European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday january 25, 1993 commentary the stars and stripes Page 15clinton speech set Forth tall order of optimism it is hard to escape the conclusion that William Jefferson Clinton is a my thou cynic figure. The Energy the Eye for variety the capacity to please he goal 43 percent of the vote in november and by the inauguration his approval rating had risen to 70 percent the baby faced capacity to reflect Awe and Delight As though cd cry five minutes he were Rushing Down the stairs to look under the Christmas tree a if he fails to win the sustained approval of the majority of voters it will have to be because he was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the missions he has assigned himself. What arc these Well he wants to a Force the Force the Spring. Still the sea. Accelerate maturity in the Young slow the aging of the old. A a careful Reading of his inaugural address is an interesting exercise if you give yourself the assignment to ask a which of the sentences 1 am now Reading would Ronald Reagan have declined to utter a try it. This Reader found none though one or two of the code words were there. When the phrase a Power and privilege is used by a Democrat he is talking about Donald Trump. When it is used by a Republican he is talking about government bureaucrats. When a Democrat talks about a increasing inequality a the emphasis is on How Many people arc getting poorer. The same phrase used by a Republican would celebrate the number of people who Are getting Richer. But there is nothing else in the rhetoric of uplift that could not have been said by Mark Hanna or Herbert Hoover. It was commencement speech prose and that Sok because that is what America wants in inaugural addresses. A the american people have summoned the change we celebrate dry out that phrase and it says a i was elected president a a you have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus Quot a but that chorus was so bewildered and bewildering that a third party candidate got 19 percent of the vote and would have got half Hail to the chief moderate Maestoso James Sanderson William f. Buckley is v a a nav.v.v.vsuv.?. A. C Ltd cd a a a a he Hall to a of a chief i Bav do Choa Ensor to a a ton. =�?-r�?1 Hall to a 11 ,-1 the if -i�?1 3 a it Ash a Sci again More except for his temporary withdrawal. The generation of the �?T60s and 70s acquired habits roughly identified with the Playboy philosophy and the result of those habits among others is a Rise in the rate of illegitimacy by about 300 percent. Whether that change redefines what it Means to be an american is a subject for considerable reflection. What every generation goes on to do that is distinctive is not necessarily desirable. And have we not agreed from time to time that certain habits of american generations have been in american we said that about Jim Crow and the Palmer raids during the 1919-21 a red scared and mccarthyism. Maybe a generation of Elvis imitators could find a More compelling idol. But Here Clinton was touching a Point explicated by another participant in the ceremonies. Maya Angelou secs an America made up of a the asian the hispanic the jew the african the native american the Sioux the Catholic the Muslim the French the greek the Irish the rabbi the priest the Sheik the Gay the straight the preacher the privileged the homeless the to which a verse later she added a the Ashanti the Yoruba the Kru a the multiculturalism compulsion. A generation ago America was enjoined hot to think in those terms to think instead of evanescent ethnic distinctions the author of that dream to re define America was Martin Luther King or. Unhappily he did not redefine an America that is now enjoined to distinguish Between american indians and the pilgrims. It was Good and it was wholesome that Clinton should have begun the Day by attending a rather protracted service at the metropolitan african methodist episcopal Church where the secular political Junkie actually had to sit through 45 minutes Given Over to reflection on the almighty and some thought to our indebtedness to him. If we re going to set out to Force the Spring we re going to need a Little divine help. C univ Oral prow Syndicate inaugural address uplifting but it did t soar president Clinton a inaugural address has been handed Iti for grading. Strengths 1. Theme. Simple direct and fitting Quot renewal Quot used eight limes backed up with a reborn Quot a a revitalize and even a reinvent Quot he wanted to get the Point across of a nation born again subtly evoking Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg and the new Man drove it Home. 2. Metaphor. Springtime a season of renewal after a Winter of discontents a suitable trope for his chosen theme. He developed it with a a season of service Quot and introduced a novel slant with a we Force the to a Force Quot a Flower Means to induce it to Bloom before its time As lilies Are often forced at was a Ertic a an offbeat and thought provoking figure of speech. The phrase a forced Spring Quot was taken from notes faxed to Clinton by the Rev. Tim Healy the final gift of the late educator. The seasonal metaphor was reinforced by his biblical quotation galatians 6 9, a in this season we shall reap if we faint Clinton in choosing that line from Paups letter As the verse on which he took his oath of office asked an aide rest a for every Man shall Bear his own Bur 3. Hint of policy in formation. Between the usual a when our vital interests Are challenged Quot and the obligatory Quot we will act a a fascinating wilsonian thought which president which he too is Oain of ump Side a Are people going to pull out the a Cost of this you bet we Are i like verse ush belatedly cd pounded at Annapolis my was inserted a for the will and conscience of the International Community that will be cited when he acts on serbian aggression. Interventionists wish he had said a will or 4. Anaphora. T his repetition for rhetorical effect worked in the al endings in Quot communications and Commerce Are global investment is Mobile technology is almost magical and ambition for a belter life is he used the device later with four definitions of the a of 5. Length blessedly Brief 14 minutes William Safire about 5 minutes Shorter than most modern inaugurals famous for his prolixity Clinton proved Here he could edit himself a Happy augury of discipline elsewhere. 6. Historic resonance. He watered Down Thomas Jefferson a relish for revolution As a taste for a dramatic change Quot but his peroration so let us begin echoed John Kennedy a phrase and his hopeful a Call to services echoed Woodrow Wilson s great inaugural peroration a men s Hopes Call upon the too Brief quotation from Franklin d. Roosevelt a a bold persistent experimentation Quot a missed the moxie in that 1932 passage a it is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails admit it frankly and try another. But above All try 7. Turn of phrase. This is not Clinton a Strong suit a a we must be bold Quot sounds timid a but a anyone who has Ever watched a child a eyes wander into sleep Quot has an unexpected Impact. 8.delivery. His Best Strong voice confident Demeanour no flubs. Made a Good speech seem like a very Good speech. Weaknesses 1. Cheap shots. The old a people Are working harder for less Quot and a we have drifted and that Drifting has eroded our Over its his Drifting now. 2. Fuzzy sacrifice. A we must invest More in our own people Quot i.e., increase spending Quot. And at the same time Cut our massive debt i.e., raise taxes. But he does no to bite that Bullet preferring Only the Over popular a it will require sacrifice. A 3. Applause lines. Wilson s sobriquet was a the for Aschaker Quot it wont be Clinton a. Even on a solemn occasion an audience needs the release of a rousing line and future multimedia historians will need 3-d sight bites. Quot this is our time will have to do or a there is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America a and they ainu to much. Which leads to the speeches greatest weakness 4. Lift it never soared. This need not Call for the schmaltzy letters that Ronald Reagan liked to read with a catch in his voice or even the coolly balanced a ask not Quot that Juk patented it does need at dress had a theme and shape that sat least a passage that grips. Clinton sad a a a id shape to isfried a length that was a Relief a delivery that was a pleasure to see and hear but a thrust that failed to thrill. I give it a a plus. Maybe Hocti have another Chance. C Thyl hum pc a Elmo
