Here are the videos of the oath of office and the inaugural address and the inaugural address text.
Barack Obama is known for his rhetorical skills. As a speech, the address was pretty good, a mixture of soaring rhetoric tempered by acknowledgement of the current economic and international difficulties (while I differ with a few of the specific remarks).
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
The real question is whether the policies will match the rhetoric. Do the words "the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness" really apply to all, at every stage or condition of life? Do the words of praise for "the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things" favor pro-entrepreneurial free enterprise not inhibited by excessive government interference?
Our prayer should be that our new president be successful at doing the right things and that, when our leaders go astray, we as citizens be engaged to fight for the right things.
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