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President Bush mixed images of the Almighty as a just ruler, as a judge, and as a freedom-loving deity in a speech that surpassed his 2001 inaugural address in references to God. [snip]Four years ago, Mr. Bush, a born-again Methodist, had referred to God in vaguer terms as a "higher power" and "author"; used such words as "democratic faith"; and referred to a saying by Mother Teresa and the parable of the good Samaritan to bolster his doctrine of "compassionate conservatism."     This time, he called Americans to the kind of character necessary in wartime and according to high standards...

Please pardon the vanity. However, I am amazed no one has mentioned FOX News Infobabe Megyn Kendall and that red dress she's wearing at the inagural parties this evening. Shameless vanity. Sorry. Just wanted everyone to know Roger Ailes is into the spirit of the day.

OP-ED COLUMNIST Washington On his way out of the first Cabinet meeting after his re-election, President Bush gave his longtime chief speechwriter the theme for the second Inaugural Address: "I want this to be the freedom speech." In the next month, the writer, Michael Gerson, had a heart attack. With two stents in his arteries, the recovering writer received a call from a president who was careful not to apply any deadline pressure. "I'm not calling to see if the inaugural speech is O.K.," Bush said. "I'm calling to see if the guy writing the inaugural speech is O.K." Yesterday's...

Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, frail from cancer treatments and speaking in a strong but raspy voice, braved the cold yesterday to swear in President Bush for a second term in what might be one of the ailing justice's last public appearances.     "He's a tough old bird," said Neil M. Richards, a former clerk for the chief justice. [snip]He walked slowly down the Capitol steps with the aid of a cane. He wore a black cap to protect his balding head and a gray scarf to help hide the tube that was inserted in the front of...

Was the president's speech a case of "mission inebriation"?It was an interesting Inauguration Day. Washington had warmed up, the swift storm of the previous day had passed, the sky was overcast but the air wasn't painful in a wind-chill way, and the capital was full of men in cowboy hats and women in long furs. In fact, the night of the inaugural balls became known this year as The Night of the Long Furs.Laura Bush's beauty has grown more obvious; she was chic in shades of white, and smiled warmly. The Bush daughters looked exactly as they are, beautiful and...

WASHINGTON — The 55th Inaugural festivites in Washington were special for everyone — but none more than the U.S. military. “I think it’s wonderful,” said Spc. James Loomis, 21, of Lynchburg, Va. “It’ll probably be the only time that I can be in uniform in our nation’s capital.” Loomis, from the 2nd Battalion, 116th Regiment of the Virginia National Guard, did not mind working under the Military District of Washington’s command for a few days. “They called the governor, and here we are. It’s wonderful.” Staff Sgt. Kristopher Provencher, of the 621st Air Mobility Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base,...

As a war president, the first in a generation, George W. Bush on Thursday took a leaf from the book of the only general to become president in the last century, Dwight D. Eisenhower. "If a problem cannot be solved," Ike once said, "enlarge it." At precisely the moment when critics claim he is stymied, Bush, in his second inaugural address, has just set out to liberate the entire world. And our region is at Ground Zero, so to speak, of his new, revolutionary vision. He made no specific mention of the Middle East in his address. But it was,...

Couldn't resist posting this. Dick Morris just called George Bush's inaugeration speech one of the 5 greatest ever given. O'Reilly and Morris now agreeing that it was magnificent, but that Bush won't be given a fair shake in the liberal elite media tomorrow. Morris now talking about how it was so inspiring.

WASHINGTON -- Looking frail but determined, his voice strained from thyroid cancer, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist emerged from months of seclusion to swear in President Bush. The 80-year-old Rehnquist managed a weak smile as he walked with a cane and took his place on the podium. A scarf around his neck appeared to slip, exposing a tracheotomy tube that helps him breathe. Rehnquist has been shrouded in mystery since October, when he issued a statement saying he had cancer and dropped out of sight as he underwent treatment. Many were skeptical that he would be well enough to administer...

Please help - looking for thread that talked about all the things going on in the world in 1997 around Clinton's second Inaugural.

Psalm 103: 1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities,Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Is this normal day to day business for APmynews? Their report linked above features news of the big day, roughly even handed, but the sponsored links down the page "from google" are to the Carnegie pinkos, an anti-bush rant by commie in chief Chompsky and one other re Australia (google looks up a list according to my IP - therefore yours in the states will be way different). What do you get as a link? similar? So google does this all the time? ick!

Bush Sworn-In, Swift Boat Vets Glad It's Not Kerry Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:53 PM ET By John Crawley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With thousands of Republican faithful cheering the inauguration of President Bush to a second term on Thursday, a group of veterans at the forefront of the "Swift Boat" campaign banded quietly to salute their part in thwarting the candidacy of Sen. John Kerry. "Swift Boat guys were not unified in supporting George Bush. Many were independent or many were Democrats. The only point of union was that they did not want John Kerry to be president," Jerry Corsi,...

THE INAUGURATION of an American president is an introspective affair, the ultimate home-brewed celebration of the continuing success of this great continental experiment. Beneath the Greek-echoing columns of the Capitol building yesterday assembled the protagonists of the American demos — the fabled three branches of government, plus the modern successors to the citizen-militia, an independent press, and above all, of course, the people, tens of thousands of them, arrayed in a snowy tableau off to the hinterland’s horizon. But with billions able to watch the event around the world, the obverse of this democratic coin is its imperial head. A...

Police Nab 'Handshake Man' at Bush Inauguration Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:02 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Handshake man" struck again -- almost. The unidentified man who embarrassed police by sneaking past inauguration security four years ago to get a handshake from President Bush was arrested on Thursday before he had a chance to get another presidential grip. "We checked his information against our information and it turned out that it was him," said Michael Lauer, spokesmen for the U.S. Capitol Police. Asked if the man was close to getting a handshake when he was arrested, Lauer said, "absolutely not."...

WASHINGTON - George W. Bush embarked on his second term as president Thursday, telling a world anxious about war and terrorism that the United States would not shrink from new confrontations in pursuit of "the great objective of ending tyranny." Four minutes before noon, Bush placed his left hand on a family Bible and recited 39 tradition-hallowed words that every president since George Washington has uttered. With 150,000 American troops deployed in Iraq (news - web sites) at a cost of $1 billion a week and more than 1,360 killed, Bush also beseeched Americans for patience. "Our country has accepted...

Let's go! This needs to be on the table. Would at least one Christian minister who has the President's ear ---- give him an earful????

Golden State tops list of gala donors By Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau Thursday, January 20, 2005 - WASHINGTON -- Political strategists may see California as a blue state, but when it comes to filling President George W. Bush's inauguration coffers, the Golden State is all green. To help pay for this week's inaugural festivities, Californians and corporations based in the state donated $4.5 million -- more than any other state, and twice as much as second-place Texas. Contributors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties alone gave $1.9 million, more than all the donations from Florida. "Good," said Rep. Howard "Buck"...