Newswise — On a precedent-setting day, can Barack Obama's inaugural speech live up to the hype and become one for the ages?
It's possible, says Daniel Schowalter, a communication studies professor at Rowan University.
"Obama thrives in large venues and has impressive oratorical skills," says Schowalter, who teaches public speaking and rhetorical studies. "On Jan. 20, we'll witness what will arguably be the most historic inaugural in our history. As historic events, inaugurals themselves have produced some of the most memorable oratory in all of U.S. public addresses."
Obama's speech will likely walk a fine line, says Schowalter, noting that the nation's 44th president takes office at a time of unprecedented economic crisis.
"He needs to inspire, but also to temper expectation, two tasks that are at odds with each other," Schowalter notes. "Expectations have never been greater and the problems the new administration faces have never been greater."
Two of the nation's most memorable inaugural addresses are John F. Kennedy's 1960 address ("Ask not what your country can do for you"¦" ) and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1933 speech ("The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" "¦), Schowalter notes.
"Each with just a few words, Kennedy inspired an entire generation and FDR reassured the entire nation that things would turn out OK," says Schowalter. "Their words seemed to resonate perfectly, at the perfect moment, and became a permanent part of who we are.
"Obama is likely to be bolder than he has in the past now that he has secured the presidency," he adds. "That opens the possibility that his speech might well go down in history as one of the truly great inaugurals."
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