- Jul 25, 2002
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William Safire - NY Times
On his way out of the first Cabinet meeting after his re-election, President Bush gave his longtime chief speechwriter the theme for the second Inaugural Address: "I want this to be the freedom speech."
In the next month, the writer, Michael Gerson, had a heart attack. With two stents in his arteries, the recovering writer received a call from a president who was careful not to apply any deadline pressure. "I'm not calling to see if the inaugural speech is O.K.," Bush said. "I'm calling to see if the guy writing the inaugural speech is O.K."
Yesterday's strongly thematic address was indeed "the freedom speech." Not only did the words "freedom, free, liberty" appear 49 times, but the president used the world-watched occasion to expound his basic reason for the war and his vision of America's mission in the world.
I rate it among the top 5 of the 20 second-inaugurals in our history. Lincoln's profound sermon "with malice toward none" is incomparable, but Bush's second was better than Jefferson's mean-spirited pouting at "the artillery of the press."
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Presidents
Count them.
From Yahoo News:
<CLIP>
Of the 15 previous presidents who have been elected and then re-elected, not one had a more successful second term than his first, according to presidential historian Robert Dallek. For seven, the second term was catastrophic: Felled by assassination or illness, or mired in corruption and controversy.
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So many people eat up this guys crap as being 'Gospel' - The all knowing William Safire must be right.
Want to know what's wrong with his logic ? Bush is only the 15th president to be elected to a second term.
He is only the 15th President to have a 'Second Inaugration' - where are the other 5 ?
So he just makes up 'facts' and believes that people don't know, and will catch his falsehoods.
There are 5 'Second Inaugural Speeches' yet to be give to even qualify the Bush speech in the top 20.
It sure as hell doesn't rank as one of the top five of the 15 that actually have been given.
I hope somone takes this shill to task for his falsification with the vigor that the conservatives went
after Rather for having his 'Facts' straight, but not the 'Authentic Document'.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He (Bush) is a horrible speaker, who cannot focus on the speech as he is reading it off the teleprompters.
he puts emphisis and inflection on the wrong words - and doesn't pronounce some of the words at all -
it's called 'swallowing'. It changes the gist , tempo, and meanings of the actual content.
He basically has said he intends to do nothing for the people at home and their plight, will ignore any
domsetic agendas, and will continue with his crusade into the outside world to make all the 'other'
nations satellites of the USA under Christianity - regardless of what those heathens want over there.
Liberty & Freedom repeated again and again - just like '9/11, September-Eleven, 9-11' was.
"If you stand close to the Flames of Freedom and Liberty it will warm you up, but if you get in my way
you're gonna get burned."
It may not be the Worst of the '20' that Safire refers to, but it's one of the lousiest of the 15 that
have been made. THis cannot be compared with Lincoln's Gettysberg Address, which is undoubtedly
the best that has been made - written by Linclon too, by the way, nor does it come up to the spirit
of the nation challenge that came out of Kennedys first (and only) inaugration.
Those who see this as an inspiring speech are the same who listened to Bush during the debates and
came away thinking that Bush actually said anything intelligent, and won any substance in them.
Pitiful.
On his way out of the first Cabinet meeting after his re-election, President Bush gave his longtime chief speechwriter the theme for the second Inaugural Address: "I want this to be the freedom speech."
In the next month, the writer, Michael Gerson, had a heart attack. With two stents in his arteries, the recovering writer received a call from a president who was careful not to apply any deadline pressure. "I'm not calling to see if the inaugural speech is O.K.," Bush said. "I'm calling to see if the guy writing the inaugural speech is O.K."
Yesterday's strongly thematic address was indeed "the freedom speech." Not only did the words "freedom, free, liberty" appear 49 times, but the president used the world-watched occasion to expound his basic reason for the war and his vision of America's mission in the world.
I rate it among the top 5 of the 20 second-inaugurals in our history. Lincoln's profound sermon "with malice toward none" is incomparable, but Bush's second was better than Jefferson's mean-spirited pouting at "the artillery of the press."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Presidents
Count them.
From Yahoo News:
<CLIP>
Of the 15 previous presidents who have been elected and then re-elected, not one had a more successful second term than his first, according to presidential historian Robert Dallek. For seven, the second term was catastrophic: Felled by assassination or illness, or mired in corruption and controversy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So many people eat up this guys crap as being 'Gospel' - The all knowing William Safire must be right.
Want to know what's wrong with his logic ? Bush is only the 15th president to be elected to a second term.
He is only the 15th President to have a 'Second Inaugration' - where are the other 5 ?
So he just makes up 'facts' and believes that people don't know, and will catch his falsehoods.
There are 5 'Second Inaugural Speeches' yet to be give to even qualify the Bush speech in the top 20.
It sure as hell doesn't rank as one of the top five of the 15 that actually have been given.
I hope somone takes this shill to task for his falsification with the vigor that the conservatives went
after Rather for having his 'Facts' straight, but not the 'Authentic Document'.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He (Bush) is a horrible speaker, who cannot focus on the speech as he is reading it off the teleprompters.
he puts emphisis and inflection on the wrong words - and doesn't pronounce some of the words at all -
it's called 'swallowing'. It changes the gist , tempo, and meanings of the actual content.
He basically has said he intends to do nothing for the people at home and their plight, will ignore any
domsetic agendas, and will continue with his crusade into the outside world to make all the 'other'
nations satellites of the USA under Christianity - regardless of what those heathens want over there.
Liberty & Freedom repeated again and again - just like '9/11, September-Eleven, 9-11' was.
"If you stand close to the Flames of Freedom and Liberty it will warm you up, but if you get in my way
you're gonna get burned."
It may not be the Worst of the '20' that Safire refers to, but it's one of the lousiest of the 15 that
have been made. THis cannot be compared with Lincoln's Gettysberg Address, which is undoubtedly
the best that has been made - written by Linclon too, by the way, nor does it come up to the spirit
of the nation challenge that came out of Kennedys first (and only) inaugration.
Those who see this as an inspiring speech are the same who listened to Bush during the debates and
came away thinking that Bush actually said anything intelligent, and won any substance in them.
Pitiful.
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