Florida, family-run businesses are particularly prevalent and account for a majority of the largest Hispanic companies, including Goya, Bacardi, El Dorado and Sedano’s Supermarkets.

But while more than 30 percent of all U.S. family-owned businesses survive into the second generation, only about 12 percent are passed onto the third generation, according to Family Firm Institute, a Boston-based association for family enterprise professionals. Those that do survive have a few intriguing commonalities: an ability to stay relevant, think bigger and take a long term view.

“They try to figure out where they want to be in 10 years and take steps to make that target,” says Wayne Rivers, president of The Family Business Institute in Raleigh, N.C.

Most third-generation family businesses, particularly those in South Florida, were started by a scrappy entrepreneur who saw business ownership as a way to provide for the family. Those businesses include grocery chains such as Sedano’s, restaurant operators such as Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine and airport concessionaires such as NewsLink.

Typically, in those businesses, the founder brought his kids with him to work, put them in the kitchen, the stock room, the sales floor, and taught them on-the-spot business lessons. Those kids eventually came to work full time and helped the company evolve beyond a seat-of-the-pants start-up into a more sophisticated business with processes and systems.

Now comes the third generation, who are more likely to have received formal business education before they return to the company. Often, they are able to leverage that training and move the company forward dramatically. But the succession also comes with challenges. They must keep the respect of longtime employees and show the same dogged commitment to seeing their company succeed, even after having already grown up enjoying the fruits of its success.

In successful third-generation businesses, the senior generation often stays on to ensure that commitment, adopting a role as mentor or advisor while creating an environment where younger family members can take on real responsibility, says Rivers, who consults for family businesses. “They get out of the way, let the next generation make their own mistakes, and gracefully exit when it’s appropriate.”

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Ex-Mayor Diaz to talk about new book at alma mater

Congratulations to my friend and former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who has will be presenting his new book at 9:45 a.m. in the Roca Theater at his alma mater, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, 500 SW 127th Ave. in West Miami-Dade.

His book is titled Miami Transformed: Rebuilding America, One Neighborhood, One City at a Time.

Born in Cuba, Diaz really is a Miami success story. He came to Miami when he was 6, and went on to become a local attorney and later mayor, serving two terms. He also served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Diaz is being presented by the Belen Alumni Association of Jesuit Schools from Cuba and Miami, the Ramón Guiteras Memorial Library and the school's Social Studies Department.

For those who are unaware, the school was founded in 1854 in Havana. In 1961, Belen and all private schools in Cuba were confiscated by the new political regime. That same year, Belen was re-established in Miami. Today the all-boys' school has an enrollment of 1,500 in grades six through 12 and has more than 6,000 alumni.

The program is free and open to the public.

Music for Overtown

The Overtown Music Project will have its annual fundraiser from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. The program will include an 18-piece big band, along with hip hop, funk and soul.

According to Amy Rosenberg, spokeswoman for the fundraiser, the event will celebrate the connection between Overtown and the Fontainebleau, a hotel where Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Etta James once performed.

The program will include several musicians who played in Overtown's many venues during its heyday. The musicians are now in their 60s and 90s and will be showcased at the event.

Rosenberg said the event will fund the six annual events in Overtown, and three programs geared toward bringing music back to the area permanently.

For tickets and more information go to: www.evenbrite.com/event/5147700912 or www.overtownmusicproject.org.

Children’s Chorus

The Miami Children's Chorus will present a program, "Bring on the Boys," a singing workshop for boys with unchanged voices, from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in the Victor E. Clarke Recital Hall, 5501 San Amaro Dr. in Coral Gables. Timothy A. Sharp is the music director for the Miami Children's Chorus..

The registration deadline is Thursday and the fee is $20 per person and $17 per person when registering five or more youngsters together.

For more information call 305-662-7494 or go to miamichildrenschorus.org or info@miamichildrenschorus.org.

Play looks at gay marriage law

A staged reading of the play 8 will be performed at 7 p.m., on Jan. 27, in Room E352 at the University of Miami School of Law. The play, written by Dustin Lance Black, chronicles the historic constitutional challenge to California's Proposition 8. Black is the Academy Award-wining screenwriter of Milk

The production of 8 will be staged under license from the American Foundation for Equal rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact. It will be directed by Marc Fajer, a member of the law school's faculty who has had more than 30 years of theatrical directing experience.

The performance was arranged by OUTlaw, a student organization at the University of Miami School of Law, that seeks to advance the priorities of the gay, lesbian, bisexzual and transgender community on the campus.

