today our topic is the kennedy address, but in another away the topic is what a speech? great is that eloquence or is it

the function that speech served? on the question eloquence there is simply no question about the kennedy inaugural. there was a group of rhetorical scholars who did a ranking of the greatest speeches the 20th century. i was one of the members of that group, and the kennedy inaugural came. second behind only dr. great speech on the mall. the i have a dream speech that the kennedy inaugural came in ahead of every speech by franklin delano roosevelt. every speech by ronald reagan in that way was the greatness, the eloquence in the speech was recognized at the time one of the most important journalists of, the 20th century. james reston wrote in the new york times, two days after the inaugural, he said, everybody praised from conservative republicans to the communists in moscow which is quite a distance. he said the speech was

remarkable and then explained this was a revolutionary document. it was not only but moralistic and even religious. and it was taken at face value proposal, not merely we get going, but we'd transforming our national. they are times included. excerpts from editorial from newspapers all around the nation and they all agreed. the san francisco chronicle called it a trumpet call whose. notes could be recognized everywhere. the washington post said mr. kennedy set a high standard of content and oratorical performance. the new orleans, an item called the inaugural a testament and about as good a start as a president could make. that consensus has maintained over the years. in 1980 or 2013, the washington post, in a story by chris

cillizza and and chancellor evan rated the candidates address as the third greatest presidential speech in all of american history. behind only fdr first inaugural and lincoln's second inaugural. when you're included in the same list as fdr and lincoln, you know. this is an incredibly eloquent speech. scholars agree with that in their groundbreaking analysis that the genres presidential rhetoric are carlin cars campbell. kathleen hall jamieson said that kennedy's language expressed resoluteness required under circumstances to maintain a struggle against a menacing eyed theology. sarah and mel tranter noted the speech is considered one of the greatest speeches in the 20th century. thurston clarke claimed that kennedy's address is generally acknowledged to have been the greatest oration of any 20th

century politician. every one knew at the time the importance, the address, writing, the new york times immediately the address. wallace carroll said that kennedy had had successfully toward a new national. they would carry the from the feeling of well-being of the eisenhower years to sense of higher urgency and endeavor. he explained why higher urgency and endeavor was needed. carroll said because the nation faced major problems like squalor in cities. 4 million americans so subsisting on handouts of so-called surplus food. but now we began to get to the puzzle because one of the functions of an inaugural address is to move forward. the domestic agenda of the president of the united states. and this speech did not successfully move forward that

agenda. robert samuels, then writing in the washington post in 2013, observed that kennedy had no major legislative accomplishment his two major proposals, a tax cut to spur the economy and civil rights legislation languished in congress. when you have trouble selling. tax cuts in congress, you know that your agenda not been very successful. and so now we have the question of how we should judge the greatness of our speech should it be based on eloquence. kathleen hall jamieson may be the most important scholar of presidential rhetoric of the last 50 years. talked about eloquence as something that unites pictures and verbal propositions. argumentative, substance. illustrative stories. or should we judge it based on functionality? there many speeches that over the years have been incredibly

influential. i think we have to say that donald trump has been incredibly but his speeches rarely accused of being eloquent and so the standard task we have today is to explain this puzzle that a speech that every agrees is one of the most eloquent in the same class as lincoln. it didn't achieve much terms of its agenda that we need to begin answering that puzzle. we need to understand to understand the function finality of an inaugural address. we need to figure out what inaugural need to do. the idea of a rhetorical genre a category can help us here. now, there are many categories that don't tell us much about what has to be in the category. if you take a campaign speech. i used to believe that there were broad ideas of what had to be in a campaign speech.

