Several prominent historians comment on Bush's Second Inaugural over at the History News Network. Alan Lichtman sees Bush asking for a free hand in foreign affairs, Tom Cronin sees him proclaiming "almost a crusade." John Lewis Gaddis sees it as one of the "great" speeches. Gill Troy agrees that it may someday be seen as one, but that will depend on the course of future events. Barbara Kellerman admires the clear moral purpose that informs the first half of the speech. Henry Graff dismisses it on stylistic points. Ellen Fitzpatrick notes that Bush justifies his position in historical, rather than philosophical or religous terms, but feels that he misrepresents the past fifty years. Richard Norton Smith sees it as almost Wilsonian, rooted in the American civil religion of exceptionalism, and urges us not to overlook the ambitious domestic elements of Bush's agenda. Julian Zelizer agrees with Smith, but worries that the agenda is too ambitious and is concerned about the prominence of Christian evangelism in the Bush coalition.
Check out their comments in full here and here.
Spend some time looking through the offerings of the History News Network. There's a lot of good stuff buried in there. I visit the place at least once every week.
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