LETTERS: Obama’s speech reassures nation, world amid war, economic crisis

**Editor’s Note: This was written before the inauguration and was, of course, a sort of prediction. Do you think he hit the nail on the head, or did he miss the mark? Comment online at iowastatedaily.net.

US presidential inaugural addresses are usually very forgettable performances, because most American elections and most presidents are also forgettable.

Every century or so an election, a candidate and an inaugural speech comes along that are of historic dimensions and unforgettable. Unfortunately, these normally happen in times of crisis.

Abraham Lincoln and the crises of a collapsing American society and a terrible and cruel civil war is the first example of the convergence of crisis, an extraordinary winner, and memorable State of the Union speeches.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the second example of this dramatic convergence. In his case, a collapsing US economy and an impending world war against Fascism, and then Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, were the urgent crises that launched his extraordinary inaugurations — as there were many.

Today, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global economic crisis loom large.

Therefore, President-elect Obama’s inauguration comes at a time that the country and the world are looking for inspiration and reassurance. Obama’s speech will be short and will no doubt be “visionary” and futuristic. It will ask for sacrifice by all Americans and at the same time offer hope for not just relief from the current crises, but also an even better future.

His inauguration will be a psychological tonic; a symbolic ritual of huge importance at this time in history. His speech cannot be forgettable because the stakes are too high. The eyes of America — and of the world — are on Washington D.C. and on President-elect Obama. And those eyes are filled with expectation and hope.

Steffen Schmidt,

University Professor of Political Science

Iowa State University