Obama's Inaugural Address

CNN
January 19, 2009

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 the inauguration of Barack Obama will take place in Washington, D.C. He will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America, and the first African-American President. The inaugural address of Barack Obama has been highly anticipated for many months, and is expected to be one of the greatest inaugural speeches in history. Critics believe that the new president will be studying the great speeches of Abraham Lincoln, Obama's personal idol, and those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who came into office during the great depression, when writing his own inaugural address. Errol Lewis, a New York Times columnist, believes that he will echo FDR's 1933 inaugural address which stated that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". These are powerful words in times of economic distress. Lewis expects Obama to speak reassuring and uplifting words, giving Americans hope in this difficult economic time. Another critic, CNN's David Gergen, believes that the expectations for Obama's address are unreasonably high given his great reputation as an orator and intellectual. His performance on the campaign trail will be hard to improve on. Some even expect the upcoming address to rival the great speeches of Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

I believe that Barack Obama's inaugural address will be a speech for the ages, and will be remembered for decades to come. It is expected that he will bring a fresh new take on the presidency and motivate a country mired in an economic recession. While expectations are extremely high for Obama to produce an unparalleled inaugural speech, I believe that he will do just that. He is indeed a man of great substance, character and intellect who will, I believe, not disappoint those who have elected him to office. As the first African American President, the eyes of the nation and indeed the world are upon him. As his hero, Abraham Lincoln's speech once was, Obama's inaugural address is sure to be remembered and quoted in years to come.