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Bush Inaugurated for Second Term
Aired January 20, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BARBARA KELLERMAN, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: At the same time, there's a hard reality that it's up against, and I want to refer particularly back to an exchange between Joe Biden and Condi Rice during the hearings for her confirmation.
She, at one point, said, "Well, we've got 120,000 Iraqis over there trained to take over from the Americans," to which Joe Biden replied, "Gee, in effect, I thought the number was 4,000." That's a pretty significant difference. And it says a lot, not just about party politics, but about global realities that necessarily will intrude upon the grand vision that Bush has just articulated.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: And that's a fair point, Ari Fleischer. Does the president have the means to deliver, if you will, on this very strong, ambitious international agenda, given the fact that U.S. military -- the U.S. military is pretty over-strapped right now?
ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think, again, the core of what the president said wasn't that America will do this for you or America will do this or even that this is a speech aimed at a foreign leader or a foreign government.
It was just to the people of these countries, where the president talked about his line -- he addressed foreign leaders -- he said, to serve your people you must learn to trust them.
This speech was aimed at the people who are in prison, who are behind walls, because he knows what Ronald Reagan found out. When Ronald Reagan said off-mic that he thought a microphone that was off, he talked about the evil empire. We later learned that those words were heard by dissidents around the Soviet Union and it did give them hope that the West, the United States, particularly, had not forgotten their plight.
And this, too, is why the president said axis of evil. Particularly in Iran, you send signals to the reformists there. They have satellites in Iran. This speech was heard by the people of Iran. That's who he was addressing here. It's not the foreign leaders. He can't sit across from President Musharraf and say, "Become a democracy," and President Musharraf salutes and says, "Yes, we will." It's the people around the world.
And that's, frankly, the future of the world if we're going to have a peaceful world.
BLITZER: David Gergen, this is a president, I think it is fair to say, who -- who believes every word that he just said. He's not uttering some words. I think he firmly believes them.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: There's no question about that, Wolf. He does very much believe this.
But it does -- the speech will strike many in foreign lands with very different tones. And that is from their point of view increasingly what they hear him saying is, "I'm going to bring democracy to you at the point of an American gun," and they respond very negatively to that.
He doesn't -- this is not someone, say, a Kennedy, who did inspire people who were oppressed in other lands. The way he's used the military has left others seeing that that's not his intention here.
And if I may say so, I do have some -- well, I agree very much with Jeff and others who have talked about the puzzle of how do you deal with Pakistan here and the dilemma he faces on that.
It seems to me, and Ari can speak to this, it seems to me the speech was aimed at saying, "I'm going to deal with North Korea. I'm going to deal with Iran. And maybe I'm going to deal with the Syria and Cuba, too, in this next term if I possibly can." I would think that's the main target and his effort to expand democracy.
BLITZER: An excellent point, David. And I think far from the president sort of backing down in the face of some of the problems, serious problems, the 1,300 U.S. deaths in Iraq, far from backing down on that international agenda, he's expanding it, if you will.
GERGEN: Absolutely. And you know, many of us thought the signals coming out of the White House were that he was going to sort of put a lot of these foreign policies on the back burner while he focused on Social Security and the domestic issues and possibly Supreme Court appointments here at home.
But Judy Woodruff was right. He has thrown down the gauntlet, and it seems to me he's -- he is pledging as his second term in his presidency now to really bring freedom to more lands beyond Iraq. And I would think high on that list would be those who he sees as threats, like North Korea and Iran.
BLITZER: He said, "In the long run there is no justice without freedom and there can be no human rights without human liberty." Let's let Ari Fleischer weigh in.
FLEISCHER: Well, and the president also said this is not primarily the task of arms. I think what he is getting at is to defend this country, the threats will come from those who are in totalitarian regimes that will eventually acquire nuclear weapons. North Korea and Iran are working on it. North Korea likely already has them.
Democracies aren't going to use those weapons against us. And if you look at history, we were -- only in the 1990's there were some 20 or 40 democracies around the world, and now there are more than 90. It is the path that the world is following. Latin America and Central America, where their right wing dictatorships are now known for their democracy in many places.
And the president, when he meets with the leaders around the world, knows that even when we can disagree with France and Germany, they are democracies. We are allies. And we don't go to war with each other.
And North Korea and if Iran gets these weapons, it will be a threat to everyone. That if they become peaceful, democratic, then the world stays safe. This is, I think, what's driving the president. It's large. It's ambitious. To some it sounds scary.
But what's the alternative? To let these nations go on with their totalitarian ways while technology does give them the arms that they surely will acquire over time?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: In fairness, also, the president did say and again, these are echoes of what he said before, that -- that our goal is to help others find their own voice, their own freedom, their own way when the soul of a nation finally speaks and they reflect customs and traditions very different from our own.
So he's not, at least not explicitly, talking about a Pax Americana (ph), you know, the kind of Teddy Roosevelt version that we're going to turn China into Kansas City.
But I think what people abroad -- I'm just am really curious in 24 hours to see what the reaction abroad is going to be when he says, "Fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause."
Yes, he says it doesn't mean we're going to send in the 6th Fleet. We don't have enough people to do it if we wanted to. But how -- how that message is going to be heard in these very different kinds of countries to me is one of the most interesting 48-hour questions we're going to wait and see.
BLITZER: He said liberty will come to those who love it.
Barbara, you know, as I was listening to the president, I heard a lot of Ronald Reagan in those remarks, but I also heard a lot about the late Senator Scoop Jackson, Henry "Scoop" Jackson, in those remarks, as well. Our older viewers certainly will remember the foreign policy that he enunciated in the bad old days of the Soviet Union.
KELLERMAN: Yes, I'm not sure why you're looking at me, Wolf, when you say our older viewers.
BLITZER: Because I know you're a student of history. You know this.
KELLERMAN: Yes. For those of us who are not older viewers, Scoop Jackson was a Democrat, but he was known for an aggressive Republican type of foreign policy: interventionist and not isolationist.
BLITZER: now, we were seeing the president walking in. There is he again walking in with Trent Lott. We've been seeing a lot of Trent Lott today. That's because he's the chairman of this Joint Congressional Committee on the Inauguration. The first lady walking in. Yes.
GREENFIELD: The Reagan point is very interesting. Because Ronald Reagan had a line. He often said, "Free nations do not make war on each other." And I think that that pretty much...
