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Inaugural Speeches

Traditionally a new US president is inaugurated on 20th January after the election in November the year before. What is special about those speeches? The last inaugural address was held by President Barack Obama in 2009.
Watch Obama´s speech online. Click here.

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The speeches of 2005 and 2009

Although both speeches are different, they have a lot in common

The inauguration speech every American president delivers after his oath is one of the most important speeches he will take in his whole mandate. Not only because he defines his aims and wishes for the United States, but also because he tries to convince the American people of the great time which will come and to give them new hope, confidence and courage.

Those speeches are normally full of encomiums of the American nation and references to history to give examples of successful American men and women. Those criteria are also met by the speeches of G. W. Bush in 2005 and the one of Barack Obama on 20^th  January 2009.

Both speeches are generally really similar to each other. Obama as well as Bush start with the accentuation of how honoured they are by swearing the presidential oath. Both speakers use the first person plural and the personification “America ”, with which they arrange a stronger connection to the American people and a bigger union of the nation. They also refer to similar topics, but they accent them differently by changing their sequence. Obama, for example, starts with an enumeration of the issues which have to be changed in the United States without using euphemistic expressions. He explains that the changes “will be not met easily or in a short span of time”. The honest handling of these problems makes him more trustworthy than if he had said everything would be fine. But anyhow, he uses precise formulations revealing his confidence that America will change these things, whereas his self-confident and convincing adds to his statements, which is shown, for example, by his exclamation: “But know this, America – they will be met”. At the same timel he underlines that greatness first must be earned and is not there automatically.

Bush also explains his precise plans of what to change in the USA in his speech, but by contrast to Obama in a really concise way. He points out the improvement of the American schools and health insurance and the surge of ownership of homes and businesses, but not the precise way with which he wants to achieve these aims. On the other hand Obama expounds the precise plans he has to counteract the grievances in America, which confirms his credibility again. He also responds to the economic and environmental challenges.

Moreover Bush mentions his plans at the end of his speech not at the beginning. He begins with a reference to a historical occasion: The metaphor “a day of fire” stands for the eleventh of September 2001, which is an emotional appeal to the people and directly shows his main point in his policy for America. With this he ties in with saying the “liberty of our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands” and the ultimate goal is “ending tyranny in our world”. He legitimates this with historical references like “from the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity and matchless values” and to protect them they need to fight against terror and tyrannies. But he also says that “America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling” and that America will help the people who need help and that everyone who wants freedom and peace will be a friend of America, but those, who use terror, will be defeated and America won’t show any fear.

Obama states the same, but he also makes clear announcements to the foreign countries of the world: Phrases like “we are ready to lead once more” and “we are the keeper of this legacy” show his listeners his attitude concerning the advantage of the United States. He inspires patriotic feelings in everyone by saying that they will not apologize for their way of life. Furthermore he addresses the Muslim world, that they “seek a new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect”. Finally Obama calls on the American people to change their lives, too, and to go back to the old values like “honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism “. The same does Bush, who calls on the people to live with “integrity and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our lives”. At the end of his speech Bush reminds the audience again of the terror attack in 2001 and appeals to the people emotionally by saying that they are “bound to one another in the cause of freedom” and “ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom”. He underlines that freedom always was and always will be the “permanent hope of mankind” and therefore the highest value in the world.

Contrary to Bush Obama manages to touch his listeners emotionally not by reminding them of the terror but by alluding to slavery. “For us they […] endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.” And now he, who is an African American as well, is the president of this nation. Additionally Obama uses more historical references than Bush. With them he gives examples and new hope to the people to make them see how former American generations were able to survive in times of crises.

The conclusions of both speeches are, like the beginning, nearly the same:
Bush: “May God bless you, and may he watch over the United States of America.”
Obama: “God bless you. And God bless the Unites States of America.”

Although both speeches look very similar, Obama’s speech is in a way very different to all before it. In most of the former speeches there are catchphrases like “freedom”, which is the most important one, and for example “self-governing of the people”. These are always the crucial keywords which nearly every American president uses; also Bush did it in his speech. But Obama did not put his main point on freedom, but rather on the word change. “For the world has changed, and we must change with it”, he underlined in his speech and talked about the “remaking of America”. Moreover he mentions issues like the environment, of which no president before has thought. He clarifies the very obvious problems America has without hiding them behind pleasurable verbiage and for that purpose with so much self-confidence that everyone must belief that there will come better times.

How does Obama differ from Bush?