lay out an agenda you'd. defend your capacity to achieve that. but i have studied trump campaign in detail. i do not think there are any such. i think there are very few rules at all. it's too broad a general. the inaugural is different. and i want to explain the forces that concern brain. what needs to be an inaugural address. then talk about those characteristics. then watch the kennedy inaugural and we're going to watch it all in one fell swoop because it's only 14 minutes long. and it is so tightly organized. so why is an analogy a narrow genre that has a kind of rhetorical recipe that if you violate that recipe, it's not going to work very. well, there are three character mistakes that define this narrow genre. the is accidents. it's a funny academic word. it means a recurrent situation

that demands talk. in this instance, the accident is an election that is either selected new president or really did a president. but that exigent of choice through some kind of a democrat means that would the man something like an inaugural address. it does by a governor it for a new chancellor it would for a new minister or a new rabbi. it's a choice made democratically. the exigency in turn constrained by shared purpose. us elections are contested sometimes they are highly partizan. now 1960 was not nearly as highlight partizan as 2024, but an election like that. there is a need to reunify the country because a candidate who has run as the representative of a party but a president for all

americans. a second need is to restate our values. inaugural addresses are more an inauguration day and the addresses that they occur are one of the most important places. we talk about what it means to be an american. and so this an opportunity that the president talk about our basic values. and finally, the purpose is to energize the and those supporting it. an inaugural that achieved everything else but did not energize the agenda would not be a successful inaugural. now there are two societal constraints that also shape inaugural addresses. one is it's a formality of the ceremony demands a more poetic a more formal, a higher style. and in his inaugural, jimmy carter quoted his high school teacher, ms. julia coleman.

it did not fit the moment. kennedy quoted isaiah, the prophet isaiah and. that fits the moment. it demands a more formal style. the constraint and this at the height of the cold war, is that american inaugural addresses are addressed to our allies and adversaries, as well as to the american people. and that requires president to lay out an agenda that responds to that with those characteristics in mind. there are seven things an inaugural to do or in another say it should lay out the political principles of the administration. it's not time for a detailed presentation of policy, but it's a time to us the broad principles. and i'll talk about how later how fdr and ronald reagan and barack obama did that. it should speak to all the people to reunify the nation.

it should restate basic values. the should fourth place us at a moment in our story every inauguration occurs a moment where there are challenges facing the nation. some occur in moments of crisis when delano roosevelt spoke in 1933, we are in the midst of the great depression, when barack obama assumed presidency in 2009. we in the great recession. but every every inauguration demands a statement of where we're where we are and where we are going. the inaugural should be presented in a formal ceremonial style. it should our allies that we should support them. that's a six characteristic and warn enemies potential enemies that we will stand firm in defense of our freedom and support our allies and the new president needs to come across

as a strong but not a vain later. and you can see how these seven characteristics they're not. if you want to do the work of an inaugural address, you need to do all seven of those. let's watch. john kennedy did did. vice president johnson. mr. speaker, this is chief justice. president eisenhower, vice president nixon. president truman, reverend clergy and fellow citizens. we observed today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom symbolized and an end. well, as a beginning, signifying

renewal as well as change varieties born before you and almighty god. the same somehow for being prescribed nearly century and three quarters ago the world is very different now for man holding this ball and the power to abolish all forms human poverty and all forms of human life. and yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears for hostility who around the globe now believe that the rights of man come not from the of the faith, but from the hand of god. we dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first

revolution. let the word go for from this time and place to friend and poll. i that the torch has been passed to a new generation of americans born in this century, tainted by war disappeared by a hard and bitter be proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit a small although human rights to which this nation and we committed and we are committed at home and around the world. than every day here. no, whether we use our well or

ill that, we shall pay any price there burden me any hardship or any brand at all. bow or throw in the bible and the success of liberty. there might be plague and and i'll go to ally which is cultural and urgent origin. we here we place the loyalty of faithful friends united. there. no, we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures divided there. is that all we can do? all we dare not be a car? who can all and spit asunder those new states?

when we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our. that one form of colonial control shall not passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. we shall not always expect to find them supporting our view, but we always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom. and you remember that the past, those who forged these of power by the back of the tiger ended up inside. our world because those people in our hearts, villages of half the globe, struggle to break the bonds of man's misery. we planned your best efforts to

help them, help. all whatever period required. not because the communists be doing it. not because we seek their votes, but because it is right here today, free society cannot. the many who are poor and cannot save, the few who are rich. who are destroying public south our border. we offer a special pledge to convert all good words in a good deed and a new alliance for progress to a free man and free government and casting off chains of poverty but their peaceful revolution hope cannot become the prey of moscow power.