KELLERMAN: Suggests that that's true.
GREENFIELD: So when the president is saying that...
BLITZER: Let's listen to the introductions. We see the vice president and Mrs. Cheney. They've been introduced. And the president will be introduced shortly.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and Mrs. Laura Bush, escorted by Senator Trent Lott and Mrs. Tricia Lott.
(MUSIC)
BLITZER: And so they will sit down and have lunch now. I'm sure a delicious lunch in Statuary Hall. What a beautiful hall, for those of our viewers who have never been inside the U.S. Capitol, never been to Statuary Hall. It's majestic. It's a unique place in the U.S. Capitol. It's a wonderful place, certainly on this day.
Trent Lott speaking. We've been hearing a lot from Trent Lott, Ari. He was the former Senate majority leader, the minority leader. Now he's just a regular member of the U.S. Senate.
But let's listen in briefly as he speaks.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: Here in this room of the capitol since 1897 is the Congress's way of celebrating the hope for the future that comes with a new presidential term. It is a symbolic gesture that highlights the special relationship that exists between Congress and the president.
It's only fitting that we gather here in the Capitol's magnificent Statuary Hall, where many of our early presidents debated the issues that shape our nation as members of the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that.
Above the rostrum, in those early days of the Capitol, stood a statue of a woman who looked over the lawmakers, forever writing their deeds in the annals of history. Today the statue is above the door here, but regardless of where the statue is, we always remember that history still watches. And today, Mr. President, we celebrate our work together on behalf of the American people and look forward to the work yet to be done.
It's now my privilege to ask Dr. Barry Black, the chaplain of the United States Senate to deliver the invocation, after which the lunch will be served. Dr. Black.
DR. BARRY BLACK, CHAPLAIN, U.S. SENATE: Let us pray.
Spirit of holiness, before whom none can stand in his or her own righteousness, come into this fellowship and dwell within our hearts.
Lord, you said those who rule over people must be just, ruling with respect for your presence. You declared that such leaders would be like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless day and like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.
Thank you for a president who knows you and seeks you through scripture, worship and prayer. Give him and his cabinet strength for the journey and wisdom for the many challenges ahead.
Place our nation on an honorable road above contention. Remind us that only you can fill that God-shaped void in our hearts.
Bless this food that it will strengthen our bodies. We pray in your powerful name. Amen.
BLITZER: Dr. Barry Black, giving the benediction (sic) at this lunch in Statuary Hall, Capitol Hill.
Only moments ago there were tens of thousands of people who were gathered outside of the west front of the U.S. Capitol or on Washington Mall. You see it's basically empty right now. It doesn't take long for those people to get up and leave, especially on a rather chilly day here in the nation's capital.
We have more coverage of this historic day coming up. Among other things, we'll be standing by for the congressional toast at this Statuary Hall luncheon. There will be a military review. The color guards will be presented. The inaugural parade will begin down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Congress all the way to the White House.
We'll have every minute of that here on CNN. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN's live coverage of the presidential inauguration here in the nation's capital.
We're getting live pictures, people gathering around the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue from Capitol Hill to the White House, both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. That parade will begin after the luncheon, which is ongoing at Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill right now. Our Christiane Amanpour is not in Washington. She's in Baghdad. She was listening to the president's remarks.
Christiane, it's a time of war, 150,000 U.S. troops in harm's way in Iraq right now. Give us a little flavor, a little perspective from so many thousands of miles away?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, interestingly, although Iraq was not mentioned in the inauguration speech, most people here and basically around the world and probably in America, too, think that one of the major issues that a Bush presidency will be judged on at the end of eight years is Iraq.
And by most accounts, what was a great triumph, a great military victory, the liberation of a terrible, terrible, tyrannical dictatorship, has basically turned into a debacle, if not a disaster, including opinion now from America, which says that the majority think that this is going pretty badly.
When we asked people here today what did they think about, you know, a second Bush inauguration, they told us -- they told us that they were hoping that President Bush would actually fulfill his promises.
They said what happened to all those promises of reconstruction and peace and stability? Very mindful they are about the terrible violence that has really been gathering apace. The insurgency that does not look like it's going away.
And wondering -- wondering what will happen after the elections on January 30. Because the way it looks now, those elections, which many, many people want to do -- most people want to go and vote. They have never had chance to vote, but because of the violence and because of the political situation, a sizable minority, the 20 percent of the Sunnis, many of them will probably boycott or be unable to vote, which will cast a big question, a big shadow over the legitimacy of a future government and many believe a continuing challenge, in other words, a continuing violent insurgency. And some even believe, including some in the Pentagon, that it could sew the seeds of a future civil war.
So the future looks bleak, but Iraqis are always hopeful and optimistic. And they want to believe that it will get better, Wolf.
BLITZER: At this stage, only what, nine or 10 days before the January 30 elections, is everything in place mechanically, technically for those elections to occur?
AMANPOUR: Well, you know, that is a very good question. We asked a lot about that. And there's a lot of vague answers about we don't even know where the polling stations are. Most of them, the Iraqis have not publicized them for obvious security reasons.
We've understood that there's going to be a huge clamp down, obvious, for security reasons, but then, how do people get to the polls on polling day? People are very afraid of actually going out and standing in line to cast their vote, mindful of what's happened, for instance, outside police recruiting stations, where lines of eager recruits are being blown up by suicide attackers.
People are very, very concerned. And to be frank, many people don't know who are on the list, even those sort of well-known candidates that head some of the lists. Many of the rest of the political candidates are unknown. And they haven't even been campaigning in any visible way, again because of the security concerns.
So it's a very -- it's going to be a big challenge. There's still a huge amount of work to do both here and in Iraq and obviously from the American perspective, as well.
BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour, part of our team of reporters already in Baghdad, getting ready for elections a week from this Sunday. Christiane, thanks very much.
Ari Fleischer is here.
Ari, you heard Christiane's report from Iraq. Iraq hovering very much over this second inaugural.
FLEISCHER: Well, and interesting, coming from one of the nations that's the heart of the Arab world, I think when you look at world leader reaction to this speech, which you're going to see, is in the Arab world many of them are hoping that their people don't hear this speech. They want this speech to go away, and they don't want their people to listen to the sounds of democracy.
I think in Western Europe there's going to be some level of uneasiness when President Bush talks about democracy, projection of power. I think there's a sense in Western Europe, let's let the status quo remain. Let's not rock any boats.
In East Europe, Wolf, I think you're going to see this speech be welcomed. People who recently threw over the cloak of tyranny and oppression and communism, these are going to be the people in Russia, in the Baltic nations, in Poland and Hungary, Romania. People there and leaders there are going to say that President Bush is absolutely right on about what he talks about democracy and freedom are the most important goals to achieve. And I think they're going to hail this speech.
BLITZER: It's fair to say, Ari, that there's been a lot of setbacks in Iraq since the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled. Is there a widespread sense in the White House, and you're still very close to a lot of those policy makers there, that in the end, Iraq is going to turn out to be, quote, "a success"?
FLEISCHER: I have to tell you, this is an issue where I really don't know who to listen to. Because when you listen to reports from the field, when you listen to reporters who are working as hard as they can in very difficult circumstances and then you hear from people who are serving our country in the military there, you hear a totally different story.
The people that I talk to in the military, Marines who have been in Falluja, they say they're seeing increasing signs of success, calm. Yes, of course there's violence and killing, but it's a nation of 25 million people. There are many places where there's widespread commerce. There are many place where people are going to school.
And the feeling in many places, including at the White House, is that we just, as Americans, never get to hear all the good news that's happening there along with the bad news.
GREENFIELD: There's one little button about where this speech is going to be heard. I think it's fair to say that among Western Europe in places like France and Germany, it's going to be greeted with a fair amount of cynicism.
There's a widespread belief among Europeans, particularly among European elites, that when the United States talks about freedom, it's a cover. That it's traditional power diplomacy; it's economic interests. It's all of those geopolitical things in the guise of a moralistic democracy.
I think many Americans at home have a very different view, going back to the Marshall Plan and what happened in East Europe that when the United States talks about freedom it means it. But I think there's a very different take about that, depending on where the speech is analyzed, including among our ostensible allies.
BLITZER: What do you think, Barbara?
KELLERMAN: I want to actually go back again to Christiane Amanpour, and I wrote down two of the words that she used, because I wanted to make sure I had them right. She used, I'm sure very thinkingly, the words "disaster" and "debacle."
Now, whatever you may think of our policy in Iraq, the fact that a reporter such as Amanpour uses those words on a day like today could arguably be seen as something of a reality check for the extraordinarily ambitious words we heard from President Bush's mouth earlier today.
We don't know what -- we do know what's going to happen on January 30. We don't know what's going to happen on January 31 in Iraq. And until some of that becomes somewhat clearer, I think her words are, at a minimum, a cautionary one.
BLITZER: You heard those words that she uttered, too, didn't you, Ari?
FLEISCHER: Well, sure, I heard them. And I was shaking my head, saying whose version is true? What I hear from people over there, they say that they have confidence that the country is getting better and that they -- we are going to be ultimately successful.
I think the real issue for the American people is are we judging events in Iraq by today and tomorrow or by this year and next year or the year after? Are we a patient enough country to let this see itself to fruition?
BLITZER: Let's -- let's go back to the podium. John King, our senior White House correspondent, is there.
John, you have a guest.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do, indeed, Wolf. Long time senior Bush adviser Karen Hughes joining me now. The crowd has gone pretty much.
Karen, an interesting speech from the president in which he talked forcefully about the power of democracy but never said the word "Iraq." Obviously, the elections in Iraq just a little more than a week away. Why not take the opportunity to deliver a pep talk, if you will?
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH ADVISER: Well, I think he viewed this inaugural as a thematic speech that will be followed in a couple of weeks by the State of the Union, during which he will more specifically outline policies he wants to pursue to achieve some of the goals he had today.
But if you look at the history of inaugural speeches they tend to be big picture thematics. And when the president first sat down and talked about what he wanted to accomplish in this inaugural, he had two major goals. He wanted to talk about the fact that our security and liberty around the world are now inextricably linked, that only as we help countries and peoples become more free are we therefore safer here at home.
And he wanted to talk about expanding our freedom here at home. And he talked about economic -- greater economic prosperity, an opportunity society, an ownership society where people -- more people have a chance to own a piece of the real promise of this great country.
And so I think from the very beginning, I'm not aware if whether there was a specific discussion or a specific time, because I've been home in Texas. I've seen the speech during the draft phase, but I'm not aware if there was a specific moment where they said, "Do we or do we not mention the words Iraq -- the word Iraq?"
But clearly, there were a couple of references in the speech about Iraq and Afghanistan, when he talked about times at which we've had to use arms to further our national security.
KING: A very aggressive goal in the sense that use the power of the United States, not necessarily the military power but the power and the prestige of the United States to spread freedom and democracy around the world. Skeptics will ask will the president deliver that message to the Egyptians, to the Saudis, to the Russians and to the Chinese and others as forcefully as he would deliver it to the Saddam Husseins and maybe to Tehran and Damascus?
HUGHES: Well, obviously forcefully implies the use of arms. And what the president has said...
KING: Even in the use of his words. Will he call those leaders aside and say it is time to set the dissidents free, say in China or in Saudi Arabia?
HUGHES: I believe that's what he started to do here today. And it was a forceful speech. He did talk about the policy of this country going forward being to say to those who would oppress their people, to urge them to consider reforms in their country.
To say to those who speak up and are dissidents that the United States -- they have a friend in the United States and that we see them as the future leader of a free country.
And so I think he clearly delivered that message today. He was speaking across the world to people who are oppressed and who look to this nation for our ideals and our -- the freedoms that we cherish and celebrate here today.
KING: Is that this president's defining lesson of September 11?
HUGHES: Absolutely. He believes that September 11 showed us that we can no longer ignore oppression and regions of the world, whole regions of the world like the Middle East, where hatred and oppression allow that kind of terror and hatred to grow and to brew that can ultimately shed blood on our own shores.
And he thinks that was a defining moment in the history of our country, that everything changed that day and that it required changed thinking. And that, as he said today so eloquently, that we have now realized that our deepest ideals as a nation, that we believe in liberty for all, and our national security interests are now inextricably linked.
KING: Let's talk a little bit about the moment here at home. During the ceremonies here our Candy Crowley was inside, talking to people of both parties. And she said everyone will enjoy the ceremony today, but the Democrats are loaded for bear.
They do not want to give this president what he wants on Social Security. They are ready to oppose him quite vociferously on other issues. Where are we domestically?