Inaugural speeches are meant to evoke emotions and a sense of unity of the nation

Already the first sentence of Obama’s inauguration speech is quite emotional as he uses the three strong words "humbled", "grateful" and "mindful", which show his feelings related to his new responsibilities as the new American president.
By thanking Bush for his activities and achievements in the past he might have touched the 43rd president emotionally. However, I think it was just an essential formal and ritual phrase. Also the first paragraph of Bush’s inauguration speech from 2005 starts in a similar way by using the same words "grateful" and "mindful", which reveals not only their intention but also their emotional state.
Instead of continuing to praise G.W. Bush, Obama criticizes Bush and his administration without directly mentioning the former president´s name. A repudiation of Bush’s approach to the war on terror can be found in the paragraph concerning defence, safety and American ideals. He presses on saying that his way of approaching the wars and terror will distinctly change from Bush’s attitude.

Obama seems to be very honest and direct as he does not deny that there are many serious and real problems globally or nationally. By using stylistic devices such as anaphora and parallelism he emphasizes the number and significance of these problems such as wars, a weak economy, the poor performance of American schools and an expensive and ineffective health system. He makes clear that he is highly aware of these problems, which have to be faced and solved, and he does not want to give a false impression to his citizens concerning the upcoming tasks and difficulties. But, after identifying the many troubles, he does want to deliver a clear message and a future plan (“But know this, America – they will be met”) to underline his ambitions and to call for unity.
Rhetorically the use of "we", "our" and America " rather than “I” is the most powerful way to evoke a sense of unity in a presidential address.

Obama draws up some more plans for the future which slightly differ from the ones of Bush, since they devised them at completely different political, social and economic circumstances. Both presidents plead for the key issues freedom and democracy, for justice and fairness, for responsibility and prosperity. The completion and implementation of plans, however, can be questioned.

Moreover Obama’s foreign policy concentrates on the Muslim world and not on Europe. Not only does he announce to “begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people” and to “forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.” He also directly addresses the Muslim world to tell them that he and therefore America “seek a new way forward, based an on mutual interest and mutual respect.” That is one very precise plan for the upcoming term and he already has partially met his claim. It is known that he has struck up a conversation with the Muslim society in an interview saying he wanted to convince Muslims that “the Americans are not your enemy”. G.W. Bush in 2005 rather addresses all countries in general, since “the best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in the entire world.”. Talking about the Muslim world allows Obama to link his future plans and ideas with historical occasions, such as terror attacks and the wars on terror.

However, many other historical references from a long space of time are made. For instance, Obama indirectly mentions the Hurricane Katrina which caused most severe loss of life and property damage in New Orleans. Additionally he mentions it was one of many significant public relations disasters during the Bush administration.

Then, using the stylistic devices of tricolon, anaphora and parallelism, his carefully worded reference to the whites and the slaves, who contributed much to the building of America, and of the places like Concord and Gettysburg enables him to draw a historical link to sacrifice. It therefore does not come from afar that he repeatedly calls on the Americans to service and to honour sacrifice.

Obama’s swearing-in ceremony is a very significant and important day, which many American citizens, especially the Afro-Americans, never thought to be possible. His rare acknowledgement concerning the colour of his skin and the historical day of the 20^th of January on which he takes “a most sacred oath”, is touching and emotional for both his “fellow citizens” and of course himself, the first black American president.

Obama ends his speech by reciting the words of George Washington, though he does not mention him by name. This is a historical reference even though it is an unverified quotation from the former president. I think it is also a rhetorical device to demonstrate a timeless approach to governing.

I personally believe that the conclusion of Obama’s inauguration speech is that “a new era of responsibility” is dawning. Furthermore, the best that can be hoped for is that the gift of freedom is passed on unharmed. And this is the message which both presidents delivered very clearly. (Li.S., 4.Sem., Jan 2009)

Inaugural Speeches - all the same?

There are many traditions you can find in the United States of America. One of them is the ceremony of the Inauguration Day, the new President´s official assumption of office. Millions of people come to Washington or at least turn on their television to listen to the speech of the most powerful man in the world. But what do these speeches tell us? Do their contents really allow us to adjudicate on the following policy? To answer this question it is necessary to examine some of those inaugural speeches, for example the speeches of George W. Bush from 2005 and Barack Obama from 2009.

When we compare these two speeches, we find out quickly that there are some topics and phrases that are used by both presidents. The historical references are one parallel, for example. Bush mentions the “shipwreck of communism”, the “Decleration of Independence” and legislations like the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act and the G.I. Bill of Rights. Obama on the other hand talks about the founders of America and the difficulties they had to overcome, about the civil war and the long way people had to go to reach independence and freedom. With those references the presidents evoke very emotional feelings in the American people. The reminder of their ancestors and all the great things they have done make them feel proud of their country and themselves, as they are Americans too.

