Today on the way to and from our cabin I listened to two episodes of the "Thomas Jefferson Hour", both were on the inaugural address of President Barack Obama.
In the first, Clay Jenkinson, acting as President Thomas Jefferson, gave his take on Obama's address. In the second, Jenkinson gave his own view of the address. As Thomas Jefferson he gave a pretty good review of the address. As Jenkinson he gave the address a B-minus. Jenkinson did not consider it one of the great inaugural addresses. He credited Abraham Lincoln with giving the best address at his second inaugural. He also ranked George Washington's first address and John Kennedy's address among the top.
The reason that he ranked Obama's address so low was that it lacked "poetry" and was too obviously the work of a committee.
However, Jenkinson rated the inauguration, which he attended, very highly. It was the coming together of people that impressed him.
The Jefferson Hour can be wordy, but Jenkinson and his interviewer often have some interesting insights.
These two episodes are "Jeffersons Review" (755) and "A Day in Washington" (756). You can get them from iTunes or listen to them at
http://www.jeffersonhour.org
Click on "Download the Show" or "Listen to the Show" on the left side bar.
