Barack Obama's first public act as president went over well in the eyes of NationalJournal.com's poll of top political bloggers. Asked to grade Obama's inauguration speech, left-leaning bloggers gave, on average, an A-; right-leaning bloggers were more mixed, giving a B-.
"Not a stemwinder, but a speech to savor," said Mark Kleiman of The Reality-Based Community, one of two left-leaning bloggers to give the speech an A+. On the right, David Kopel of The Volokh Conspiracy gave Obama a B, saying, "Excellent use of history, combined with solid patriotism for the 21st century. Some of his policy ideas, including the prominence of the global warming issue, bode ill for America's economic future."
NationalJournal.com also asked experts on presidential rhetoric to dissect Obama's speech. They offered their takes on how Obama's speech compared to his others, how it compared to previous inaugural addresses and what passages will prove most enduring.
"By allowing his middle name, Hussein, to be used in the oath of office, and by his extension of this verbal olive branch, the new president seemed to be signaling to the Muslim world that their concerns will not be ignored by the new administration," former Clinton speechwriter Terry Edmonds wrote in an e-mail. Ted Sorensen, a speechwriter and top aide to President Kennedy, summed up the scene: "I believe any objective measurement would show that the excitement and enthusiasm... was even greater than it was 48 years ago for the Kennedy inauguration."
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