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100 Years of U.S. Presidential Inaugurations

On March 4, 1913, Woodrow Wilson took the oath of office. Nearly 100 years later, Barack Obama will take that same oath.

The U.S. presidential inauguration looks a tad different than it did a century ago. In 1913, women still did not have the right to vote and Wilson rode to the Capitol in a horse-drawn carriage. And don’t expect to see President Obama wearing a silk top hat like Wilson either.

[More from Mashable: Watch Every President’s Inauguration Since Reagan in 36 Seconds]

Thanks to the digital archiving of government images, zipping through 100 years of presidential history doesn’t even require a trip to the library. We’ve compiled the most memorable photographs and videos taken at presidential inaugurations since 1913 for a scrollable history lesson.

[More from Mashable: The Letters Kids Wrote to Obama About Gun Control]

If you like your history well-aged, then there’s also a special gallery at the bottom featuring images from inaugurations that occurred before 1913 — including those of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant.

Woodrow Wilson, March 4, 1913

“President-elect Wilson and President Taft, standing side by side, laughing, at White House prior to Wilson’s inauguration ceremonies” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Woodrow Wilson, March 5, 1917

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

“Telegram from Evangeline Booth, Commander of the Salvation Army” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Warren G. Harding, March 4, 1921

“Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Philander Knox and Joseph Cannon, in convertible” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Calvin Coolidge, March 4, 1925

“President Coolidge, Mrs. Coolidge and Senator Curtis on the way to the Capitol” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Herbert Hoover, March 4, 1929

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933

Inaugural Program, Inauguration. Franklin D. Roosevelt President of the United States. John N. Garner Vice President of the United States. Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20, 1937

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

“Ticket for the 1937 inauguration, the first to take place on January 20th.” Image courtesy of FDR Library

“Eleanor Roosevelt poses in her inaugural gown at the White House.” Image courtesy of FDR Library

Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20, 1941

“Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt riding in an open car, returning to the White House from FDR’s third inauguration.” Image courtesy of FDR Library

Excerpt from home movie of FDR driving and walking with assistance to take the Oath of Office on January 20, 1941.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20, 1945

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

“Crowd stands in snow for inauguration” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Harry S. Truman, January 20, 1949

“Truman and Barkley during Inaugural parade.” Image courtesy of Truman Library

Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 20, 1953

“Ike responds to cheers of crowd.” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

“With smiles and a wave, President Harry Truman and his successor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, leave White House in an open car on way to Capitol for inauguration ceremonies.” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 21, 1957

“President Eisenhower waves to the crowd” Image courtesy of Eisenhower Library

“Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon watching inaugural parade with Anne & David Eisenhower and Julie & Tricia Nixon” Image courtesy of Eisenhower Library

“Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower attend the Inaugural Ball with John and Barbara Eisenhower” Image courtesy of Eisenhower Library

John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961

Image courtesy of National Archives

“President-elect John F. Kennedy shakes hands with Father Richard J. Casey, the Pastor, after attending Mass at Holy Trinity Church … prior to inauguration ceremonies.” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Lyndon B. Johnson, January 20, 1965

“President Lyndon B. Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, and Luci Baines Johnson preparing for Inauguration ceremonies.” Image courtesy of LBJ Library

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

“Secret service agents try to hold back the crowds that surge forward to watch President Johnson dance with the First Lady at the inaugural ball at the National Guard Armory” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Richard M. Nixon, January 20, 1969

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

“President and Mrs. Nixon waving to the crowd from the Presidential limousine in the inaugural motorcade” Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Richard M. Nixon, January 20, 1973

Image courtesy of White House

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Jimmy Carter, January 20, 1977

Image courtesy of Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Ronald Reagan, January 20, 1981

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Ronald Reagan, January 21, 1985

Image courtesy of Reagan Library

“1985 Inaugural Ball: President and Mrs. Reagan in National Air and Space Museum” Image courtesy of Smithsonian

George H. W. Bush, January 20, 1989

Image courtesy of Smithsonian

“1989 Presidential Inaugration, George H. W. Bush, Opening Ceremonies, at Lincoln Memorial” Image courtesy of Smithsonian

Bill Clinton, January 20, 1993

“While the Clintons and Gores watch, Chelsea Clinton rings a replica of the Liberty Bell during festivities kicking off the Clinton/Gore 1993 Inaugural events.” Image courtesy of Smithsonian

“George Bush and Bill Clinton shake hands just after the inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol.” Image courtesy of Smithsonian

