barack obama is the president of united states.
an event of historic significance.
we all (well most of us anyway) enjoyed his inauguration (despite the gaffes)...and by 'we' i mean all humanity..not just democrats, liberals and europeans...
despite an unusually busy day at work i managed to steal some time from my schedule to see the oath and the speech...
it was a speech which will be remembered for reflecting on the issues we currently face and for the kind of leadership we can expect from president obama, but not a speech which will be remembered for being a truly brilliant speech...
mr. obama will have to be an excellent president and actually have an excellent presidency for this speech to be quoted by the future generation.
if you think about it, what makes an inauguration speech great and one that will be remembered for eternity?...it is the presidency itself and the circumstances within it...
everyone talks about speeches made by lincoln, fdr, kennedy, johnson and reagan. not many talk about speeches made by clinton, bush senior, or carter. it's not that their speeches were bad but it is because their presidencies were either average or just good at the best...and not great.
you may argue that clinton was a good president despite the cigar issue. the economy flourished and we enjoyed good peaceful years. but for a president to be remembered as great, the presidency has to stand out...clinton's won't. it was an average to good presidency...no major crisis, no wars..
unfortunately bush has a better chance of being remembered a hundred years down the line than clinton...clinton will be a name our great-great-great-great grandchildren will see as no. 42 in the wikipedia u.s. president's list...
kennedy was president only for 2 yrs and 11 months...but he faced 8 president-years worth of problems and situations which required skilled handling....issues such as cuban missile crisis, bay of pigs (though handling of this cannot be called skilled), civil rights, vietnam, etc... and so kennedy is considered a great president, one who will be remembered for time immemorial and hence we see his inauguration speech being quoted by one and all...
having said the above, obama has a good chance of making a true mark on history...we are in the midst of not one but a multitude of problems/crises....so even though some of these issues can get worse before getting better, they will improve and obama will get the credit for it, and as a result his presidency will be deemed by historians as being great and his speech will be remembered for a long time...
so mr. president, here's wishing you the very best and i hope that your speech is one that inspires our future generations and is widely quoted.....
but only time will tell...
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I am enjoying reading all your blogs. This blog on Obama's speech is well written. Shyla cooperated and I heard his speech with rapt attention. He addressed all major points and truly inspired us all. I liked his line that we are remembered for what we build not for what we destroy. I am rooting for Obama and YOU :-) Go Gokul Go !!
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