Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

I was working and missed the whole thing.

They closed the office today so I spent the time doing laundry and cooking whilst hearing the collective groans of red-state Americans. Look, this whole 'celebration' was overblown considering the present economic condition. (Mr. CS would have been understated had any one of you fine people given him the job.) But the speech was a good one. . .it gave coded and overt messages. The whole day was overblown, over-covered, and saturated because overreacting is the new American pastime. . .but the speech itself can't be lower than a four. Even Dumbo's kids are disgustingly cute. . .

A solid speech, delivered extremely well. But we must remember that oratory is not policy, fine words are not action, and promise and hope is not delivery and reality. We live in a world now where, as one commentator put it, "Americans under 40 believe they can enact social change through consumerism. The world will not change because one buys an Obama mug at Starbucks."

I personally thought that he delivered an excellent speech. Possibly one of the better Inaugural speeches I've heard and certainly the best speech Obama has delivered thus far. It's interesting to note that he wrote this speech himself, no speech-writers in the middle. You don't see that very often. Modern presidents tend to delegate that function to staffers. What impressed me the most about his speech was his grasp of history and the importance of the times. It seems as if he understands the gravity of it all and the challenges that lie ahead. Whether or not he has the solutions remains to be seen, as well as the stomach to take on these challenges. But at the very least he understands his place in history. Hopefully he will do a lot with it and not let the people down. People are putting a lot of hope on him, perhaps moreso than they should for any man.

There is no doubt Obama is one of the best public speakers this country has seen as a leader. I thought he portrayed the situations that we find ourselves as a country and a world in a little bit more harshly than I feel they are. However, the message that Americans have overcome hardship before, and that it will take sacrifice and great effort to do so again, was excellent. Obama tempered his mandate for change with the request for patience as the country moves forward. His speech didn't come across as a complaint about how hard his job will be, but he acknowledged that there are plenty of new challenges that are facing this country. I also liked how Obama, who was criticized for a lack of foreign policy experience, made a significant effort to address world leaders and citizens of the world as a whole. He came across as strong in his defense of the United States and its way of life, however he also showed that his initial response to the world will be one of diplomacy. While the ... Read more

Thank God the gushing and big O's are almost over. Personally, I am very worried about lord Obama and his Dem Congress. It will be interesting to see what his heiness is going to do, and if he will be held accountable.

a almost five. very well delivered. he put a good speech together that gave me hope for the next four years. well written and thank goodness, not too long. just right.

My heart was racing rapidly with excitement. Even now, I'm still heart-beating.