let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression of some version anywhere in the americas and let every other power know that this hemisphere in canada remains the master of its own house. that world assembly of sovereign states, the united nations, ireland, vatican. in an age the instruments of law and foreign pay, the instruments of the peace, wearing no are blind. you support to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective to strengthen and shield all the new in the weak, and to enlarge the in which you

may run. finally allowed nations over to themselves. our adversary. we offer not a pledge, but a request that both sides get to know the quest for peace before dark powers of destruction unleashed by in golf humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. we dare not tell them with weakness, or only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed, but neither can do great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from. our present course. both sides overburdened by the cost. modern weapons both rightly

alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom. yet racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror and say the hand of mankind final war. so let us begin anew remembering on both sides that the is not a sign of weakness and an verity is always subject to prove. let us never out of fear, but let us never fear and negotiate. that both sides explore what problems unite us. instead of those problems which us let both sides for the first time formulate serious and precise proposal for the

inspection and control of arms and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute of all nations. let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of in terrorism. together, let us explore this dark cork in the desert. eradicate disease, have the ocean depth, and encourage arts and commerce. let both sides unite to lead in all corners of the earth. the command of say too want to do heavy burden and let the oppressed go free free. and it may be head of cooperation may push back jungle of suspicion. let both sides join in creating

a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law where. the strong not just and always secure and a peace preserve all will not be free in the first 100 days, nor will it be in the first 1000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime. this planet. but let us begin. in your hands, my fellow citizens. more than mine will rest the final success of failure of article seven. this country was founded. each generation of american has

been to give testimony to its national loyalty. their grades of young american boy. the call to service around the globe. now the summons us again not as an call to bear arms. go on. we need not as a call to battle though in we are fighting to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, pay, union privilege here a struggle the common enemies of man tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. and we board against the enemy a grand and global alliance.

north and south east and west that assure a more fruitful life for mankind. will you join in that effort. in the long history of the world? only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom, and it is our of maximum. i do not shrink from this responsibility. i welcome it. i do not that any of us wanting to change places with any other people or other generation, the energy, the the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will

light our country all who serve it. and the glow from that fire can truly light the and. so my fellow americans, and not what your country do for you and what you can do for your country. my fellow citizens of the world and not what america will do for you, but what together we can do the freedom. a man. i mean, whether are citizens, america, or a citizen of the world. and of us here, the same high standard of strength and which

we of you with a good conscience are always your reward. when history. the final judge of our let us go forth to leave the land. love asking his blessing and his, but knowing here on earth work might be our own. i think we already seen some of the points that i made earlier. you heard the strong response to the inaugural. from the crowd. you also saw of both parties. the elderly man sitting there that dwight eisenhower. i think we also saw a couple of

the points i made about societal constraints. an inaugural address. one of the things that that kennedy had to respond to was that eisenhower was 70. he was a kennedy was 43. he needed to represent a new generation. and i'll talk about how he did that. and i'm always struck by the men in top hats. it's 64 years ago. it's similar but different than today. i want talk about what made the kennedy inaugural a great speech in terms of an inaugural address as eloquent speech. and to do that, i want to go through the second through seventh characteristic that defines an effective inaugural addresses. and then after i do that i'm going to go back and talk about political the second characteristic defines an effective inaugural address is it reunifying public after a divisive campaign and kennedy

explains this begins to do this the very first sentence he says we observe today not a victory, a party but a celebration of freedom. that, he says, symbolized an end well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change. here throughout the address, kennedy speaks to his fellow americans, to republicans or. kennedy restates basic values. and i think you have to say that this is one of the incredible strengths. the speech you can pick almost any paragraph at random and how and show how he does in the second paragraph. and this also is placing the nation at a time in the life of the story of the history of america. he speaks of the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbearers fought the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of god.