Image courtesy of Smithsonian

Bill Clinton, January 20, 1997

Image courtesy of Smithsonian

Image courtesy of Smithsonian

George W. Bush, January 20, 2001

Image courtesy of White House

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

George W. Bush, January 20, 2005

Image courtesy of White House

Image courtesy of White House

Image courtesy of White House

Barack Obama, January 20, 2009

Image courtesy of Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo, U.S. Air Force

“President Barack Obama is given the Oath of Office for a second time by Chief Justice John G. Roberts” Image courtesy of Pete Souza/White House

“President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama share a private moment in a freight elevator at an Inaugural Ball” Image courtesy of Pete Souza/White House

“President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama ride in a golf cart at an Inaugural Ball” Image courtesy of Pete Souza/White House

BONUS: Pre-1913 Presidential Inaugurations

Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Click here to view this gallery.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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Michelle Obama on Inauguration President Barack Obama

ET's Rocsi Diaz sat down first with First Lady Michelle Obama at the Kids' Inaugural Concert to discuss a variety of topics from her new hairstyle and birthday celebration to Lance Armstrong.

RELATED: Actors Who've Played Presidents

Mrs. Obama debuted her shoulder-length bob with eye-level bangs via Twitter on her birthday, Thursday, January 17, and she told Rocsi that Dr. Jill Biden may have had an influence on her.

"I've been coveting [Dr. Biden's] bangs for four years," joked Mrs. Obama, quipping that they're "the bang sisters." She also revealed that husband President Barack Obama gave her a "beautiful necklace" as a recent birthday gift.

On the topic of Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah in which he admits to doping, Mrs. Obama said, "I didn't even get a chance to see it. It's a sad situation for everyone who's watching ... I think we have to remember all the people that have been helped and who will continue to need the help of [The Livestrong Foundation]. We should focus on making sure that cancer survivors and people dealing with the disease have the kind of support, medical and research, that they need to deal with the situation. We can't lose sight of that accomplishment."

Rocsi will present at tonight's Kids' Inaugural, which marks the latest efforts by the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden's Joining Forces initiative to urge Americans to support our troops, and our Gold Star and Blue Star families.

The First Lady described the event in a video message, explaining that it's about "celebrating who we are as Americans and the people who make our country great -- our men and women in uniform, our military spouses, and our amazing military kids. So it's no surprise that when Jill and I decided to host this event, everyone wanted to join us -- from Katy Perry to Glee, from Nick Cannon to Usher. They know that military kids serve this country right alongside their moms and dads, and we’re really looking forward to celebrating our military families this weekend."

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OMerica

John Podhoretz

As Barack Obama’s second term begins with a private swearing-in ceremony today, we know one thing: If he leaves office as a well-regarded two-termer in 2017, he will have become the most important president since Ronald Reagan and the most important liberal president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

If the American electorate deems his eight years a success, the Obama presidency will have altered the ideological trajectory of the United States.

For decades now, since the Reagan era, the United States has been most accurately described as a center-right nation. That will not be the case if Obama does well over the next four years. By 2017, it will have moved several clicks starboard — for a generation at least. Due to Obama and his policies, the United States will have become a center-left nation.

Getty Images

If, however, Obama crashes and burns during his second term — either because the public turns on his policies, as was the case with George W. Bush, or (impossible to believe) because of personal misconduct, as was the case with Bill Clinton — Obama will leave liberalism in the same state of crisis in which conservatism now finds itself.

Rather than enshrine it as the dominating force in American politics, he will have discredited left-liberalism.

So the stakes are pretty high. The reward for success will be vast. The cost of failure will be severe. And Obama has made sure we will be able to tell which is which. There will be no doubt.

He’s not Clinton, who saved his presidency by tacking to the right after losing in 1994. He’s not George W. Bush, who passed an education bill with Teddy Kennedy’s help and created a new entitlement program in 2003 (the Medicare prescription-drug benefit). Both presidents were loathed unreservedly by their ideological opposites, and yet both frequently tacked to the center on domestic politics.

By contrast, Obama was the first successful candidate for the presidency to call himself a “liberal” with no discomfort since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. And he meant it. His significant legislative accomplishments, all of which have tacked to the left, would have seemed like science-fictional dreams in 2005, when it appeared liberalism had been routed and conservatism had embedded itself permanently throughout the government.

Obama’s first term began with the passage of the largest domestic spending bill in US history, the trillion-dollar stimulus.

He moved on post-haste to the partial nationalization of two auto manufacturers, an unprecedented reach into the private marketplace made all the more audacious for its naked giveaways to the same auto workers union that played such a role in leading the companies to ruin.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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