“America’s influence is not unlimited,” Bush said, “but fortunately for the oppressed, America’s influence is considerable and we will use it confidently in freedom’s cause.” Reiterating Washington’s aggressive approach toward regimes the White House has said are part of an “axis of evil,” such as Iran and north Korea, he said, “We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation, the moral choice between oppression…and freedom.”

“When citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner ‘Freedom Now,’ they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled,” Bush said, speaking three days after the holiday marking the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. “Our country must abandon all the habits of racism because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.” The remarks gave lip service to the civil rights movement. They also reflected the deep changes throughout the United States that occurred as a result of the fight by Blacks to end Jim Crow segregation in the South.

The inaugural ceremony was opened by former Senate majority leader Trent Lott, in his capacity as chair of the Joint Inaugural Committee. Lott, a Republican senator from Mississippi, unceremoniously stepped down as majority leader in December 2003 following widespread condemnation of racist remarks he made at a 100th birthday gala for the late Senator Strom Thurmond. In 1948, Thurmond was the presidential candidate of the States Rights Democratic Party, also known as the Dixiecrats, whose main program was defense of Jim Crow segregation in the South. In his tribute to Thurmond, Lott said he was “proud” a majority in his state voted for Thurmond in 1948 and that the country would have been “better off” if Thurmond had been elected president.

Bush defended the U.S. assault in Afghanistan and the ongoing war in Iraq. “Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill and would be dishonorable to abandon,” he said. “Because we have acted…tens of millions have achieved their freedom.”

Bush mentioned briefly one of the domestic goals of his administration: Social Security “reform,” that is, creating private pension and health insurance accounts for current and future workers, which individuals would be encouraged to invest in the stock market, and reducing existing retirement benefits now guaranteed by the government. This scheme, which the administration has dubbed “ownership society,” was a central theme of Bush’s 2004 election campaign. “We will widen the ownership of…retirement savings and health insurance, preparing our people for the challenge of life in a free society,” he said. The fact that Bush said this only in passing, and without referring to Social Security explicitly, indicates that the ruling class is far away from pushing through such proposals.

As Bush spoke, thousands of supporters waited along Pennsylvania Avenue where his motorcade would lead the inaugural parade. Hotels in the city were flush with corporate executives and their entourages, who shelled out a combined $18 million to help finance the inauguration. Some carried signs that read: “Four more years,” “George Bush = Freedom,” and “W is a moral leader.” A sign carried by an opponent of women’s right to choose abortion read: “Free Afghanistan, Iraq, and the unborn.”

Thousands also participated in counter inaugural protests in the city. Organizers of a local group opposed to the Iraq war said more than 500 joined such a rally and march. They were not allowed to march to the White House.

Several thousand participated in a protest organized by the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) coalition. They carried signs declaring Bush a “war criminal” and calling for his impeachment. The featured speaker was former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, who also recently joined the legal defense team for Saddam Hussein.
 
 
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