President Obama's Inaugural Address - Essay Example

In the very beginning of his address, President Obama displays this forgiving attitude when he said “I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition”. The other discernible quality of the speech is its minimal rhetoric. President Obama, having spent close to two years on the campaign trail – initially for the primaries and later for the Presidency – might have been excused if he had resorted to the usual rhetorical flourishes.

Breaking away from this tendency, the speech focused more on substance than style. The speech is also informed by historical context. For example, toward the beginning of the address, President Obama says “Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms…We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans”. This passage perfectly illustrates how the new President weaved aspects of the past and present in revealing his vision for the country’s future. The usage of the phrase ‘We the people’ is a particularly clever implementation, for it connects the present historic moment to the event of the Declaration of Independence nearly three centuries ago. On the flip side, one could argue that the inaugural address was not the most inspiring speech Mr.

Obama had delivered in his political life. The speech that he gave in the 2004 Democratic convention brought him widespread attention. The force and spirit of that landmark speech is not matched in the inaugural address. Probably, the gravity of the current economic crisis and the restraint of high office might have had a subduing effect. On the positive side, the speech was