HUGHES: Well, you know, this is a day of great -- when Republicans and Democrats come together and celebrate our great democracy. I hope going forward -- you heard the president, I think, extend an olive branch today.
He talked about speaking anew to the world community, speaking anew to American people. And he talked about his own commitment in good faith to seek to work to unite the country.
Now obviously, for leaders in both parties, that does not mean they're going to compromise their deepest principles or their values. But I think the president will make a renewed effort to find common ground on some of these difficult issues, particularly on the issue of Social Security, on things like the tax code, on which he campaigned during his campaign.
He believes, as you know because you have covered him for a long time, he believes in using his campaign to build political capital, which he then works to spend to try to enact the things on which he campaigned for.
KING: Let me ask you a question about political capital. Many of the president's social conservative supporters are a bit upset, because in pre-inaugural interviews, he said that yes, he still supports a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, but he might have to bow to the legislative reality if there are not enough votes in the Senate to push it forward.
Those supporters might say, if it were not for the president using the bully pulpit, he never would have had the tax cuts. If it was not for the president using the bully pulpit, the Congress would never deal with Social Security. Why won't the president use the bully pulpit, despite what the vote count is here, and say, "I want this. Do it"?
HUGHES: Well, he has used the bully pulpit. But as you know, he addressed the issue in his State of the Union last year and has talked about it, talked about it throughout the campaign.
But at some point there is a reality -- I think what he is saying is you have to recognize the reality, that so long as the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, as long as that is intact and left standing by the courts, that he doesn't see that there's going to be the will here in the legislature to bring that for a vote, because they think the protection is already there.
KING: Karen Hughes, thank you very much for your time. You're looking way too rested. Enjoying your time in Texas, clearly.
HUGHES: Very much so. Very much.
KING: Karen, thank you very much.
And Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Let's just get a wide shot if we can to show our viewers, John, how empty that podium is. I think probably you and Karen Hughes, you may be the only people left. Well, there are a few others, I guess, some of her aides.
But look at that. It was packed.
KING: Karen's asking where they all went, Wolf. It is -- I'll tell you, it is a beautiful scene and a beautiful perspective on Washington on a day that I think turned out a lot better than any of us had expected weatherwise. And where are the people? many have gone to watch the parade, some to have lunch, and some, I think, like Karen Hughes, to get ready for a little partying at the balls tonight.
BLITZER: Thank Karen for us.
And, John, as you and I know, long as it takes to build those platforms and those podiums, they're going to be coming down very, very quickly, and the west front of the U.S. Capitol will go back to its stately self as well.
John, thanks very much. We'll take another quick break.
Our Carlos Watson is watching all of this from the heartland of America with a group of Americans in Ohio, in the state that helped get this president re-elected. From the heartland, Clark County, Ohio specifically, Carlos will be joining us. Much more coverage. We're standing by for the military parades from the Capitol to the White House. Much more coverage when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration was the coldest on record. As overnight temperatures hovered around zero, the inaugural ceremony was moved indoors.
RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy, where we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn't gotten so cold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reagan became the only president to sworn in, in the Capitol Rotunda. The noon temperature outside was just seven degrees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And so the 43rd president of the United States has been inaugurated, sworn into office for a second time about 90 minutes ago or so here in the nation's capital. You're looking at this live picture of the U.S. Capitol. Inside Statuary Hall, they're having lunch right now. Right after that, the motorcade will begin to unfold. There will be a parade up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Congress all the way to the White House. We'll have continuing live coverage of all of this. Watching all of this from the heartland of America, in Ohio specifically, and you're looking live at the Golden Jersey Inn, a (INAUDIBLE), specifically our own Carlos Watson is inside with a group of Americans who have been watching with him.
Carlos, pick it up.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POL. ANALYST: Wolf, you know, the road to the inauguration, the road to the White House for the president went through Ohio. You could argue that it went through Clark County, where we are. It's a county that Al Gore won by some 300 votes in 2000, but with a very concerted turnout effort, the president won by some 1,400 votes in 2004.
I'm here with a great group, Jennifer Davis, who was just saying we're like family even though we have only been together for a couple hours. We all watched the speech together.
And, Jennifer, I want to start with you maybe. What did you think of the president's inaugural speech?
JENNIFER DAVIS: I really liked it. He was very spiritual about a lot of the -- about when he talked, and I liked that in him.
WATSON: And you didn't mind that at all the fact that he brought up religious analogies and the other things?
DAVIS: No, that didn't bother me at all.
WATSON: Dan, I think it didn't only bother you, but as a strong supporter of the president, I think it probably excited you that the president made allusions to God and to religion.
DAN LEITHAUSER, PHOTOGRAPHY SHOP OWNER: Yes, you are what you eat. I mean, you have to -- when people say I can't impose that on you, but that's who I am, and I don't want to hide that. He didn't hide that. It's a good rallying speech to start the year off with, his administration. So he did a great job, and I liked his analogies for Christianity, because that's what I am, that's who I voted for.
WATSON: Now, Sheila, you're a devout Christian, but I felt like I heard you say it turned you off a little bit, that the president raised religion and made allusions to religion.
SHEILA RICE, KERRY VOTER: Not in the speech, just in one context of the speech he talked about imposing the values, Christian values upon all people, and my view was just that I just don't believe that you can make people who are just born with a sin nature, I don't believe that you can impose Christian values on them; it has to come through revelation. They have to -- you know, I just thought that that was just -- I just thought that was kind of risky to me.
WATSON: Really?
Bob, you've heard lots of speeches. You say you first voted for Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, haven't missed an election since. How good was this inaugural in your mind, this inaugural speech?
ROBERT BUCHY, RETIREE: I thought the inaugural speech rated a B, B plus.
WATSON: You're not give be the president an A?
BUCHY: No, not completely, although for what he was trying to do in spelling out the plan for the next four years of his administration, I thought was excellent.
WATSON: Did you leave anything out that you wish he had talked about? Was there anything you wished the president had mentioned?
BUCHY: No, but I didn't hear any particular hooker lines that will stand out in history for the next 200 years.
WATSON: So there wasn't the torch been passed to a new generation in your mind?
BUCHY: Not in my mind. But I thought it was a good speech.
WATSON: Now, Heidi Abraham, this is the first presidential election that you were able to vote in. You're a 20-year-old student, strongly support the president. Did you like the speech, not like the speech? And tell me what you thought?
