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President Obama's Inaugural Address And His Second Term

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We’ll look at President Obama’s inaugural address and the second term ahead.

President Barack Obama speaks at his ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP)
President Barack Obama speaks at his ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP)

And there he was again.  Barack Obama, President Obama, on the high steps of the Capitol.  Hand on Bible.  Two Bibles this time:  Abe Lincoln’s, Martin Luther King’s.  Taking the oath.

And turning to that always-moving sea of Inauguration Day witnesses – citizens and more - on the National Mall.

The Inaugural Address is a moment for philosophy and, sometimes, plans.  President Obama’s second inaugural sounded like both.  Progressive.  Lots of talk about the common good.  And lots of pointers forward.

This hour, On Point:  the second Obama inaugural, and the way ahead.
-Tom Ashbrook

Guests

David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN. Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School. He has served as an advisor to Presidents Reagan, Nixon, Ford, and Clinton. (@david_gergen)

Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard University.

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst.

From Tom's Reading List

CNN "On the eve of his second inaugural, President Obama appears smarter, tougher and bolder than ever before. But whether he is also wiser remains a key question for his new term. It is clear that he is consciously changing his leadership style heading into the next four years. Weeks before the November elections, his top advisers were signaling that he intended to be a different kind of president in his second term."

The Washington Post "The crowds were bustling, but nowhere near as massive as they were four years ago when President Obama was first sworn in. Four Metro station parking lots — East Falls Church, Fort Totten, Rhode Island Avenue and Van Dorn — were at capacity by 9 a.m. Others were filling fast, even though federal workers and many others had the day off for the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday."

This program aired on January 22, 2013.

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