he also expresses commitment to freedom. we shall pay any price. bear any burden, meet any hardship, support, any friend, oppose foe in order to the survival and success of liberty. but he expressed a commitment to peace as well. let never negotiate out of fear. but let us never feared negotiate. and as i said, he also restates basic religious values. quoting from isaiah. to undo the heavy burdens. and to let the oppressed go free. i think you have to say that his of basic values is genuinely moving. he places the nation in the of the nation. he describes the nation as our point of transition. one generation to another. but in a triumphant narrative in the third paragraph he says let

the word go forth from this time below and placed a friend and foe alike. and now here the generation of change that the torch has been to a new generation of americans born in this century. and he means 20th century tempered by a war disciplined by a hard and, bitter peace. proud of our ancient heritage. and unwilling to witness permit the slow undoing those human rights to which this nation has always been committed. and then he expresses ultimate confidence about where the nation is going. he says in the long history of the world, only few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom. in its hour of maximum danger. i do not shrink from this responsibility. i welcome it and pledges that the energy, the face the revolution which we bring to this will our country. and the glow from fire can truly light the world. in retrospect.

you also hear in credible confidence that america always be right. i see the kind of confidence that bleeds into arrogance that got into the quagmire that was vietnam. and let me say in retrospect, i think it would be wiser to not be present in a time of maximum danger. formal, ceremonial style, essentially every paragraph. for explaining this, i simply paragraphs at random. they all work that to take only one example. here is a passage in which he calls for a negotiated patience between the u.s. and the soviet union. and again and again he relies on the language of antithesis, where put opposed ideas either within a sentence or in successive sentences. and here is an example of that. so let us begin remembering on both sides, civility is not a

sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject proof. let us never negotiate. and out of fear. but let us fear to negotiate. let both sides explore what problems unite us. instead of laboring those problems which divide us. and he goes on and it is so brilliantly, poetically written that it almost you even and reread it in a lecture and to the same kind of cadence that president kennedy had. and it's the antithesis that dominates the speech. and i'll give you other other examples of that in a moment. the sex characteristic of, an effective inaugural, is it our allies and warns our enemies? and i think you have to say again that this speech is perfect in that regard. kennedy first speaks to allies of the those old allies who culture and spiritual origins we

share. we pledge the loyalty of faithful. he says. united is little. we cannot do in a host of co-op ventures. divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds split asunder. he speaks to the soviets. i just quoted one passage and by the end he also issued a request that both sides begin a new the quest for peace. but he made american quite clear in a passage that i think echoes previous things president would say. we dare not them with weakness for only when our arms sufficient beyond doubt. can we be certain? be the out they will never be employed. and you hear the strength of his commitment. he also speaks to other nations. he talks about nations in the developing world. if a free society cannot help the many who are, it cannot save

the few who are rich to centralize america. he pledges an alliance for progress. he speaks of the united nations as our last hope. in an age where the instruments of war have far outpace the instruments of peace, he simply does a perfect job of enacting what an inaugural needs to do for our ally and our enemies and. does he come across as a strong leader? the last characteristic and essentially every passage i've quoted the brand and foe alike passage. the torch has been passed to a new of americans passing. let me quote one final pass i'd say illustrates how strongly he and act's now the trumpet us again. and here the antithesis not as a call to bear arms though arms. we not as a call to battle

though in battle we are but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle. year in and year, rejoicing and hope. patient in criminal tribulation, a struggle against the common of man tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. you can hear again how the war. the words almost play pushes you into the cadence of kennedy. but he it clear that he is the only one responsible. he can. it does not say he can do it himself, he says. and your hands, my fellow, more than and mine. or else the final success or failure our course. so does he fulfill the second through the seventh character ristic of speech? absolutely does he respond to the particular demands of the time spent, especially the generational change? he does.

and the eloquence of the passage i have quoted should be obvious, but i have not quoted the most famous passage from the speech. the passage that everyone knows. it's been quoted a thousand times in the media, a thousand times in the media. and ala it brise on antithesis yet again, he says. and so my fellow americans ask what your country can do. ask what you can do for your. as i will explain in a minute, there is strong data that that passage and the speech as a whole inspire many americans to make commitment to service the speech excel alles in everything except the most important thing an inaugural needs to do and that's to state the political principles of a new administration the political principles that are going to forward what administration does

for the people of the united states. kennedy did call for battling against tyranny, poverty, disease and and he spoke of working what the soviets to explore the stars conquer the deserts, eradicate disease half the ocean depths encourage the arts and commerce. but how? with what policies? with what approach? great inaugurals respond with an energy and to respond to the crises of the moment. in 33, at the height of the great depression, franklin delano roosevelt first said this nation for action and action now and promised action to regulate the banks. increase employment reform, trade and support. the inaugural did not use the no deal but that summary of

roosevelt's message define his two first two terms in office. before the second world war, it also shaped american politics for almost full decades. roosevelt's first and inaugural was not. it was an eloquent speech. but not in the class as kennedy. it was a great inaugural because that laid out and a gender that responded to the crisis of the moment and filled the needs the american people. in 1981, ronald reagan used his first inaugural to support his small government agenda. he famously said in this present crisis government is not the solution to our problem. government is the problem. and then laid out a call f less regulation, lower taxes that how he governed. that became so dominant that other republicans would cite

government as the problem, as the operating philosophy of. the republican party. before donald but reagan also made clear a pragmatic commitment to make government work. a few paragraphs for paragraphs after his famous attack on government, he said now. so there will be no misunderstanding. it's not my intention to do away with government. it's rather to make government. make it work. work with us. not over us to stand by our side. not ride on our back. government can and must provide opportunity, not it foster productivity, not stifle it. at the times, the new york time, at the time of the inaugural, new york times wrote that reagan to be in dialog with franklin. remember that if one more moment in that dialog come and those views dominated american politics, that government had

gotten too big, taxes needed to be cut, that we needed to have pragmatic government until 2008 when in the midst of another economic collapse, barack in his first inaugural all echoed delano roosevelt's famous that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. he said, a moment of reassurance. we remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. our workers are less productive than when the crisis. that was reassurance. and then he gave us his own version of the new deal. the state of our economy calls for action. bold and swift. and we will act not to create new jobs, but to lay new foundation for growth. we'll build the roads and bridges, the electric and digital lines that feed our commerce, bind us together. we'll restore science to its rightful place, and we'll technology's wonders to raise

health care's quality and lower cost. we will harness the sun and the wind and the soil to fuel our cars and run our. and we will our schools and colleges, universities to meet the demands. a new age. all this we can do all this. we will do. and he did. but he knew it was going to be difficult. so he the nation that the crisis he faced in 2008 could not be easily resolved. he quoted from what george washington told us troops at valley forge. and then he called upon the nation in the winter of our hardship. let remember these timeless words with hope and virtue. let us brave once more the icy currents and endure what may come. he promise a better future, sketch that future, but warned of difficulties to come in second inaugural obama for for a

moment reached a level of eloquence while laying out a policy that rivaled kennedy. he said we the people declare today that the most evident truths that all of us are created is the star that guides us still. just as it guided our forebears through seneca falls. that's a reference to the suffrage movement and the civil rights movement and stonewall the gay rights movement. justice guided all men and women, song and unsung, who left footprints along this great mall. they hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone. what obama, reagan. fdr did was inspire higher ups. but give us a clear forward. kennedy laid out no clear political principles. and let me emphasize how vast the need was when kennedy spoke in 1961. there was no medicare.

there was no medicaid. there weak civil rights laws, the civil rights acts of the 1960s and the voting rights act, they were yet be passed. none of the major environmental protection or consumer protection or worker protection statutes existed. i referenced the people surviving on handouts earlier. that's because food did not yet exist. the kennedy and inaugural was both the most eloquent speech by an american not named abraham lincoln and martin luther king and failed to lay out domestic principles. probably the most important thing, an inaugural address does. and now we've resolved the puzzle. the speech lives because of its eloquence. but the kennedy administra nation did not move for its agenda because at the single

moment where he had the greatest chance to move forward that agenda. he did not that now admirers of president kennedy might respond. the speech was not a failure because it inspired many. that is entirely true. one of the members of the board of advisers for the kennedy library, frank islam, noted that the words spoken by president kennedy nearly six decades ago have inspired generations and millions of americans serve their country. there is evidence that thousands of americans who later work for the peace corps, which came directly out of the kennedy. others, including shalala, who served as secretary of health and human services in the clinton administration, has said that she was inspired by kennedy. rhetorical scholar john murphy has observed of the ask not passage that he had offered energy, devotion and sacrifices

that would amplify individual and nation making each better than before. there are reciprocal relationship. there's simply no question that kennedy has words for inspiring. but i think it's important to. think about what he asked us to do as. not what your country can do for you. ask you can do for your country. kennedy meant to inspire a generation. have others around the world use language to? inspire service in the state rather than the people? have people like? vladimir putin said similar things. that's not what kennedy meant, but it's how like kennedy's have been used. there is another view of the proper relationship of the people and government. i to quote in a much less passage from ronald reagan's

farewell address. he said that ours was the first revolution in the history mankind that truly reversed the course of government. it with three little words. we the people. we the people tell the government what to do. it doesn't tell. we the people are the driver. the government is the car. and we decide where it should go. and what route and how fast. reagan's words lack the inspiration of canada's, but it asks the government to serve people was a way that kennedy of could have called for inspiration, but avoided the danger that others use similar ideas. to to create support our government not for the people. yes there is a way. the way to talk about what we as a community, as all americans can do together.

baraka obama famously said that he believed in the view that says in america, in a speech in kansas, he said, we are greater together whenever want engages and fair play and everybody gets a fair shot. everybody does their fair share. obama called people to work hard, but to government to do for the people. what no one can do by themselves and. the power of that message. inspiring people can be demonstrated stated in three words. the power of appeal to community, not to government, but service to community. yes, we can. we know the power that. kennedy could tapped into the power of community and used that as a method of inspiring people. and he could have enacted the wisdom in the final line of what many people believe is the

greatest speech by an american. perhaps the greatest speech in english. he could have paraphrased, quoted from blinken, arguing that together we must fight to produce new birth of freedom so that government and listen to the relationship between government and people. and lincoln's final words from the gettysburg address of the people. by the people for people shall not perish from the earth. so at this point, we have we have seen the puzzle. the most eloquent speech our time. but it failed to move forward a domestic agenda because. it did not state a domestic agenda. it empowered millions but at potential cost. not kennedy. kennedy. his goals were simply inspiring and all for the good. but others? not so much. and there is another option of privileging not what we can do for the government, but what people can do together for each

other. all right. we've got a few minutes for questions and we're going to use the mic mic and. and i know you have questions. and we a brave student. i get the point of i wanted to ask one wonderful. okay. so for an inaugural address to be effective. does need to be both functional and eloquent or is functional ranked higher? well, the eloquent certainly helps eloquence helps it. when jimmy address was harmed by the reference to miss coleman and it sounded like the quotation sound like you would find on a hallmark so it would be to if you're going to quote somebody if you end up doing an

inaugural. my advice quote quote lincoln if you can't find the right quote from lincoln look at fdr reagan and you can call a day but it certainly helped but. it's more important to have a message. it's a lot more important to have a message. well, you discussed how eloquence has kept kennedy's speech alive in like the zeitgeist. but in previous lectures talked about how messages being right will allow them to carry on history like in longer senses. for example. so like we mentioned, like martin luther king's speech in memphis and like he was correct. but the speech did not actually like was not actually at the time. could you elaborate on like the difference between being right and being. and we're talking about dr. king's final speech, where he

ends with the passage about how he's been to the mountaintop. but the speech is most important. his expression of commitment to democratic values that were all same. he talks about the of democracy dug deep by the founding fathers and what makes that speech continue to live. because it was a battle for justice, because we all deserve justice. this speech lives. because of the eloquence of the language and. it's called a service and it brilliantly does everything an inaugural does. it's supposed to do. and in terms of foreign policy, expressing things, but reinforcing values, it just doesn't to the exigencies of the moment domestic policy where were so much poorer a nation without regulation need. think of it. no just no. and by itself that tells you enough. so the inaugural great in other