HEIDI ABRAHAM, STUDENT: I thought it was a pretty good speech, B plus to A minus kind of range. I thought he gave a clear summary of his vision for the future, you know, with the war on terror and social values and stuff like that. I'm expecting him to lay out a little more policy for this next term in his state of the union, but for an inaugural speech, I thought it was pretty good, pulling us all together around freedom, themes that we can agree on.
WATSON: Theresa, you're a Democrat. How did you feel about the speech? Did this draw you closer to the president? People talk a lot about John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech in 1961, that his approval numbers shot up afterwards, that Republicans and Democrats alike, it brought them closer to his agenda. Did that happen for you here?
THERESA DEMANA, KERRY VOTER: Not really. I do think it was a good speech in, what Heidi said, terms of trying to draw people together, focusing on freedom, which is a good place for him to start, but it didn't have fire for me that would have helped bring me that much closer to him.
WATSON: Now does anyone here -- I mean, there were religious allusions here. Did anyone here worry that the president's reference to religion might turn off some governments around the world, that one of the issues we have right now in terms of working with our allies is that that may have turned people off? Was that a concern among any of you here?
DEMANA: Might it turn other governments off? I think it's a possibility when you have another country that's founded on a different religion, not based on Christianity. And anyone who doesn't hold the same beliefs that he does might get turned off. But it's a personal belief for him, and it's his right to share his beliefs with others.
WATSON: Now, Dan, one of the interesting things I heard the president say is that freedom for the next generation, essentially, America was going to go forth and try to support freedom wherever they can. That might mean more troops in more places. Not just Iraq, not just Afghanistan, but Sudan and other places.
Would you be in support of increasing our military size and if that meant a draft, and clearly the president said -- didn't raise that and he said during the campaign that wouldn't happen, but if that did happen, would you be in support of that as a way to increase our troop size so that we can support freedom in different countries?
LEITHAUSER: The president said it wasn't going to happen and I think it's one of the most political things people started so the president, he's not going to initiate that. He said he would not. If things come to be tough, we may have to. And you have to do what you have to do. I know if you have a son between -- or daughter between 18 and 27, you get really nervous. You hope it doesn't happen. But boy, I just thank God for those people who fight and defend our freedom right now. They're heroes to me. And I just love them, I honor them and their families and support them. But yes, if that's what it takes for us to do, we have to get tough. I mean, if I could go, I would go. This is one of those things. Freedom is that important.
WATSON: Now, Sheila, how do you feel about the cost? You know, we're likely -- the president is likely to ask the Congress for another $100 billion in the next couple of months to support Iraq. Is that an issue for you, knowing that supporting freedom around the world could be a costly endeavor financially? Is that an issue for you?
RICE: It is. It's an issue because I support the war because we're there and people are fighting it, but I just think it is the wrong war at the wrong time. I...
WATSON: So you don't support the war?
RICE: I mean, I support the men who are serving, but I just think the war -- I just think the soldiers should come home.
WATSON: Did the president's words at all today change your perspective? Could you see more of his side? You didn't vote for the president, but could you see more of the reason why he thinks this is important and did this? Did this make you want to support him more, whether it's Iraq or other places?
RICE: No, it didn't. It didn't make me want to support him more. Because, as from the beginning, I don't think he's clear on why we're in Iraq and I just don't think it's the right time. I really don't think it's the right time.
WATSON: Now, Bob, there was a brief mention of Social Security. You know that looms as maybe the president's biggest domestic change. Give me your thoughts on the possible changes in Social Security. Is that something you look forward to? Something you don't look forward to?
BUCHY: In the long run changes are going to have to be made. There's no doubt about that in my mind. In the short run, a lot of things do not need to be done because it isn't that crucial timewise.
WATSON: Right. But accounts. Are you OK with private accounts?
BUCHY: Yes. Very definitely. I'll be honest with you, I started out in life when I left college. I had Social Security taxes taken out of my pay. I also set aside an equal amount as to what Social Security took from me every paycheck and I put that into savings and investments and everything else. And I did that throughout my life. The funds I set aside from Social Security, all equivalent on my own, has put me into seven figures of net worth.
WATSON: So you think that your experience is a testament to what private accounts can be? BUCHY: Absolutely. There's no question.
WATSON: But now, Sheila, talk to me, because you've got a different perspective on it, on these private accounts.
RICE: Well, I just have a different perspective in that what he's saying worked for him, I don't see where everybody...
BUCHY: Everybody can't do it. They don't have the discipline to do it.
RICE: And I think that -- that's what my concern is, is that everybody is being empowered at the same level. And it starts early on like with education. We have to bridge the gap in the early foundation of people's lives to make sure that everybody comes out at least -- they're in the same ballpark. Just what he's saying is good for him.
WATSON: So you're questioning the fundamental underpinnings of the president's opportunities society theme. You're saying you're not sure everyone's ready to be in charge of their health care, in charge of their education, in charge of their retirement accounts?
RICE: Yes, I'm saying that. Definitely not.
WATSON: Jennifer, how do you feel about the notion of someone young like you, someone with two kids, being in charge of your health care, in charge, maybe, of your retirement savings accounts?
DAVIS: I like it. I mean, I'd want to be in charge of it but...
WATSON: Now tell me this. If someone said OK, we're going to let you be in charge of it, but if for any reason it doesn't go well, we're not going to make up the difference.
DAVIS: I would like -- I mean, you could be able to do it or you don't have to do it. I mean, do you understand what I'm saying?
WATSON: Oh, so make it voluntary.
DAVIS: If you want it to go in an IRA account or if you want us to deal with it, then, you know, you select the option you want. I think that would be a good way.
WATSON: Now, who didn't have an issue discussed today that they wish had been discussed in the inaugural? Did anyone have an issue that you say if the president talked about that would have rung my bell, I would have been excited about that?
DEMANA: The issue I based my vote on isn't something that really, I think, would have been brought up in an inaugural speech, so...
WATSON: Stem cell research. But you didn't expect him to mention it?
DEMANA: No.
WATSON: Wolf, you can hear that this group paid attention. In general people seem to think the president gave a solid speech, but didn't seem to move Democrats or Republicans in this group. And who knows, maybe the state of the union in a couple of weeks will have a greater impact.
BLITZER: All right, Carlos. We've heard what your guests have to say about the president's speech. What about you? What did you think? How did the president do?
