President Bush's Inaugural Address

Great Debates
1

Full speech texthere.

I’m interested in hearing everyone’s reactions. Personally, I knew this was going to be one of those types of speeches where if you play a drinking game someone will pass out within 10 minutes.

Liberty? Check.
Freedom? Check.
Spreading democracy/freedom/liberty? Check.
Tyranny and oppression? Check.
Random SAT words that commentators will use for a couple of weeks? Check.

I was actually amazed that “9/11” wasn’t used once. Not once! Sure, he referenced it…but I expected him to say it a good dozen or so times as per the usual.

All kidding aside, I thought it was very idealistic but was mostly hot air. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re spread so thin I could really get behind a president that wanted to, for example, make hitherto unseen and massive humanitarian efforts into Africa and seriously make an effort to bring so many poor souls into the civilized world. Talk about thugs and lighting up the darkness!

The AM talk radio commentary was entertaining. A common mantra was, “George means what he says and says what he means, when will people pick up on this?”

2

Can’t that drinking game be ‘successfully’ played using most inaugural addresses? And it’s typically ‘hot air’ when it’s the other guy’s speech -

Anyway ---- here’s Clinton’s first inaugural address –

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres64.html

Using most of your own list -

Liberty? Check.
Freedom? Check.
Democracy? Check.
Envy of the world? Check
Random SAT words that commentators will use for a couple of weeks? None.

To be certain this wasn’t some wild fluke. Here’s Clinton’s second inaugural address –

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres65.html

Liberty? Check.
Freedom? Check.
Spreading democracy/freedom/liberty? Check.
Tyranny? Check.
World’s greatest? Check.
Random SAT words that commentators will use for a couple of weeks? None.

3

I find it interesting that he didn’t mention Iraq by name. Not once.

4

“I find it interesting that he didn’t mention Iraq by name. Not once.”

That was last term. Doesn’t count any more. The American people ratified that when out boy was re-elected. Don’t ask any questions. And incidentally, no signs or sticks – public safety risk, don’t you know.

5

I consider myself an independent and I view most politician’s speeches as hot air, but particularly these types that are surrounded by so much ceremony and flare. Cliches usually abound in these cirumstances.

I thought these numbers were interesting.

Bush’s Second Inaugural

Freedom: 27
Liberty: 15

Clinton’s First

Freedom: 3
Liberty: 1

Clinton’s Second

Freedom: 2
Liberty: 2

Bush’s First Inaugural

Freedom: 5
Liberty: 1

His entire second inaugural can be summed up, IMO, as “we need to spread freedom and democracy.” I thought there’d be more feedback because this seems to be a fairly need approach from this administration. It was used as one of the secondary reasons for going into Iraq and another side effect of fighting the War on Terror, but he seems to be advancing the idea of doing it for the sake of helping others and bringing them into the civilized world.

6

New, not “need.” :smack:

7

Kind of curious when viewed against his statements in the 2000 campaign:

8

Here I thought were some strong quotes.

I personally think if there is a popular movement against a tyrannical ruler somewhere in the world we should help them. There are too many times during our history where we had that opportunity and allowed the people to be crushed and “made an example of.”

9

“Made an example of” like Fallujah ? Or maybe allowing the Shi’ites in southern Iraq after Gulf War I to be crushed ?

Its all hot air… freedom repeated like a mantra.

10

I think he’s absolutely right. The problem is agreeing on what strategies and tactics to use to accomplish that objective.

11

Fully intending to be snarky here, but what are “the darkest corners our world” at the moment? OK, I’d say North Korea, for one, but where else?

I mean, Scotland’s pretty dark this time of year. Are we sending the Marines into Scotland?

12

Personally, like I said before, I think the entire continent of Africa is in pretty bad shape.

13

I don’t buy the premise that free societies are proven less prone to spawn terrorists than non-free societies. I may not like Cuba, North Korea, or China but I have few worries that they are sending terrorists into the world And for Bush to claim freedom is on the march, let him show a place where it really is. Afghanistan? Hardly. How far from Kabul can the Afghan president stray? Iraq? The jury is still out, but if they have a stable democratic government in place after US troops leave, it will be nothing short of miraculous.

14

Hell, you can counterargue the whole premise just by pointing out that the terror-spreading contras and Sandinistas were primarily supported by a free society, i.e., the US of A.

As for the inauguration address, what’s there to debate? No matter who’s giving the speech, it’s all predictable canned rhetoric. I’m more curious if anyone egged the Presidential limo like they did in 2000.

15

Africa doesn’t exist on the Republican map of the world. It sank shortly after Atlantis.

16

Is Afghanistan perfect today? No. Is it better today that it was under the Taliban? Without a doubt.

I think the biggest positive change is the re-opening of actual schools where the youth (both make and female BTW) have a chance at getting an education instead of a brainwashing. The longer that remains a reality, the better the long term prospects will be.

17

As for my initial reaction of the inaugural address, the conclusion was quite stirring:

This, to me, is what most stood out from the rest of the speech. This oratorical tone of his 2nd inaugural address is striking when compared to his other speeches and even compared with his first inaugural address, as was pointed out earlier. It was an unique speech for Bush which had a Wilsonian feel to it, a tone similar to Kennedy’s, and themes that Jefferson and Lincoln touched upon. I was impressed by its grandeur. What are your thoughs on Bush alluding to * Novus Ordo Seclorum* when he says “new order of the ages”?

18

Having just read the transcript, I have to say it was better than I expected. Some bits ("“Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills”) actually referenced his faith and displayed Christian humility at the same time, which is rare for Bush and therefore kinda refreshing. Maybe his speechwriters read a good dose of Martin Luther King this year.

19

Why does Bush rhetoric insinuate that peace is impossible without democracy as if that is a well established fact? This is far from obvious to me. Just looking at the US, we’ve had terrorists, goverment-approved oppression of minorities, higher crime rates than other industrialized nations, and a bloody civil war. I’m not saying that democracy is a great institution, but I’m not prepared to say that every other form of rule is an abomination that goes against human dignity and must be eradicated like smallpox. His words make me think of a religious proselityzer who is so enamored with his own views that he can’t imagine anything else being just as good.

Funny how Bush’s focus now has turned to being savior of the world as opposed to serving as president of his country. Funny also that he’s trying to make us think of the Iraq war more as being “Operation Freedom” instead of the war to disarm Saddam.

20

Kozmik: It was an unique speech for Bush which had a Wilsonian feel to it, a tone similar to Kennedy’s, and themes that Jefferson and Lincoln touched upon. I was impressed by its grandeur.

Inspiring rhetoric, indeed. Reminded me a bit of an earlier second inaugural address: