Posted on 01/20/2005 8:14:15 AM PST by Freedumb
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush prepared to take the oath of office for a second term on Thursday and will tell Americans "the survival of liberty in our land" increasingly depends on advancing freedom abroad, in an allusion to his hotly contested Iraq policy.
Three hours before his swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill, Bush, who has considerably less popular support than other recent incumbents after their re-election, attended a morning church service with his family at St. John's Episcopal Church, attended by presidents since it was organized in 1815.
At noon (1700 GMT), Bush will stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on a wintry day with a coat of snow on the ground before perhaps 100,000 people, put his hand on a Bible used for his 2001 inauguration and repeat the brief oath to uphold the Constitution administered by ailing Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
After a 21-gun salute, Bush is to give a lofty 17-minute speech that will promote liberty abroad and offer to work with Democrats stewing over their defeat in November and angered by an Iraq policy they consider flawed.
But the rest of the world is watching his inauguration with anxiety. Many leaders, alienated by Bush's go-it-alone foreign policy and the Iraq war, would have preferred the Republican incumbent to lose. Since his victory, they have been urging him to listen and consult more.
"We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: the survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands," Bush will say, according to White House excerpts.
"In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty."
First lady Laura Bush told ABC's "Good Morning America" that her husband's speech "will be a very nice philosophical speech about the importance of democracy and how we stand at this crossroads."
Bush emphasized a unity theme in remarks to supporters on Wednesday night, saying, "An inauguration is a time of unity for our country."
UNITER OR DIVIDER?
But Democrats are suspicious of Bush's talk of unity and say the proof will be in how he acts. They are already gearing up for a fight over his proposals for revamping the Social Security retirement system and other domestic goals.
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, said he hoped Bush would reach out to the minority party.
"I think we were all excited four years ago when the president said he wanted to be a uniter, not a divider. It didn't work out that way. This time he doesn't have to run for re-election, and I hope he follows through on that theme, a uniter, not a divider. This city needs some unification," Reid told CNN.
A number of "counter-inaugural" protests were being planned for Thursday, such as an anti-war march at Malcolm X park. Along the route of the inaugural parade, there were plans by protesters to turn their backs on Bush.
Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed last April while serving the U.S. military in Iraq, came from her home in California to protest the inauguration and said she strongly disagreed with the celebratory tone.
"It's the most inappropriate time right now, I believe, to celebrate. We could have an inaugural but let's tone it down a little bit because there will be people dying elsewhere as they are partying tonight," she told ABC.
But Mrs. Bush disagreed that the $40 million inaugural celebrations were too lavish. "It's been focused on the troops. I think there is a tone for this inauguration that recognizes what our situation is in the world and that we have troops in harms way," she said.
Security was extremely tight for the festivities, with police erecting steel barricades and shutting down about 100 blocks of the city.
Many downtown streets were deserted, while out-of-towners wearing Stetson hats and wrapped up in scarves and woolly hats were spotted at some subway stations.
Bush, the 43rd U.S. president, starts his second term with an approval rating in the 50 percent range. That is well below the support enjoyed by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Analysts see Bush as offering a far more vigorous agenda than in his first term, which became dominated by his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Iraq war. (Additional reporting by Sue Pleming and Christopher Doering)
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Must be the latest Dnc talking points. We've been deluged with this statement the past 48 hours.
It's about time for Reid to make his contribution to that effort!
Cannot believe how a newsservice like Reuters is so horribly biased. They feed this garbage down to all the other news outlets, something needs to be done about this.
They need to stop this ridiculous attack on our President, what they are doing is unAmerican.
"Must be the latest Dnc talking points. We've been deluged with this statement the past 48 hours."
And Reuters would never use DNC talking points as "news", right? Right? /sarc
They mean that Bush has less popular support from Reuters and al Jazeera than previous incumbents.
Live coverage of Inaugural ceremonies:
Rev. Wintley Phipps just gave a wonderful rendition of “Heal our Land”.
