I don’t
think President Barack Obama gave a good inaugural address this time. I think
it was a great one.
He began
with the principles of freedom and equality that inform our founding document,
the Declaration of Independence, and followed our journey through the many
struggles we’ve undertaken to make those principles manifest — Seneca Falls,
Selma, Stonewall.
Obama made glancing reference to Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, as well as Martin Luther King’s speech on the other end of the Mall more than 40 years ago, and echoed John F. Kennedy’s words of resolve.
He
embraced Franklin D. Roosevelt’s idea of government as an engine of progress
and paid homage to the women’s movement and its continuing fight for equal
treatment. He sounded determined to do something about climate change, the
growing divide between the very rich and the rest of us, reforming our broken
immigration system, and reinforcing voting rights.
And he
tied it together under one phrase: “Preserving our individual freedom ultimately
requires collective action.”
After
three decades of being fed the lie that government isn’t the solution but
rather the problem, it was a gust of fresh air to hear a president sound like
an unapologetic liberal.
That theme
was struck immediately when the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir started things
off with a rousing rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the anthem of
the Union forces during the Civil War. I can only imagine how that sounded to
the southern Republicans, who have done their best to thwart Obama’s leadership
at every turn.
It was as
if he said: “We not only won the damn election, we won the damn war. It’s about
time you got used to it.”
Was it a
conciliatory speech? Of course not. He tried that once, remember? All he got for
it from the Republicans was implacable hostility, unyielding obstructionism,
and insults.
This
speech, elegant in its phrasing and majestic in its arc, planted Obama’s battle
flag on the Capitol steps. Up until now, the Republicans haven’t shown much respect
for our president. They have made it clear that they think he’s a pushover.
They might be having second thoughts.
Some have
said that this marks the end of the era of Ronald Reagan. God, I hope so.
Conservatives have raised Reagan to mythical status, endowing him with virtues
he would not have claimed for himself.
I was in
Washington during the first Reagan inauguration and it was quite a spectacle.
Every limousine up and down the East Coast was commandeered for the event. You
saw them everywhere, disgorging ladies in fur coats and men in formalwear. I
felt as though I were witnessing a coronation in a foreign country.
For all
his posturing, it was Reagan who sold the Republicans on the idea that it was
OK to have a big government, so long as you didn’t pay for it.
Since
then, they seem to have realized that you can only work that scam for so long,
so conservatives now want to cut government, particularly as it pertains to the
poor, the young, and the old, all the while maintaining the privileges granted
to the rich and powerful.
They’re
having a tough time selling that formula. That’s what the election was about.
We’ll see whether Obama can make good on the implicit promises of his speech or
whether the congressional proxies of the oligarchs who own our society can hold
him off.
The
election in 2014 will help answer that question.
As for
myself, I had a great time hearing Obama’s speech. It made me proud to be an
American. I love this country. For all of its flaws and warts and unfulfilled
promises, I wouldn’t be a citizen of any other.