Another highly visible similarity is that when they both are talking directly to foreign countries they even say nearly the same things. Countries that strive for democratic ways of life and avoid the oppression of  people could surely count on the help from the United States. On the other hand governments that prefer a tyrannic policy do not deserve America´s friendship. Here they do not only give the same statement, they even use the same figure of speech. They first address the different people (oppressors, oppressed people etc.) and then they tell them what they should know for the future. Actually there are some more figures of speech they both use, most notably some anaphoras. Quite often they let their lines begin with the same words like the line before, so their message becomes much clearer for the audience.

Another important point in inaugural speeches is the future and the following policy of the new president. Bush talks to his audience about “expansion of freedom in all the world”, ending tyranny and abandoning all the habits of racism. Obama mainly accentuates the accomplishment of the financial crisis and the responsible arrangement of peace in Iraq and Afghanistan. And both mention domestic topics like the improvement of American schools, retirement savings and health insurance, but all in all they keep quite vague.

Beside all these similarities there are, nevertheless, some differences in those two speeches. Bush and Obama choose different focal points for example. Bush´s main topic is the personal right for freedom, which is the basis for a peaceful world. On the other hand Obama´s message to the people is that we can change the world and solve many problems by showing tolerance and enduring hard work. Another difference is that Obama asks every single person to help change the world. Everybody could do something. In contrast, Bush seems to be much more factual in this point. He does not really try to convince everybody to help the American government.

So the biggest difference of inaugural speeches is the different atmosphere that the speakers create. Obama is a fantastic speaker, who is able to include every hearer into his thoughts of change by asking for people´s help. That might be a big difference for the audience, but does that tell us anything about his real political acts in future? No, it does certainly not. Obama may be the better or more emotional speaker, but Bush´s speech is not bad either. Bush talks about many positive things like democracy, freedom for everybody and the end of racism, and in form, structure and phrases it is more than similar to Obama´s speech. We all know that Bush´s policy was not really marked by democratic and fair-minded acts as he had promised on the 20^th January 2005. He violated personal rights and waged unjustifiable wars, so he is the best example that things politicians say in an official speech must not be equated with things they do.

New standards set by Obama

Every four years the eyes of the world are focused on the presidential election in the USA. This year’s inaugural speech held by the first black president of the United States was expected with an even higher global interest than the years before. The number of people who wanted to take part in the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama speaks volumes: more than three million Americans assembled in front of the Capitol in Washington DC. An important part of this ceremony is the speech of the new president.

The inauguration speeches held before do not seem to differ that much even though between them many years went by. Or am I mistaken and they are even more different than they seem to be? This question I will analyze in the following George W. Bush’s inauguration speech held in 2005 and Barack Obama’s speech held in 2009.

At first glance the two speeches include some similar topics. For example, both presidents refer a lot to the history of the United States. President Bush mentions the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act and the G.I. Bill of Rights. Based on these historic references he touches many people in their pride to be a citizen of the only country which prides itself as the one which offers people the chance to rise from rags to riches. Obama himself refers to the fact that America is a “young nation” and points out that everything is based on the positive things that have been “passed on from generation to generation”. But he also mentions the “American Dream” by saying that all people are equal. This reference to the ancestors of the American people evokes the feeling of togetherness throughout the nation and makes the citizens feel proud to be inhabitants of this country.

Another theme which is mentioned by both presidents is the way how America sees its position in the world. They make clear that they understand themselves as the “world police” by saying for example “When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you” or “America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.”. But here one big difference becomes obvious: Barack Obama directly addresses the “Muslim world” while former president Bush just hints at those countries using vague phrases.

But where do those two speeches vary the most? While George W. Bush often uses only phrases and does not clearly point out what he actually means, Barack Obama puts the cards on the table and addresses the main problems America has to cope with nowadays. For example he talks about the health care system, the school system and the financial crisis threatening the world’s economy. His message is that all the people have to work together in order to correct the current deficiencies. He wants everybody to take part in this process of change which is shown by the vocabulary he uses. His sentences are built in an easy way so that he can be understood by every citizen. He is not just talking in general terms, unlike Bush who uses prefabricated sentences.

Obama also sets new standards concerning the way he speaks: He seems to be way more energetic than former president Bush who again and again talks about freedom of the American people. Obama forces everybody to take care and help changing the grievances. By mentioning his personal background he gives people hope because he lives the dream Martin Luther King had. 

So after all I reason that these two inauguration speeches vary a lot more than I initially thought. Barack Obama gives people back the hope of which George W. Bush robbed them during his presidency and this can clearly be seen in the differences of the speeches held by those two most powerful men of the world. (S.H., 4.Sem., Feb 2009)

Inaugural addresses follow the same patterns

In spite of all parallels the speakers still manage to accentuate political differences

On 20^th of January 2009 Barack Obama swore his presidential oath. A few minutes after twelve o’ clock a.m. (American local time) he held his inauguration speech. The whole world looked excitedly at the TV to hear which aims the forty-fourth president of the United States wanted to announce. A lot of people were sure that there would be an immense change by Obama’s presidency. What truly has changed can be seen in the inauguration speeches of President Obama and President G.W. Bush in 2005.