Go here to read the moving lyrics:
http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_past_20010917_lyrics.jhtml
The song "Heal Our Land" was written by Senator Orrin Hatch and Janice Kapp Perry in 1997. The version was recorded in 2000 by Reverend Wintley Phipps, as a song of comfort.
QUOTE:
Heal our land
Please grant us peace today
And strengthen all who lack the faith to call on Thee each day
Heal our land
Please keep us safe and free
Watch over all who understand the need for Liberty
Heal our land
Heal our land
And guide us with thy hand
Keep us ever on the path of Liberty
Heal our land
Heal our land
And help us understand that we must put our trust in Thee
If we would be free
Protect us by the power of thy rod
And keep us as one nation under God
Heal our land
Heal our land
And guide us thy hand
Keep us ever on the path of Liberty
Heal our land
Heal our land
And help us understand
That we must put our trust in Thee
If we would be free
MAN OH MAN you could do a great story on MEDIA BIAS today!!!!!!!!!
I'm eight-freakin'-thousand miles away and we've been hearing it constantly.
Give it a rest, liberals!
Performed live at the inaugural ceremonies
Let the Might Eagle Soar
written by John David Ashcroft
Let the eagle soar
like she's never soared before
from rocky coast
to golden shore
let the mighty eagle soar
So with healing in her wings
as the land beneath her sings:
'Only God, no other kings'
let the mighty eagle soar
This country’s far too young to die
We’ve still got a lot of climbing to do
And we can make it if we try
Built by toils and struggles
God has led us through
Let the eagle soar
like she's never soared before
from rocky coast
to golden shore
let the mighty eagle soar
So with healing in her wings
as the land beneath her sings:
'Only God, no other kings'
let the mighty eagle soar
This country's far too young to die
Though she's cried a bit for what we've put her through
she's soared above the lifted lamp
that guards sweet freedom's door
in the dews, the damps, the watchfires
of a nation torn by war
oh she's far too young to die
you can see it in her eye
she's not yet begun to fly
it's time to let the mighty eagle soar
Let the eagle soar
like she's never soared before
from rocky coast
to golden shore
let the mighty eagle soar
So with healing in her wings
as the land beneath her sings:
'Only God, no other kings'
let the mighty eagle soar
Bush's approval rating is at 49 percent in the AP poll with 49 percent disapproving among all of those polled. His job approval is in the high 40s or low 50s in several other recent polls - as low as any job approval rating for a re-elected president at the start of the second term in more than 50 years.
Presidents Reagan and Clinton had job approval ratings near six in 10 just before their inauguration for a second term, according to Gallup polls.
President Nixon's approval was in the 60s right after his 1972 re-election, slid to about 50 percent right before his inauguration and then moved back over 60 percent. President Eisenhower's job approval was in the low 70s just before his second inauguration in 1957.
As much as I like President Bush, saying he got 15 million more votes than whoever is essentially meaningless. Popular support is measured in percentages, not in absolute numbers.
"I think we were all excited four years ago when the president said he wanted to be a uniter, not a divider. It didn't work out that way."
The rats felt he didn't win the 2000 election so when he tried to reach out they basically slapped back. They've got no one to blame but themselves on that. It looks like a repeat during these next 4 years because they're stonewalling on nominations already.
So? He still only got 51% of the vote. As conservatives, we have to be intellectually honest with ourselves. 51% does not a landslide make. Reagan won re-election by 18%.
Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but we do have a responsibility to be honest with ourselves. Remember, conservatives use facts, liberals use feeeeeeeeeeeelings.
You can stop spamming the thread anytime you want.
That clown would be Barbara Boxer-Snorts. She's the senator who so daintily snorted, like a Valley Girl, each time she was about to say something nasty about Condi to her fellow Senators in her closing comments yesterday.
I don't think anyone is questioning the fact.
But why is it trumpeted so much, if not bias??
FACT? Anyone see the phrasing of the questions for the polls, or any of the internals? I haven't, but I will bet you they are not skewered in favor of the prez.
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