Turn promise into presidential action

WHEN George Washington was sworn in as the first US president in New York City on April 30, 1789, he delivered the first of 56 presidential inaugural addresses and began a tradition Barack Obama will follow early tomorrow morning, Australian time.

Despite the pomp and pageantry of a presidential inauguration every four years symbolising the dawn of a new presidential term and a celebration of republican virtues, few inaugural addresses have seared themselves into the American consciousness or are remembered as shining examples of political oratory.

Obama is certainly in the league of great presidential orators. It was his speech to the US Democratic Party's 2004 convention, with its message of unity over division, that put him on the road to the White House. "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America," he said at the midpoint of George W. Bush's divisive presidency, "there's the United States of America."

But Obama's first inaugural address was a let down after several spirited campaign speeches in 2008, such as his "a more perfect union" speech on race and religion at Philadelphia and his election victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago, declaring "change has come to America".

During his first term, Obama was lauded for his eulogy for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting in 2009 and his speech at Cairo University on Middle East policy. His victory speech last year - marking a win against Mitt Romney - was very powerful.

Among the greatest inaugural addresses are Abraham Lincoln's second in 1865, Franklin D. Roosevelt's first in 1933 and John F. Kennedy's one and only in 1961.

Lincoln, standing on the East Portico of the Capitol building with its newly completed dome atop, pledged "to bind up the nation's wounds" after the Civil War and to rebuild the nation "with malice toward none, with charity for all".

These words are etched into the grand monument that stands in his name on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Roosevelt's inaugural address is remembered because of the hope he gave to Americans during the Depression and the assurance that he could lift the country out of it. "The only thing we have to fear," he said in his unmistakable patrician voice, "is fear itself".

Kennedy, the first president born in the 20th century, delivered a brilliantly crafted address in his distinctive Boston Irish brogue. Awash with literary wordplays of rhyming sentences, repetition and parallelism, his soaring speech invoked the unbridled optimism of the 1960s: "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."

While almost all great presidents are great speechmakers, they often use skills of a gifted wordsmith. Washington took advice from Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton on his speeches. Raymond Moley drafted most of FDR's first inaugural address, but Louis Howe added the memorable phrase "fear itself".

Ted Sorensen worked closely with Kennedy on his 14-minute address, drafting many passages. But the signature couplet - "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" - came from Kennedy, who had heard it from his school headmaster.

Obama's potential for greatness was powered by his capacity for uplifting political oratory. His first term was notable for several developments, from financial reform and healthcare to stabilising the US economy and the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

But his presidency is now at a turning point. He must translate a presidency of promise into a presidency of action. With congress in perpetual gridlock, the country divided along partisan lines and sections of the media hostile to even the idea of an Obama presidency, this will not be easy.

Obama's second inaugural address presents a chance to set several concrete goals, energise his policy agenda and give his presidency the definition that it has sometimes lacked.

The setting and occasion of a speech can add immensely to its capacity for greatness. For a president, nothing surpasses the grand occasion of an inaugural address. It will be analysed, debated and rated long after it has been delivered; something Washington never had to contend with.

Washington, who had led the continental army to victory in the revolutionary war, arrived at Federal Hall with his hair powdered and wearing a brown suit with white silk stockings and black shoes with silver buckles on them. A ceremonial sword was at his side. After he was sworn in on the second-floor balcony overlooking hundreds of new citizens crammed into the intersection of Wall and Broad streets, Washington delivered his short address in the Senate chamber.

He said he was humbled by his election to the presidency, spoke about the "providential agency" of God and "the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government".

When Obama stands on the steps of the US Capitol to take the 35-word oath of office and deliver his address, the second term of his presidency will already be 24 hours old.

The 20th Amendment to the US constitution stipulates that a presidential term must begin on January 20, following an election. But as it falls on a Sunday, the inaugural ceremony has been moved to the following day. Like four other presidents, including Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, Obama already will have been sworn in at a private ceremony.

Obama's second-term challenge is to transition from a political figure of immense promise into a transformative president who makes history by turning the country in a new direction.

His challenges include, inter alia, addressing America's chronic fiscal policy weakness and escalating debt, immigration reform and curbing gun violence.

While these challenges won't be met by a single speech, the greatest presidents knew the art of speechmaking was instrumental to their success.

Soon we will be able to judge whether or not Obama ranks, at least as an orator, with those who have delivered the greatest inaugural addresses. But as he steps off the dais, the real work begins.