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President’s Inaugural Address Analysis

Updated Monday, January 21, 2013

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Of the 44 President’s in our nation’s history, only 17 have been elected twice. One of those few was the man sworn into office today, Barack Obama. With his second term officially underway, the President is hoping his 18 minute speech today will kick

January 21, 2013
Twin Tiers (WENY) - Of the 44 President's in our nation's history, only 17 have been elected twice. One of those few was the man sworn into office today, Barack Obama. With his second term officially underway, the President is hoping his 18 minute speech today will kickstart a productive last four years in the White House. A president's second inauguration is similar to a empty check, he can work on policies without worrying about his future campaign.
      “All men are created equal,” said Obama during his address. “That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
     Familiar words from a now familiar president. Monday, President Barack Obama used the word equality throughout his speech, an important word especially on Martin Luther King Day.
     “Much of his theme was about equality in various forms. Weather it was political equality, sexual orientation equality, economic equality,” says Elmira College Political Science Professor Jim Twombly. “Not necessarily in the sense that everyone should make a lot of money, but everybody should have equal playing field.”
      President embraced key social justice movements in his address. That broad agenda included a stronger stand for gay rights and doing something tp address global climate change. Twombly says if President Obama accomplishes a lot of what he laid out in front of 800,000 Americans in Washington, only then will his legacy be solidified.
      “This speech gives focus to what he is going to do from here on out. So he laid out a bold broad agenda but we will have to wait till the state of the union to see what the details are,” says Twombly.
     President Obama will give his state of the Union address on February 12.