THE SPEECH

Posted at 7:30 a.m. ET

We described the president's inaugural address yesterday as workmanlike.  That description holds.  It was less than a great speech.  Only a few have argued otherwise, and they had skipped their medication.

But it was a solid speech.  There were some sections we liked, which sent the right message.  For example:

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

That's good.  That's very good - especially the mention of Khe Sanh, one of the bitter battles of Vietnam.  I'm glad the president knows the name Khe Sanh.  A lot of his supporters don't.

And then this, also good:

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

Or this, especially:

We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

There were also things, though, that were troubling.  Consider:

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

That line is problematical because it contradicts some of the basic foreign-policy criticisms that Mr. Obama has leveled at the Bush administration.  The line could have been spoken by President Bush, for that is exactly the policy he was pursuing.  Here we see a flaw that we've seen before in Mr. Obama - he doesn't complete the thought, a problem often linked to inexperience.  What, for example, does he do if the fist isn't unclenched?  Does he negotiate?  Does he threaten?  Does he fight?  President Bush showed an openness toward countries, like Libya, that moved, even slightly, in our direction.  But when confronted with Saddam's clenched fist, or Syria's chill, he confronted or remained distant.  Where is the difference here?  Mr. Obama must spell it out.

Or this:

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

A needless and inaccurate swipe at the Bush administration.  Who spread the fear, the conflict, the discord?  The president might look to some of those who were his most enthusiastic boosters.

Or...

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Another needless insult.  In fact, whenever Mr. Bush discussed our ideals, like the expansion of human freedom, he was ridiculed as an ideologue and a warmonger.

Or...

...we are ready to lead once more. 

This was possibly the most quoted phrase of the speech, but it was wrong and improperly insulting.  When did President Bush not lead?  But leadership is not simply a matter of getting a show of hands, and acting only when everyone agrees.  Sometimes leadership, as Churchill showed in 1940, is acting alone.

So, there were good things and not such good things.  On balance, the president did well.  But the speech will now be forgotten as his administration begins, and the translation of words into policy starts.   The man of words, often powerful words, must become the man of action. 

Eleanor Roosevelt said to Harry Truman on the day Truman became president, "You're the one in trouble now."

Mr. Obama is the one in trouble now, and we wish him well.

January 21, 2009.