Two takes on the President's inaugural, plus mine.

I happened to see the President's inaugural speech the other day. That was some kind of luck, since I'd forgotten it was taking place, made no special plans previously, and would usually have been otherwise engaged. But, as I sat down with my tea and dunking biscuits with my day mostly over, I was offered what must have been the last two thirds of his stirring speech.

I tend to agree with William Kristol

'INFORMED BY STRAUSS and inspired by Paine, appealing to Lincoln and alluding to Truman, beginning with the Constitution and ending with the Declaration, with Biblical phrases echoing throughout--George W. Bush's Second Inaugural was a powerful and subtle speech.'

It was, to me, a literary speech, a speech with many levels. Not always artistic; sometimes the idea was merely to advance the plot. Always though it retained a sense of a story unfolding to which it was referring but also through the course of its rhetoric, advancing. I liked that.

David Frum had a different viewpoint, trying to accommodate the views of Peggy Noonan, which was very interesting, but to my mind the contribution of someone who wants to direct the parade rather than merely cheerlead. Frum's view is valid as a shot across the bows, and seems to reflect a certain unsteadiness when faced with rhetoric at a time when people like Frum want actions to sure up their support. With a man like Bush though, words can equate to actions, because he's a man renowned for actions rather than words. Thus I think it is appropriate for Bush not to pare down his words too much, since he always means what he says (when he's thought it through) and to say too little in such public circumstances is dangerous.

Fair enough to notice the irregularities in Bush's speech, but the criticism of the inclusion of the Koran in Bush's speech is a little shallow, as indeed are the fine points of rhetoric to a man that wishes to inspire honestly rather than to ossify his philosophy into an art. Yes, the Koran reference rang untrue, but sometimes the job of leadership consists in being seen to be fair in the here and now, rather than historically precise. Besides, the Koran does contain principles which, if applied in isolation from the jihadi mentality which is inspired by other parts of the Koran, do find echoes in the other two main faiths and US history too. It may seem a weak point to make, but to ignore the weak point just because weak would, I think, be damaging- sort of like a bad teacher praising only remarks that are 95+% right.

Overall I thought an exceptionally well thought-through speech which understood the occasion and showed a commitment to the job of leadership. Incidentally, I think you have to put it in the context of Bush's new team's recent activites as well. Condi Rice, for instance, in saying that the time of diplomacy is now, may have been saying really that the time for war may be later. Despite the apparent wooliness of parts of Bush's speech, I wouldn't conclude that there is a faint heart or a woolly mind to be found in the new Whitehouse.