Watching and reading Bush's Inaugural Address yesterday, I have to say this was one of the best speeches, and one of the better inaugural addresses that I can recall. The speech was highly philosophical and rhetorical, without focusing on too many specific issues, which will give it permance. It clearly defines Mr Bush's brand of conservatism and serves as his political manifesto.
He covers the new foreign policy (i.e. fighting terrorist threats abroad) nicely and I think his line "The survival of libery in our land increasing depends on the success of liberty in other lands" was the best and most memorable, and defines the new world view. This has largely been labeled the 'neoconservative' viewpoint, but the speech does a fine job of placing this with the American traditions in the following paragraphs: focusing on the tradition of natural rights and freedom, Bush sounds like Jefferson, Locke, or Lincoln (whom he quotes) and appeals to the classical liberals as well the traditionalists, if not all Americans.
The paragraph dealing with "private character" and the "rule of conscience" is also very eloquent, appealing to moral conservatism.
The third element of Bush's manifesto is the reform of federal institutions. I felt this was the least effective part of the speech as a conservative treatise. Bush refers to the "broader definition of liberty" which includes "security of economic independence" and "greater freedom from want and fear" which resembles (perhaps too closely for many conservatives) FDR's 'Four Freedoms' and New Deal rhetoric. He twists this into his push for an "ownership society" (his favorite idiom of late) and briefly touches on specific reforms, rhetoric which appeals to economic conservatives.
Overall, I think this speech will be remembered along with the inaugural speeches of FDR, Kennedy, and Lincoln in terms of language and the clarity of principles governing the president.
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