david j. garcia

As we look forward to the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, perhaps we can benefit from looking backward as well.

Hulu has footage of 23 inaugural addresses. FDR’s first is surprisingly topical:

Most famous line:

• “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Best reminder:

• “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.”

Most likely to be spoken by President-elect Obama:

• “We must act, and we must act quickly.”

Most topical lessons we collectively forgot:

• “There must be a strict supervision of all banking and credit and investments.”
• “There must be an end to speculation with other people’s money.”

Scariest line if you don’t like the person being sworn in:

• “…I shall ask the Congress for… broad executive power.”

I’d love to know what you think. How does this relate to President-elect Obama’s upcoming inauguration? Do you think he’ll use any of the same themes? Any of the same words? Should he?