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Besides the fact itself of the ceremony--what ABC anchor Charles Gibson called the "28 remarkable seconds for America to be transformed"--the two key newsworthy elements of Inauguration Day were President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address and the breathtaking size of the crowd watching the ceremonies in the freezing cold from the DC Mall. The three newscasts handled coverage of the speech variously. NBC anchor Brian Williams included extended portions in his lead-off package and sought only brief analysis from Meet the Press anchor David Gregory. ABC used shorter clips in Gibson's report but ran a longer analysis by George Stephanopoulos, anchor of This Week. CBS assigned the speech to its political correspondent Jeff Greenfield, a former speechwriter himself, running only a single soundbite in Chip Reid's report.
"The challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time." This was one of the two lines from the address that all three newscasts agreed was worth the soundbite. The other clip selected by all three had Obama channeling his predecessor's Global War on Terrorism: "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken," he boasted, to "those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror." In addition, all three referred to Obama's call to "set aside childish things"--referring to the politics of "petty grievances and false promises," of "recriminations and worn-out dogmas"--with CBS and NBC quoting the soundbite directly and ABC's Stephanopoulos remarking: "Look at the scripture he chose to quote, St Paul's letter to the Corinthians."
As for the other lines vying to qualify for history from the speech, these were the prime candidates:
From the Broadway musical: "We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America" (CBS and NBC).
The speech's slogan: "A new era of responsibility." (ABC)
Kennedyesque outreach to the globe: "We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist" (ABC) and "Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity" (CBS and NBC)
His riposte to both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton: "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small but whether it works." (CBS and NBC)
His echo of FDR's bleak assessment of hard times: "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices." (CBS)
A lone racial reference: "A man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." (CBS)
The peroration: "Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end; that we did not turn back nor did we falter. And with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations." (ABC and NBC)
CBS' Greenfield called the speech "far more conversational than oratorical…listeners may have been disappointed if they were expecting sweeping rhetoric and high-flown metaphors." ABC's Stephanopoulos called it a "very tough speech" towards his predecessor's administration, "a repudiation of the time of President Bush" and NBC's Gregory called it "a real break from the past eight years," citing Obama's claim that the United States is ready to lead again. "He did that standing about five feet away from a seated President Bush. That was a direct shot aimed at him."
As for Tyndall Report, the line in the Inaugural Address that sticks in the mind was another that referred to America's racist history. "We have tasted the bitter swill of Civil War and segregation." None of the newscasts aired that soundbite.
Standing in that sea of humanity in the midst of the Mall on Inauguration Day, I can tell you that for my old friends and others the lines that also resonated were--
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."
And
"They[earlier generations] understood that our power alone cannot protect us, not does it entitle us to do as we please.Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."
John Owen
Professor of International Journalism
City University
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