WATSON: I thought the president -- my opinion, I thought the president gave a strong performance. I thought interesting enough, it was probably the most internationalist inaugural probably since Kennedy's inaugural speech in '61, I think even more so than some of the Reagan speeches. And I think a lot of foreign governments are going to listen closely to it.
I think there's going to be an intriguing question going forward. If over the next four years, beyond Afghanistan and beyond Iraq but certainly including those, the president begins to have some success in terms of democracy building, then I think this is a speech that could be remembered going forward as the freedom speech and if indeed it kicks off a larger wave of freedom, I think it will have greater resonance.
Conversely, if that ends up being a good line, but Iraq falters, becomes a debacle or disaster as Christiane suggested, or if Afghanistan has more trouble, then I think this will be like most inaugural speeches, one that happens for a moment and is forgotten ten days later.
BLITZER: Carlos Watson in Ohio. We're going to get back to you, Carlos. A very, very interesting discussion with your guests. Thank you very much. We'll take another quick break. Much more coverage.
We're standing by for the start of the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. Look at law enforcement authorities. They're gearing up for the parade. They've been gearing up for this entire day. Unprecedented security here in the nation's capital. Much more coverage of this inauguration day when we get back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And this is an area that has about a thousand demonstrators. The organizers say the reason that the number is no more than that is because so many people are having a hard time getting in.
Something has occurred in just the last couple of minutes. If you will look over, you will now see the police reinforcing, lining up in several files of people now, wall to wall along this area, obviously in anticipation of the president and the parade going past. The police, by the way, from Chicago and right next to me, there are people from Pennsylvania State Police, lots of people from the D.C. area. There are probably as many policemen here as there are demonstrators. The demonstrators, meanwhile, have pushed up against the barrier.
The mood here, for the most part, has been festive, although people, of course, from a variety of causes have been making their speeches and their complaints. But as you see, as the speeches begin now, the police are moving even closer to the barriers, to make sure that there's no question that they are able to put on a show of force that they can follow up on.
Again, the mood of the demonstrators thus far has been nothing more than loud, boisterous, a few little incidents, but nothing really to talk about, a lot of complaints about the fact that too many of them are having trouble getting in.
But as I said in this authorized demonstration here, there's soon going to be a confrontation with the president as he goes past. We have been told that what we can expect is that demonstrators will turn their back on President Bush. No indications that they plan anything more aggressive than that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Bob, this is a relatively recent phenomenon in U.S. history, authorized demonstration areas. We saw it in Boston at the Democratic Convention. We saw it in New York at the Republican Convention. I take it that what you're suggesting there are a lot more people who would like to be in that authorized area than currently exists?
FRANKEN: Well, as a matter of fact, there is something quite unique about this one. They have provided bleachers in this area, they, the Park Service, have provided bleachers in the area for some of the demonstrators. Of course, there are other demonstrators that say they don't want any part of this authorized demonstration, so they are in other parts of the city, sometimes having minor skirmishes with officials. There's the kind of thing that we've come to expect at these incidents.
But what we've also come to expect is massive show of force on the part of the police, and we're not being disappointed here.
BLITZER: Bob Franken, we'll get back to you. We'll watch those demonstrations very carefully.
I want to show our viewers the parade route, how it will unfold. We have an animation to show you if we can get that ready. The parade will leave Capitol Hill and head over to Pennsylvania Avenue, begin the beautiful, beautiful route along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, all of the federal office buildings along the way, and past the Canadian embassy, which is there as well. Eventually it will wind up making a right turn. You'll see it make a right turn at 15th Street, right about here. That's where it makes a right turn, then it will make a left onto Pennsylvania Avenue, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the destination. That's the reviewing stand where all of this will wind up. One of the stops will be Freedom Plaza along the way.
Our Elaine Quijano is there. I take it a little bit different than where Bob Franken was reporting from, Elaine. ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. Hello to you, Wolf. I can tell you in just the last couple of hours or so, we have seen the bleachers here at Freedom Plaza start to fill up. Over the course of the morning of course not a lot of folks showing up. Some folks standing in line and a few hearty souls up in the top part of the bleachers, but now you see quite a bit of people here have gathered, including part of the Texas contingent this sizable Texas contingent. Joining me now are James and Carol Fear (ph).
Now you're from Hallsville (ph), Texas. What are your feelings here today? What's going through your head right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just excited to be here. It is a great occasion. We are in support of President Bush 100 percent, and we did that by coming to the inauguration, and being part of this parade is also part of it.
QUIJANO: And Mr. Fear, what about you? Why did you feel it was so important to be here today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, just the same thing, just showing support for President Bush, and him being from Texas, it was easy for us to do. And it's just very interesting to see all of the activities and festivities here in Washington. It's very good.
QUIJANO: How is the weather for your liking?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather is cold, but it's not that bad. We were here four years ago, it and it was actually raining, and so really it's been very nice, and the snow has been beautiful yesterday.
QUIJANO: And you have been here all week long, is that right, Mr. Fear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we came in on Sunday, and been here since, done a lot of sightseeing and visiting with our Congressman and so forth and had a good time.
QUIJANO: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate you being here.
And those are just some of the folks that have come out here, and I can tell you, again, some folks, some hearty folks, decided to come in early, but now we are seeing, Wolf, the majority of people coming in to this particular area. We also see along Pennsylvania Avenue now the cordon of military personnel. We see Marines. We're told some 1,500 members of the military will be taking part in the cordon part of this ceremony, and at the same time, Wolf, we see of course, a heavy police presence that we have heard Bob and others talk about throughout the course of the day. But folks here are very anxious, already looking very much forward to seeing President Bush, Mrs. Bush come down Pennsylvania Avenue -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And you'll have a great view from your vantage point, Elaine Quijano at Freedom Plaza, right off of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. You'll be watching all of this unfold. Thank you, Elaine.
Ari Fleischer has been with us since the beginning. It seems like so long ago, doesn't it, we've been watching history unfold, and it's a lot different watching it here on our set than it was four years ago when you were right in the thick of things, the press secretary of the president of the United States.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: And really, Wolf, What strikes me is the second term has begun. It began on our watch, on this show, and this is how history gets made in this country. I think the president is going to have a big challenge in four years, because he's making it challenging. He's not asking for easy issues to come up. He's putting hard issues on Congress' plate, and that's going to test the president. It's going to test the Congress. It's going to test this notion of bipartisanship. A change in Social Security, a new tax code, changes in Social Security, success in Iraq. There's a lot is going on; that's because he's made it a big area, a big time. That's how he's wanted to govern.
