Was President Obama's Inauguration Speech ...

[IDrinkaRum]

Text of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

... a swipe at ex-President Bush in some spots?

[Pedersen]

Really? Obama (and the majority of voting Americans, since they perceived McCain as four more years of Bush's policies) had enough issues with Bush's policies that Obama could take a couple shots at his policies?

Whoda thunk it?

[Rapscallion]

Looking at that, it was carefully crafted. It could be read as swipes at Bush, but also at the interests he allegedly pandered to - oil barons etc. Could also refer to the big bankers who managed to foul up majorly (anyone here a victim of the subprime loan cock-ups?).

It could also be taken as a continuation of the campaigning speeches he gave, in which case I'd be interested to see if he's one of the few politicians who carries on with what they said when they got to office.

Rapscallion

[AdminAssistant]

My feeling is it was kind of a "Mr. Bush, I respect you and thank you for your service, but you fucked up big time and I'm here to fix it." Or maybe that's just what I was thinking.

[AFPheonix]

To be fair, he is coming in on the heels of the president with the lowest approval ratings ever. He would kind of have to address all the crap that was done wrong over the last 8 years.

[guywithashovel]

To be fair, he is coming in on the heels of the president with the lowest approval ratings ever. He would kind of have to address all the crap that was done wrong over the last 8 years.

I hate to nitpick, but Bush's approval ratings are not the lowest of all the presidents. Harry Truman's approval ratings were lower than his were, which is interesting, because he (Truman) is now regarded as a great president. I'm not saying that will happen to Bush, though.