The Inaugural Address

Today Barak Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. Many people, including myself have been waiting for the changing of the guard and I eagerly await watching him be sworn in as well as hearing his inaugural address.

I first saw Obama four years ago when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention. I had no clue who this guy with the funny name was but I knew in my heart that one day he would run for president and possibly even be elected. Little did I know it would be now! I received an email from a former student two weeks ago that said "when you showed us that speech Barak Obama gave at the National Convention, and you said he would be president I guess you knew what you were talking about". That was three years ago. That gave me chill bumps.

As a professional speaking coach, I spend a lot of my time evaluating speakers. One thing I know is that there is a very clear divide between style and substance. Obama has both. It seems that after eight years of Dubya people have become so used to an inarticulate president that some people actually CRITICIZED Obama for his amazing speaking style. Suddenly being a phenomenal speaker was something to be criticized.

So the lesson to be learned here is when we encounter someone in a public speaking setting it is important that we fully take in all the elements of the the occasion. We must evaluate the speaker him/her self and their content. If there is a lack of consistency between what the speaker says and what we know to be true about the speaker, the world, the facts then we have a problem.

Since Richard Nixon's shameful dissent from the presidency Americans have had an understandable problem with politicians. We can all count example after example of elected men and women telling us one thing and doing another. ("I did not have sexual relations with that woman") We have become jaded. Hard. Cynical.

Along comes a man whose message is consistent with his lifestyle. Where are the inconsistencies? I have found none that are substantive. When he says to you and I "I can't do this alone, we must all do it together" I hear the call. I feel proud. I feel American. I believe.

When he says "We aren't red states and blue states, we are the United States of America" I believe. I recognize the truth in the statement. I remember that the media and mean spirited political types have tried to polarize us but I resist their attempts.

When I see a man who is not only married but is partner to his wife, when I see a man who is a devoted father to his daughters, when I see a man holding the hand of his mother in law the night he was elected--I see where style and substance line up next to each other and I tell myself "this is true".

For that reason I am as excited about today's inaugural address as I have ever been about any other "big event". I feel the electricity coming through the television. I feel history in the making. And I am here for it.

We are all here for this day, this event, this moment. America made good on it's promise to one another that equality is more than rhetoric. Barak Obama points the way for all that we can be in our future. I will enjoy watching how the next year unfolds before us as a nation and how our new leader leads us into the next chapter of our nation's story.