A Neo-Reaganite Inaugural
1/23/2009
“Kristol’s warning that neoconservatives could go to Kerry was an admission of what many have long recognized. The neoconservatives are not really conservatives at all. They are impostors and opportunists.” — Where the Right Went Wrong
With a host of near 2 million gathered on the Mall to see him sworn in, Barack Obama delivered an inaugural that was the antithesis of a rallying cry for the “it’s-our-turn!” faithful assembled below.
Rather, it was an admonition, a warning to the American people of the gravity of our condition, and an invitation of inclusion to that part of the nation that remains wary of Barack Obama.
Yes, there were reminders that he is our first African-American president. But this speech was not about the novelty of his race.
It was about placing this 44th president in the tradition of all who have gone before — Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, JFK and — Ronald Reagan.