Bush Promises to Push Freedom Abroad; Says Little About Problems at Home
/There was comparatively little in his 21-minute inaugural address about
domestic problems, but one line did stand out: “Our country must
abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message
of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.” Standing
alone, it was a powerful statement, worthy of presidents like Kennedy
and Johnson, who won the trust of African Americans with deeds that
went beyond lofty words. It was the kind of sentiment that could spark
a healing of the sharp political differences that sharply divide this
land. But with Bush’s record of opposition to affirmative action, with
budget cuts that hit Black Americans particularly hard, with his
promotion of judicial candidates with records that civil rights
activists abhor, he isn’t trusted by the vast majority of African
Americans, and many others as well. He enters his second term with
fewer than half of those polled by The New York Timesapproving his job
performance. That’s much lower than the ratings, in the 60 percent
range, Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan had at their second
inaugurals. [more]
- IRAQ? WHAT IRAQ?: While
Bush mentioned the abstract notion of "freedom" 25 times in a 17-minute
speech (yes, that works out to 1.5 times a minute), the president
remained strangely silent on the most important issue facing the
country today, the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq. Three other
presidents gave their second inaugural addresses during times of war:
James Madison, Abraham Lincoln and Nixon. All three focused heavily on
the challenges faced by the country in a time of war. Bush, however,
never let the word Iraq pass his lips. And "while the war's costs
mount, the president pointedly did not ask the country for sacrifices
to win the victory he promises." [more]
- A CBS News/New York Times poll out this week shows that Bush has the lowest approval ratings of any reelected president in half a century. [more] and [more]
- Dancing the War Away [more]