BLITZER: The Social Security issue, the privatization, partial privatization of those accounts, it's a huge issue, it may be the No. 1 domestic challenge for the president. Were you surprised when the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Thomas, the other day, seemed to imply, hey, this is not going to work, Mr. President, you've got a difficult mission up here.
FLEISCHER: Well, I was surprised at the way it all blew up, but on the other hand, knowing Bill Thomas as well as I do, if Washington is a bull right, Bill Thomas is the ultimate matador. I mean, there's just -- Bill Thomas stakes out his turf and talks tough, but he's also the consummate legislator. He is the person you want on that committee to get the job done at the end of the day. So it's going to be shaped and reshaped by the Congress, but who's setting the agenda. It's President Bush, and it's a big agenda.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Ari, it's also a pretty significant political possibility. There seems to be a feeling that they can actually move, you guys, can actually move toward a semipermanent Republican majority. If you can persuade working-class Americans that privatization, or whatever you want to call it, is a better idea, moving away from the idea of government-mandated benefit, creating more of an investor class so-called, you're going to create the conditions for a long-term Republican rule. Is this on this president's mind?
FLEISCHER: I don't think he's approached it in that sense. I look back at his first inaugural address. He actually said there we need to reform Social Security. So this is something he ran on in 2000, because he believes in it.
But what I am struck with when you look at history and today's times, is this is the first time a Republican president has been re- elected with a Republican House and a Republican Senate since the 1920s. There are some longstanding trends under way. Republicans have 55 senators. That's the high-water mark for senators since 1926. These are long-standing trends, where the country is really moving center right. It's not moving right center, but it is moving center right.
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Aired January 20, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BARBARA KELLERMAN, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: At the same time, there's a hard reality that it's up against, and I want to refer particularly back to an exchange between Joe Biden and Condi Rice during the hearings for her confirmation.
She, at one point, said, "Well, we've got 120,000 Iraqis over there trained to take over from the Americans," to which Joe Biden replied, "Gee, in effect, I thought the number was 4,000." That's a pretty significant difference. And it says a lot, not just about party politics, but about global realities that necessarily will intrude upon the grand vision that Bush has just articulated.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: And that's a fair point, Ari Fleischer. Does the president have the means to deliver, if you will, on this very strong, ambitious international agenda, given the fact that U.S. military -- the U.S. military is pretty over-strapped right now?
ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think, again, the core of what the president said wasn't that America will do this for you or America will do this or even that this is a speech aimed at a foreign leader or a foreign government.
It was just to the people of these countries, where the president talked about his line -- he addressed foreign leaders -- he said, to serve your people you must learn to trust them.
This speech was aimed at the people who are in prison, who are behind walls, because he knows what Ronald Reagan found out. When Ronald Reagan said off-mic that he thought a microphone that was off, he talked about the evil empire. We later learned that those words were heard by dissidents around the Soviet Union and it did give them hope that the West, the United States, particularly, had not forgotten their plight.
And this, too, is why the president said axis of evil. Particularly in Iran, you send signals to the reformists there. They have satellites in Iran. This speech was heard by the people of Iran. That's who he was addressing here. It's not the foreign leaders. He can't sit across from President Musharraf and say, "Become a democracy," and President Musharraf salutes and says, "Yes, we will." It's the people around the world.
And that's, frankly, the future of the world if we're going to have a peaceful world.
BLITZER: David Gergen, this is a president, I think it is fair to say, who -- who believes every word that he just said. He's not uttering some words. I think he firmly believes them.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: There's no question about that, Wolf. He does very much believe this.
But it does -- the speech will strike many in foreign lands with very different tones. And that is from their point of view increasingly what they hear him saying is, "I'm going to bring democracy to you at the point of an American gun," and they respond very negatively to that.
He doesn't -- this is not someone, say, a Kennedy, who did inspire people who were oppressed in other lands. The way he's used the military has left others seeing that that's not his intention here.
And if I may say so, I do have some -- well, I agree very much with Jeff and others who have talked about the puzzle of how do you deal with Pakistan here and the dilemma he faces on that.
It seems to me, and Ari can speak to this, it seems to me the speech was aimed at saying, "I'm going to deal with North Korea. I'm going to deal with Iran. And maybe I'm going to deal with the Syria and Cuba, too, in this next term if I possibly can." I would think that's the main target and his effort to expand democracy.
BLITZER: An excellent point, David. And I think far from the president sort of backing down in the face of some of the problems, serious problems, the 1,300 U.S. deaths in Iraq, far from backing down on that international agenda, he's expanding it, if you will.
GERGEN: Absolutely. And you know, many of us thought the signals coming out of the White House were that he was going to sort of put a lot of these foreign policies on the back burner while he focused on Social Security and the domestic issues and possibly Supreme Court appointments here at home.
But Judy Woodruff was right. He has thrown down the gauntlet, and it seems to me he's -- he is pledging as his second term in his presidency now to really bring freedom to more lands beyond Iraq. And I would think high on that list would be those who he sees as threats, like North Korea and Iran.
BLITZER: He said, "In the long run there is no justice without freedom and there can be no human rights without human liberty." Let's let Ari Fleischer weigh in.
FLEISCHER: Well, and the president also said this is not primarily the task of arms. I think what he is getting at is to defend this country, the threats will come from those who are in totalitarian regimes that will eventually acquire nuclear weapons. North Korea and Iran are working on it. North Korea likely already has them.
Democracies aren't going to use those weapons against us. And if you look at history, we were -- only in the 1990's there were some 20 or 40 democracies around the world, and now there are more than 90. It is the path that the world is following. Latin America and Central America, where their right wing dictatorships are now known for their democracy in many places.
And the president, when he meets with the leaders around the world, knows that even when we can disagree with France and Germany, they are democracies. We are allies. And we don't go to war with each other.
And North Korea and if Iran gets these weapons, it will be a threat to everyone. That if they become peaceful, democratic, then the world stays safe. This is, I think, what's driving the president. It's large. It's ambitious. To some it sounds scary.
But what's the alternative? To let these nations go on with their totalitarian ways while technology does give them the arms that they surely will acquire over time?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: In fairness, also, the president did say and again, these are echoes of what he said before, that -- that our goal is to help others find their own voice, their own freedom, their own way when the soul of a nation finally speaks and they reflect customs and traditions very different from our own.
