Freedom

Ol' Bushy is going to have a heck of a second term, if his inaugural address is any indicator -- which it usually isn't.

But as inaugural addresses go, Bush's was pretty spiffy. It wasn't no JFK or Abe Lincoln shit, but his address had many moments of (gasp!) eloquence. It kind've makes us look towards the future with hope. By 2008, I expect Bush to have secured his legacy by cleaning up Iraq, reforming social security (finally), and a building a stronger economy.

One thing though: what is up with Bush and his obsession with freedom? Freedom this, freedom that. He squints his eyes, puckers his lips, then zips out the word: freedom.

Freedom. Tyranny. Oppression. Liberation. These seem to be the only words that this terrorist-obsessed president likes to talk about. Makes me wonder, what kind of schtick would Bush have if 9/11 never happened?

A close look at Bush's inaugural address transcript says that he said the word "freedom" 27 times. John F. Kennedy said it 4 times in his. In Lincoln's first inaugural address, amidst the backdrop of a civil war, he said it 0 times. Zero.

You'd think that in a time where our country was at war with itself, where slavery still existed, Lincoln could have uttered the word "freedom" a couple times. But he didn't. He didn't even have the urge or the itch to say it once. And here you have Bush yapping about freedom this and freedom that all afternoon.

It's not that I have anything against freedom. In fact, I think it's pretty cool. I just don't think it's really that relevant. Bush says, "Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty -- though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt."

I don't think it's an odd time for doubt at all. This "global liberation agenda" that the Bush administration has sounds nice, but we're chasing the wrong things. And how hypocritical for Bush to talk about freedom and uniting the world when we're basically just a nation filled with millions of self-indulgent islands all bent on their own self interest.

Great sounding speech, Bushy Boy, but I'm not looking to hear about vague hope or overzealous freedom. How about economic prosperity? Or a confident future for our elderly when it comes to healthcare or social security? Inaugural speeches are meant to be razzle-dazzle, but heck, a little substance couldn't have hurt.

Want to know how many times George Washington said the f-word in his first inaugural address? Zero.

And yes, I copied and pasted the inaugural addresses onto MS Word and used the "Find" feature to count how many times they used the word "freedom". I know how nerdy that was, what I did. So shut up.