Barack Obama's Inaugural Speech Of The New President

One Small Step for Mankind, One Giant Leap for African Americans During times of social and political unrest, the inaugural speech of the new President has to demonstrate that he or she has the qualities of an effective President. When asked what traits and attributes a President needs, during an interview with Dickerson, on CBSNEWS, Obama answered “… a President needs to have… a sense of discipline, … in terms of doing your homework and knowing your subject matte… vision about where you want to take the country… And finally… a “moral compass” … you really have to care about the American people- not in the abstract… but you really every single day want the best for them…” (Miller) On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama would do just that and assure all Americans

One of the most evident examples of figures of speech is his use of allusions. Throughout the whole speech Obama makes many references to the bible. His first reference states “the time has come to set aside childish things”. This phrase is found in I Corinthians 13:11 of The Holy Bible which states, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (NIV). It is evident that Obama puts this in place for a call of the nation to act responsibly. Then Obama refers to the “precious gift” and “the God-given promise” to talk about how God wants us all to be equal, free, and happy. He then goes on to say that “the faith and determination” of Americans is what the country relies on and in his concluding remarks, “God’s grace” is likened to the words found in Acts 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified”. Here he further demonstrates his religious beliefs and encourages the nation to be one under