He Wore a flag on his lapel and put his hand was on the Bible as he took “a sacred oath.” I can’t recall any inaugural speech in recent history that was as eloquent, intelligent, thoughtful and inspiring as President Obama’s speech today.
He called for accountability, transparency, responsibility, courage, work, sacrifice, honesty, equity, justice and unity. He promised to lead by example, to restore the rule of law, to seek peace from a position of friendship and strength. He declared war on corruption, greed and selfishness.
This was a good day, a celebration of that which is good in America. Today I feel proud of our new president. I pray that he will have the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Samson, the patience of Job and the blessings of our Heavenly Father bestowed upon his head. As he shoulders the heavy burden he inherited, he will need our prayers and support to fight the battle that is before him.
Congratulations President Barack Obama! May God bless you and your lovely family.
January 21, 2009 at 8:34 pm
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/10/inaugural-speeches-memorable-lines/
I agree that the speech was eloquent, however, I have been hard pressed to find a past speech that did not acknowledge our nations problems, a speech that did not inspire hope and promise or a speech that did not build up the confidence of the people in the man they had just elected. I thought it was as good as any other inauguration I have watched in the past, certainly not better. But was totally blown away by the “benediction” that in my opinion bordered blasphemous. Had a man of NO color (white) spoken those final words there would be riots in the press if not in the streets! As for the flag on his lapel, and his hand on the bible… He must have finally listened to his pr people!
January 22, 2009 at 9:15 am
Cathy, I looked at the link you included in your post. That is exactly why I wrote this post. I heard the speech and evaluated it on content, appropriateness for the audience and delivery. I was proud of Obama and was grateful that he survived the day without incident, that he rose to the occasion with majesty and strength and that he spoke to the issues that were of such a concern to the world audience as a whole.
I have heard other presidents give their inaugural addresses starting with Nixon in the Vietnam era. Therefore, my opinion was subjective based on the particular speeches that I have personally heard. I have also endured the endless criticism of the journalists after each speech and I’m tired of the seeds of discord that they so readily sow. Why can’t they put politics aside for a day and just say “Congratulations, great job!” when it’s deserved? Literary critics, journalists, pundits and politicians will have all of time to criticise the content, so what’s the rush?
I’m ready for some Olive Branch Politics, because I understand the source of contention and his desire. Only when we put down our contentious spirits will we find peaceful, Constitutional solutions to our problems.
I did not mention the benediction because it wasn’t relevant to the topic. My only critique of any prayer is in my amen or my silence because a prayer is addressed to deity not to me. If I agree with the content of a prayer, I indicate with amen. If I don’t agree with a prayer, I indicate with silence but with a grateful heart that a child of God is addressing his father.
The beauty and strength of our liberty is that we can all have and express OUR OWN opinions. If we use the principle of “line item evaluation” and evaluate each item during the day, the item of “the inaugural address” independent of the prayers that were said, the bands that marched, the music they played, or the model of cars in the parade, I think Americans could find much that we could praise about the day. And, why not? It was our day as well as Obama’s day and on that day, I felt proud to be an American.
January 22, 2009 at 6:33 pm
You guys are both better than I… I kept having flashbacks of campaign rhetoric during his speech. I hope that he means what he says, but he hasn’t had enough time in office for me to be able to trust him. I guess I’m just a cynic.
Normally I don’t take much issue with people’s prayers (or even testimonies, except for the one time a sister in our ward bore her testimony of Bill Clinton, but that’s another story)… but I think when someone is speaking on such a national stage, their responsibility for what they say is much greater because they represent not only themselves, but effectively a nation. I felt that Rev. Lowery’s remarks were at worst extremely offensive, and at best extremely inappropriate for the occasion.
But I hope that the nation fares well under Obama… all the people I love live here!
January 22, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Hi Emy, There is nothing wrong with being a cynic or remembering what one has said in the past. I think that is healthy.
I find your expression of hope, your patience as you watch for proof before trusting and your desire for him to succeed in keeping the Titanic afloat refreshing. In my mind, the bigger the audience, the better. That means there are more people to hold him to his word. And, the more he commits to principle and action in public, the less incentive there is for our enemies to explore the unknown.
P.S. I would not have said amen to the reverends irreverent prayer.
January 22, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I was also pleased with the speach he gave. I am praying for him, and all other national leaders in the world. One of Des’s kids asked shouldn’t we be praying for other nations, because we are already blessed more than them. I would much rather eliminate enemies by making them my friend. So, I’m hoping to be pleased with Obama’s performance as he represents our nation.
January 23, 2009 at 12:06 am
Desmond has smart kids:) Amen to that!
P.S. I used information from your Luke AFB post for an article I wrote for my company ezine and I think I’ll post a modified version of it here.
January 27, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Ditto! I couldn’t have said it better myself. As I watched and listened to the oath of office and the speech, I found myself getting “teary eyed.”