Obama inaugural speech captivates campus

Though he may have fallen short of the standard set by Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama’s inauguration speech was a success, according to a UCCS professor.

Political scholar David Moon, senior associate vice chancellor, Academic Affairs, complimented Obama on his ability to link current issues, most notably the economy, to his long-term goals for the nation.

“He was successful in linking the need to deal with the short-term recession with his bigger vision of the future,” Moon said. “He delivered a powerful call to make sacrifices for the greater good that many said was missing in the campaign.”

But Obama fell short of the inspirational messages given by notables such as Kennedy, Roosevelt and Reagan.

“There was no ‘yes, we can’ moment, the type of inspirational message that people remember as rallying cries delivered by FDR, JFK and to a lesser extent Reagan,” Moon said.

While crowds gathered in front of televisions in the University Center to watch the speech and form their own opinions, the backdrop for Moon’s commentary began earlier. He delivered the first faculty lecture at Palisades at Broadmoor Park on Jan. 19, exploring Presidential beginnings and success in office. The speech was open to the public but attracted mostly Palisades residents, many of whom remembered inaugurations dating to Roosevelt.

Moon’s presentation will be the first in a series of planned lectures at Palisades, a collaborative venture between Dunn and Associates and the university.

Palisades opened in September and features a primary care clinic, a wellness clinic, cognitive fitness, and social engagement programming with support from the university’s Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the university’s Gerontology Center.