Contributors

• Q: What Will Be The Most Memorable Lasting Passage Of The Speech?

• Q: How Did This Speech Compare To Past Inaugural Speeches?


Terry Edmonds


Wayne Fields


Clarence Jones


Allan Lichtman


Elvin Lim


Martin Medhurst


Ted Sorensen


Jeffrey Tulis


John Woolley

Ted Sorensen, former special counsel and adviser to President John F. Kennedy:

Two of his campaign speeches -- one on race in Philadelphia and one at Grant Park in Chicago on election night -- may have had even more soaring rhetoric and memorable phrases.

Allan Lichtman, professor of history at American University:

It is quite different from his past speeches, more somber, more laden with history, less focused on applause lines than most speeches that he delivered during the campaign. It was also less personal and less groundbreaking than his speech on race.

Clarence B. Jones, former lawyer and draft speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr. and co-author of "What Would Martin Say?":

I don't think it is a good as some of his past speeches during the Democratic primary campaign for president or the contest with Sen. John McCain. His speech on "race" in Philadelphia in March 2008, acceptance speech in Denver, Aug. 28, 2008, and his "victory" speech in Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008 were far better speeches than his inaugural address....

It is still inexplicable to me how he and/or his 27-year-old chief speechwriter can craft an inaugural address one day after our nation celebrates the birthday of Dr. King as a national holiday, why the speech did not make any specific reference to this historical confluence of events. This is especially so because Sen. Obama launched his campaign for president 30 months on the steps of the Illinois State Capital by referencing the sixth and seventh paragraphs of Dr. King's Aug. 28, 1963, "I Have A Dream" speech, quoting Dr. King's "the fierce urgency of now" as his reason for running for president. In the sixth paragraph of Dr. King's speech (which I crafted) Dr King said: "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy."

In the seventh paragraph of Dr. King's speech we said, "It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment."

John Woolley, professor of political science at University of California, Santa Barbara and co-creator of The American Presidency Project:

It was as strong a speech as any. Obama stood in front of George W. Bush and said "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

He basically said that many of our problems today reflect the fact that we have not been guided by our fundamental principles. Obama is one of the best speakers we've had as president.

Martin Medhurst, professor of rhetoric and communication at Baylor University and co-creator of PresidentialRhetoric.com:

I think the speech compares well with Obama's earlier speeches. Many of the themes that he first announced in his announcement speech on Feb. 10, 2007, found their way into the inaugural address: the need for unity, the call for change, reliance upon the faith of the people, the need to accept responsibility, a mandate to fulfill our destiny as a people. I do not believe that this was his best speech. It does not, in my judgment, rank with his speech on race of March 18, 2008. Even so, it was a very good speech and will serve him well as he assumes the powers of the presidency.

Wayne Fields, professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis and author of "Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence":

I appreciate the way the speech was contained and thoughtful. It did not rely on sound bites but was all of a piece, assumed we were capable of listening to the whole thing rather than wait for a punch line. And that of course was its central argument (the meaning of his repetition of the word "common"), that everything is bound together starting with "we the people." Issues of environment, national security, health care, the nuclear threat -- these can't be compartmentalized -- are all interrelated.

It seems to me it is a speech that takes us seriously, gives us credit for being able to understand the situation we are in and asks us to share in the work of recovery. It is about us, all of us, and neither in style nor subject does Obama deflect that attention to himself. Our confidence in him is an extension of our self-confidence. No, he didn't try to top himself but was, I think, consistent with himself.

Elvin Lim, assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University and author of "The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush":

This speech wasn't very lofty, which is a little surprising because the inaugural address is a rhetorical genre that especially demands soaring oratory. Because we know that Obama is up to the task of (and has been accused of) delivering high oratory, the fact that he did not suggests that he was consciously and urgently speaking to the "gathering clouds and raging storms" in the present and the horizon. High oratory invites contemplation, but President Obama seemed more concerned with action. This is not the time for poetry or self-congratulation, Obama seemed to be saying. Instead, this speech was a call to duty, to service and to hard work, something we have not been explicitly asked to do since Kennedy's inaugural address: "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." President Obama is eager to lead and determined to hit the ground running. He will not stall, but we hope he will move only with deliberate speed.

Paul Stob, co-creator of PresidentialRhetoric.com:

When history tells the story of Obama's rise to the presidency, the inaugural address will be included along with his other prominent addresses -- his 2004 DNC keynote, his speech on the night he won the Iowa caucuses, his address on "A More Perfect Union" in response to the Jeremiah Wright controversy, his speech after winning the Democratic primary, his Democratic nomination acceptance address and his remarks after winning the general election.

Like these prominent speeches, Obama's inaugural address is heavy in ideals and lofty sentiments. As a speaker, he is better when offering inspiration than when offering specific policies. In many ways, the genre of the presidential inaugural address is perfectly tailored to his speaking style. Because presidential inaugurals often lack specifics and deal more with timeless American themes, Obama is able to include the turns of phrase and rhythmic cadences for which he is known without going too far into particular policy considerations.

He did, however, say much to foreshadow the direction of his administration, contrasting his priorities with those of the Bush administration. Throughout the address, he positioned his administration as the wave of the future while positioning those who may disagree with him as antiquated and out of touch. He made himself the antithesis of the "petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas" that many thought defined the Bush presidency.

Jeffrey Tulis, associate professor of government at the University of Texas and author of "The Rhetorical Presidency":

More than many of Obama's campaign speeches, this one is written to be read as well as heard.

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