With reference to their introductions it can be stated that both speeches are similar, because they are very emotional.  President Bush says that he is "grateful for the honor of this hour", and Obama is “mindful of the sacrifices borne by [their] ancestors”. However, there is a little difference, since President Obama directly addresses only the people (“My fellow citizens”) to thank them for the trust they have invested in him (“grateful for the trust you bestowed”).

Another parallel in the inaugural speeches of both presidents is that they mention the ancestors and founding fathers. Like President Bush, President Obama reminds the audience of the ancestors who fought for freedom during the Civil War, World War II and in Vietnam. Moreover he honors them by saying that the Founding Fathers drafted “a charter expanded by the blood of generations”, and describing them as the “guardians of [American] liberty” who “embody the spirit of service”. Obama pays more tribute to the ancestors than Bush, who prefers for his part the present time (in 2005) for he often mentions the 11^th of September 2001 and the time after it (e.g. “… and then there came the day of fire”).

One more articulate difference can be noticed regarding the cooperation with the rest of the world. President Bush says the American goal "is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way". There he seems to be rather aggressive, because he postulates “the expansion of freedom in all the world”. As “whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny”, America has to stop this develepment. Therefore Bush sees as his priority to support democratic movements and end the tyranny (“So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world”).
President Obama does not disagree with Bush´s point of view (“… America must play its role ushering in a new era of peace”). However, he seems not to be that aggressive. He says "America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity", and that America" is ready to lead once more".
President Bush elaborates on more details by addressing to the oppressed, democratic reformers, rulers of outlaw regimes and leaders of governments by telling them that Abraham Lincoln had said that “those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it”. Besides President Bush asks the allies of the United States to help America to defeat enemies while President Obama wants "to work with old friends and former foes tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet", so according to him the cooperation should not only be based on the international fight against enemies and terrorism. There is another drastic change of policy, because President Obama will order the troops to leave Iraq, while President Bush ordered the invasion and demanded to reinforce the troops during his presidency. Apart from this distinction President Obama agrees with President Bush about the global terrorism, for he says : “...and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

In his 2005 speech President Bush emphasizes the American aid for undemocratic nations, while President Obama in 2009 accentuates his priority on remaking America (“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”). According to Obama, America has to return to the old values "honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism". President Obama believes in charity (“selflessness of workers”), just like President Bush (“Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love.”), "kindness", "the firefighter’s courage" and "the parent’s willingness to nurture a child".
In addition Obama announces precise plans for the coming presidential turn as far as domestic policy is concerned: Schools, colleges and universities should be transformed "to meet the demands of a new age". President Bush also mentions this aspect in his inauguration speech. He wants to “bring the highest standard to [the American] schools”. Moreover he wants to extend the health insurance, whereas President Obama wants "to wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its costs". There are more areas where Obama promises to make changes and reforms: new jobs will be created, new foundation for growth be laid, the infrastructure will be boosted such as the electric supply, science will be restored in its rightful place and regenerative energy sources will be facilitated.
On the one hand President Obama’s priority of “remaking America” instead of President Bush’s idea of America as a total “peacemaker” is necessary considering the current financial crisis, since the global economy is badly weakened. On the other hand President Obama takes up aspects which could have been taken up many years ago, such as using alternative energies. However, both presidents have in common that they want to prepare the USA for the new challenges (President Obama: “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious. … they will be met.” - President Bush: “… preparing the people for the challenges of life in a free society.”).They also remind the people that all men and women are equal and free (President Obama: “the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness” - President Bush: “...every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth”).

Stylistically both presidents use similar figures of speech. The frequent using of “we” is particularly pronounced. President Obama speaks about “our economy” and “our nation” and believes in the American people to manage all the problems together (“All this we can do. And all this we will do.”). President Bush calls America “our country” and he is sure that “we go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom”. This rhetorical parallel shows that both of them see themselves as a part of the American people and this makes them sympathetic. But President Obama says a skilful sentence, where he becomes very personal and shows he is still an ordinary member of the American society when he says that a man "whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath". This statement surely gathered a lot of sympathies.
Besides both presidents use short main sentences without too many complex grammatical structures and elaborate words and prefer parallelisms, whereas President Obama combines this figure of speech with anaphors (“For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions … For us they toiled in sweatshops … For us they fought and died … “). So his sentences become more urgent than those of President Bush.

Finally they conclude their speech with a quotation: President Bush talks about a man who said that when the Liberty Bell rang it must have meant something, and this is still valid after such a long time. President Obama cites the timeless words of the father of the American nation, George Washington. At the end of their speeches they pray for God’s blessing of the people and the United States of America.