For the most part I loved O-bam-bam’s inaugural speech, and will probably watch it again. I especially liked the part about ‘honesty, hard work and courage’ being ‘the quiet force of progress’ through history. Not bad for a twenty-seven year old speech writer. I’ll be pushing my team of writers to develop a lesson around the speech soonest.
If you liked it, or if you hated it, I recommend Learn out loud’s ‘Great speeches in history’ podcast, downloadable free from here. It includes Nelson Mandela’s address on release from prison, JFK’s inaugural (which is interesting if you want to compare and work out the formula for all Presidential inaugural speeches) and Newton Minow’s ‘Television is a vast wasteland’. ‘Ask not what broadcasting can do for you. Ask what you can do for broadcasting.’
History today (title stolen from Tim)
“I’ll make you a deal, like any other candidate
We’ll pretend we’re walking home ’cause your future’s at stake
My set is amazing, it even smells like a street
There’s a bar at the end where I can meet you and your friend
Someone scrawled on the wall “I smell the blood of les tricoteuses”
Who wrote up scandals in other bars
I’m having so much fun with the poisonous people
Spreading rumours and lies and stories they made up”
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Judging by his appointments, it appears to be a mashup of the Clinton regime. Look how well that turned out.