Posted on 01/21/2005 8:23:50 PM PST by zarf
The individual who occupies the White House is almost always at the center of American political life, but Inauguration Day is about the presidency, not the president. So it was fitting that the noontime ceremony in Washington yesterday focused less on George W. Bush himself than the office he has been elected to occupy for another four years. The presence on the Capitol steps of Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton underscored that, as did the bipartisan phalanx of dignitaries. From the solemn oath-taking to the seemingly endless parade of marching bands from red states and blue, everything underscored the message of legitimacy and acceptance.
The victors had plenty of time, starting with the exclusive, high-roller parties last night, to bask in triumph. If the inauguration itself works as it's supposed to work, the most important participants are the Americans who did not vote for the man who's being sworn in. They're called upon to acknowledge the chief executive, and at least come to terms with the process that got him there. The president is expected to deliver an address that emphasizes the basic principles that unite the country.
On that count, George W. Bush did his job. "Across the generations," he said, "we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government because no one is fit to be a master and no one deserves to be a slave." He echoed presidents of both parties when he called upon a new generation to "make the choice to serve a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself."
The moment of national unity isn't meant to be very long, and before the last precision drill squad had passed the presidential viewing stand on Pennsylvania Avenue, Democrats were pointing out that Mr. Bush glossed over the mess in Iraq, dodged specifics about his agenda and gave little indication of how exactly he intended to carry out that promise to try to heal the nation's political divisions.
All that is certainly true, but it missed the point of Mr. Bush's role, which was to summon the generalities that unite us. The rest should wait for another day; our least favorite parts of the speech, in fact, were those that tended toward the specific, like the barely hidden commercial for the president's plan to privatize parts of Social Security. Mr. Bush's declarations about promoting global democracy ring true as a statement of American ideals, not as a claim for the legitimacy of any particular policies.
Once in a long while, a newly sworn-in president moves beyond the deeply felt but slightly bland oratory and says something that people will repeat long after he has moved into history. Mr. Bush's speech did not seem in danger of becoming immortal, but its universal intent suited the day.
The paper of record, like a child sulking in the corner, decides to sit this one out.
Here's a link to a lovely pdf file of the speech provided by the RNC. http://www.gop.com/media/PDFs/inauguraladdress.pdf
They must have had to hold their noses to eat that cold porridge. D@mn! I knew it was a truly awe inspiring speech..this confirms it.
Did her Dowd-yness spew that bitterness?
[Every morning, every nyt employee (And, come to that, every other "Democrat") wakes up and looks all around and says, "is this all there is?"]
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