ways but a failure to enunciate a domestic agenda that that was that was a major failure. there's just there's just way around it. okay my question is, did anyone ask kennedy or his team like, why didn't address the domestic like policies? well, people have talked about it. let me let me tell you, this is way before my time. i know you guys doubt that, but it has. and so i, i was not there that although i dress like i was, do not have a top hat, by the way. but, you know, i have people pointed to the failures of the kennedy administration? sure and the the great tragedy of this is that kennedy's death. and we such an incredibly brilliant, incredibly eloquent,

still young man. i'll say young at 43, he would have been 40, i think 46 when he died. but his death created pressure for agenda. and then lyndon johnson developed a cohort or a domestic agenda led to the legislation. i talked medicare, medicaid the voting rights act, the civil rights act. i think they might all 1965. so it was johnson leveraging the emotional to the great tragic day of john kennedy's assassination. and that created the pressure to then create those great programs and it was all derailed by vietnam. for. so if an inaugural address

follows all of like the seven characteristics, but they don't strong arguments, could it still fail. or would it so be considered a success because like follow it all. so having the seven characters i think by saying not having strong argument, that would mean if there were knots of port for the bar they domestic political principles if they weren't sensible ideas and you know that that might resonate in the short term but bad ideas are not going to resonate in the long term. and and so you know that that definitely would be a weakness. now, the great inaugurals talked about one thing that we know about them is that fdr had a coherent philosophy. barack obama had a coherent philosophy as a citizen. i happen to agree much more with fdr and barack obama. but i've studied reagan for decades and had a coherent worldview and he was a lot more than a mere actor.

and he was he did a brilliant job throughout his presidency of developing that worldview and. i will also say that he he has demonstrated to be right about the soviets. so you're right that domestic that doesn't work won't resonate very and very in the long term. and i i'm i can think a recent example of that, that i'm not going discuss here today. so with inaugural speeches is the push and pull within the like the rhetoric. who speaks to the audience like what does he have stay in line like inspiring and showing a clear path to the future? i guess just asking, where is the push and pull with these speeches? the seven characters of an inaugural are like a recipe where. those seven ingredients are really required and if you're missing and in gradient i'm very

fond of making the dessert cranberry lay and without eggs and and and cream and sugar you don't have a dessert all you've got us a little of vanilla it's not going to work. and an inaugural address is a little bit like that. you really need to do those things or it's not going to work. now, as we i just sat in for the long term residence policies don't work. you know, herbert hoover. i, i don't think anybody would ever study herbert hoover. he's address might lay out all seven of those characteristics but since those policies led to the great depression we say no, we don't want that. so it has to work. and then having eloqua is a plus you know it i would say with the exception of abraham lincoln and. dr. king where eloquence and their message are simply infused

together they are in separate. well i like to say about of them that we get one saint every 150 years and god god knows where in desperate need today, i think we have time for maybe one more question. my question is, how does this inauguration speech from ones of like modern time time? well, in it's more eloquent, any inaugural address except, burlington second would be my what i would say it is. i, i there was not a clear domestic agenda in my in either george herbert walker bush or bill inaugural inaugural. and i think that explained why largely they their their agendas were were not as broadly successful or as as either for example obama or reagan.

and, you know, the the demand to their genre are so constrict thing that almost everyone tries to fulfill them with the only a very few except jimmy. jimmy carter for example the exception that perhaps proves this rule. we want presidents to come across as strong leaders and carter i think is one of the most decent man ever to occupy the presidency, a truly great ex-president. but he said in his inaugural to the american people, your strength can make up for my. and that's not message we want from a president. we want a president to be a strong leader who represents us. but that doesn't come across very. so i think what we what comes across is these seven characteristics really a good job of defining what you to do. and then if you could add in maybe a quarter a cup of that would really a big help as well. and being righ