We were told that "old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."
We were told that "our security emanates from the justness of our cause."
Really? Is that true? Does that mean that our lack of security on September 11th was a function of our national pursuit of an unjust cause? And if so, what, pray tell, was said cause? Do we really want to slog through the Ward Churchill debates yet again?
These and other rhetorical overreaches made Obama's oration an unusually unmeasured Inaugural Address.
Thankfully for Mr. Obama, the historicity of the hour, combined with his trademark delivery skills, papered over an otherwise pedestrian Inaugural Address.