President Obama's Inaugural Speech

President Obama in his inaugural address to the nation and the world delivered a message highlighting the challenging and difficult times the country faces. He stressed his desire to tackle the economy, healthcare, and to introduce a new era of responsibility. President Obama also signaled to the international community that America is ready to lead again, after a perceived decline in leadership, in the eyes of many of our allies and the international community.
President Obama is a skilled orator and delivered the speech expertly with his usual ease. I don’t believe the President used notes during his speech and it is common knowledge that President Obama is adept at using a teleprompter, which I suspect he used for this speech.
If I were to rate this speech I would have to rate it a seven. The speech and delivery were excellent but there were high expectations for a memorable inaugural speech and this was not in my opinion a memorable speech. The speech although delivered well didn’t pop, and lacked any lasting or memorable passages such as those delivered by Kennedy and Roosevelt’s at their inaugurals. I don’t know that I can offer substantive changes to the speech other than perhaps the inclusion of some of the rhetorical touches that President Obama has delivered in many of his speeches. Under the circumstances, and given that expectation were so high for this speech, it’s difficult for me to argue that he didn’t deliver.