George Washington’s inaugural speech was 135 words, a record that has yet to be broken. 

William Henry Harrison’s inaugural speech lasted 105 minutes.  He died a month later from pneumonia caught while giving the speech.

Is there a lesson to be learned in these facts? 

Barack Hussein Obama, whose middle name is back on the table for use now that he’s the President-Elect, much to Congressman Peter Steve King’s consternation, will take the oath of office by 12 noon on January 20th, as commanded by the 20th Amendment, lest the United States be without a President for even an instant.  After that, he will speak.  It will be outdoors.  It will be cold.

Obama will no doubt seek to inspire us.  We are nation with problems, and he was elected because of his ability to inspire hope, even if he lacks solutions to our problems.  Hope is better than no solutions and no hope.  Solutions would be better than either, but we are undeserving of solutions, which is nature’s way of paying us back for our poor choices.  Bear in mind that I’m a Malthusian.

William Shakespeare wrote that “brevity is the soul of wit.”  Of course, the words were uttered by Polonius, the most witless and long-winded of Shakespeare’s characters.  Will our incoming President recognize this irony?  Will he emulate Polonius, or will he realize that people are standing out in the cold, both physical and metaphorical?

Many of the rituals of government were taken from the choices made by our first president (under the Constitution, as opposed to our other first president, John Hanson of Maryland, who is long forgotten).  Inspiration does not require great length, but great depth. 

Whether Barack Hussein Obama has the discretion to recognize the opportunity to truly inspire a nation will become apparent on January 20th.  It’s not about fabulous balls, or cute expressions from children, or even the historic inclusiveness of a black man leading a country that once enslaved black men and women.  That bridge has now been crossed.  Even party politics took a hit when a majority of House Republicans refused to adhere to the commands of its leadership, showing that ranks can be broken under the right circumstances.

David Post at Volokh Conspiracy has kindly offered the first inaugural address of Thomas Jefferson, It’s impossible to read them without feeling inspired, Jefferson perhaps best reflecting what our nation aspired to be.  While it was 1,723 words, it was capable of delivery in about ten minutes by my estimation.  I do not know what the temperature in Washington was on March 4, 1801, but suspect it was warmer than it will be this January 20th.

Follow in the footsteps of our greatest presidents, President-Elect Obama.  Inspire us, but do so with brevity.  It can be done if you select your words carefully.