A President's Inaugural Address

They cite historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who nones that the state of matter listens as one to the man elected to office; however, Schlesinger finds low value in the foremost address:

Even in the field of policy-making oratory, the inaugural address is an inferior machination form. It is rarely an occasion for original thought or stimulate reflection. The platitude quotient tends to be high, the rhetoric stately and self-serving, the ritual obsessive, and the surprises a couple of(prenominal) (Campbell and Jamieson 14).

Campbell and Jamieson clamor these addresses a subspecies of the discourse called by Aristotle epideictic, a form of rhetoric that praises or blames on ceremonial occasions, that invites the interview to evaluate the performance of the speaker, recalls the past and speculates about the future piece think on the present, employes a noble and dignified literary style, and amplifies or rehearses admitted facts. The special character of the inaugural address is be by these epideictic features and by the nature of the inauguration ceremony, which is a eucharist of passage, a ritual of transition from one chairwoman to another. iv interrelated elements are generated that define the essential presidential inaugural address and differentiate it from other types of epideictic rhetoric in that the presidential inaugural 1) unifies the audience by reconstituting its members as a spate; 2) rehearses communal values drawn from the past; 3) sets forth the policy-making principles that wil

There are accepted parallels apparent between the inaugural addresses of President Kennedy and President Clinton. both came to office after an extended period of Republican rule, and both were Democrats. Both also emphasized citizen responsibility and offered a call to arms for government and societal service (though Clinton's call was not as clear as Kennedy's and was subject to considerable hypothesis after the fact). Both came to office after a discordant campaign, though for different reasons--Kennedy was louche because he was Catholic, which brought out nearly of the worst in certain opponents, while Clinton was viewed as suspect because of an image of "slickness," among other things.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay some(prenominal) price, bear both burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty (Podell and Anzovin 604).

I ask the Congress to join with me. But no president, no Congress, no government can undertake this mission alone. My dude Americans, you, too, must play your part in our renewal.

In addressing his three purpose, that of defining his principles, Clinton turns the argument toward some of the problems facing the nation, problems he pull up stakes attempt to solve: he cites a poor delivery and gives some of the reasons for it. At the same time, he evokes the accomplishments that have brought us to this juncture in history, from technological changes to a worldwide political restructuring. Clinton also uses some parallelism, though not as adeptly as did Kennedy:

The fourth purpose of an inaugural address is to indicate that the president knows his responsibilities and his limitations, and Kennedy makes this clear as well. After detailing what needs to be done, he states,

that is, while urging contemplation not action, focusing on the present while incorporating past and future and measure the institution of the presidency and the values and
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