So he's not, at least not explicitly, talking about a Pax Americana (ph), you know, the kind of Teddy Roosevelt version that we're going to turn China into Kansas City.
But I think what people abroad -- I'm just am really curious in 24 hours to see what the reaction abroad is going to be when he says, "Fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause."
Yes, he says it doesn't mean we're going to send in the 6th Fleet. We don't have enough people to do it if we wanted to. But how -- how that message is going to be heard in these very different kinds of countries to me is one of the most interesting 48-hour questions we're going to wait and see.
BLITZER: He said liberty will come to those who love it.
Barbara, you know, as I was listening to the president, I heard a lot of Ronald Reagan in those remarks, but I also heard a lot about the late Senator Scoop Jackson, Henry "Scoop" Jackson, in those remarks, as well. Our older viewers certainly will remember the foreign policy that he enunciated in the bad old days of the Soviet Union.
KELLERMAN: Yes, I'm not sure why you're looking at me, Wolf, when you say our older viewers.
BLITZER: Because I know you're a student of history. You know this.
KELLERMAN: Yes. For those of us who are not older viewers, Scoop Jackson was a Democrat, but he was known for an aggressive Republican type of foreign policy: interventionist and not isolationist.
BLITZER: now, we were seeing the president walking in. There is he again walking in with Trent Lott. We've been seeing a lot of Trent Lott today. That's because he's the chairman of this Joint Congressional Committee on the Inauguration. The first lady walking in. Yes.
GREENFIELD: The Reagan point is very interesting. Because Ronald Reagan had a line. He often said, "Free nations do not make war on each other." And I think that that pretty much...
KELLERMAN: Suggests that that's true.
GREENFIELD: So when the president is saying that...
BLITZER: Let's listen to the introductions. We see the vice president and Mrs. Cheney. They've been introduced. And the president will be introduced shortly.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and Mrs. Laura Bush, escorted by Senator Trent Lott and Mrs. Tricia Lott.
(MUSIC)
BLITZER: And so they will sit down and have lunch now. I'm sure a delicious lunch in Statuary Hall. What a beautiful hall, for those of our viewers who have never been inside the U.S. Capitol, never been to Statuary Hall. It's majestic. It's a unique place in the U.S. Capitol. It's a wonderful place, certainly on this day.
Trent Lott speaking. We've been hearing a lot from Trent Lott, Ari. He was the former Senate majority leader, the minority leader. Now he's just a regular member of the U.S. Senate.
But let's listen in briefly as he speaks.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: Here in this room of the capitol since 1897 is the Congress's way of celebrating the hope for the future that comes with a new presidential term. It is a symbolic gesture that highlights the special relationship that exists between Congress and the president.
It's only fitting that we gather here in the Capitol's magnificent Statuary Hall, where many of our early presidents debated the issues that shape our nation as members of the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that.
Above the rostrum, in those early days of the Capitol, stood a statue of a woman who looked over the lawmakers, forever writing their deeds in the annals of history. Today the statue is above the door here, but regardless of where the statue is, we always remember that history still watches. And today, Mr. President, we celebrate our work together on behalf of the American people and look forward to the work yet to be done.
It's now my privilege to ask Dr. Barry Black, the chaplain of the United States Senate to deliver the invocation, after which the lunch will be served. Dr. Black.
DR. BARRY BLACK, CHAPLAIN, U.S. SENATE: Let us pray.
Spirit of holiness, before whom none can stand in his or her own righteousness, come into this fellowship and dwell within our hearts.
Lord, you said those who rule over people must be just, ruling with respect for your presence. You declared that such leaders would be like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless day and like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.
Thank you for a president who knows you and seeks you through scripture, worship and prayer. Give him and his cabinet strength for the journey and wisdom for the many challenges ahead.
Place our nation on an honorable road above contention. Remind us that only you can fill that God-shaped void in our hearts.
Bless this food that it will strengthen our bodies. We pray in your powerful name. Amen.
BLITZER: Dr. Barry Black, giving the benediction (sic) at this lunch in Statuary Hall, Capitol Hill.
Only moments ago there were tens of thousands of people who were gathered outside of the west front of the U.S. Capitol or on Washington Mall. You see it's basically empty right now. It doesn't take long for those people to get up and leave, especially on a rather chilly day here in the nation's capital.
We have more coverage of this historic day coming up. Among other things, we'll be standing by for the congressional toast at this Statuary Hall luncheon. There will be a military review. The color guards will be presented. The inaugural parade will begin down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Congress all the way to the White House.
We'll have every minute of that here on CNN. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN's live coverage of the presidential inauguration here in the nation's capital.
We're getting live pictures, people gathering around the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue from Capitol Hill to the White House, both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. That parade will begin after the luncheon, which is ongoing at Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill right now. Our Christiane Amanpour is not in Washington. She's in Baghdad. She was listening to the president's remarks.
Christiane, it's a time of war, 150,000 U.S. troops in harm's way in Iraq right now. Give us a little flavor, a little perspective from so many thousands of miles away?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, interestingly, although Iraq was not mentioned in the inauguration speech, most people here and basically around the world and probably in America, too, think that one of the major issues that a Bush presidency will be judged on at the end of eight years is Iraq.
And by most accounts, what was a great triumph, a great military victory, the liberation of a terrible, terrible, tyrannical dictatorship, has basically turned into a debacle, if not a disaster, including opinion now from America, which says that the majority think that this is going pretty badly.
When we asked people here today what did they think about, you know, a second Bush inauguration, they told us -- they told us that they were hoping that President Bush would actually fulfill his promises.
They said what happened to all those promises of reconstruction and peace and stability? Very mindful they are about the terrible violence that has really been gathering apace. The insurgency that does not look like it's going away.
And wondering -- wondering what will happen after the elections on January 30. Because the way it looks now, those elections, which many, many people want to do -- most people want to go and vote. They have never had chance to vote, but because of the violence and because of the political situation, a sizable minority, the 20 percent of the Sunnis, many of them will probably boycott or be unable to vote, which will cast a big question, a big shadow over the legitimacy of a future government and many believe a continuing challenge, in other words, a continuing violent insurgency. And some even believe, including some in the Pentagon, that it could sew the seeds of a future civil war.
So the future looks bleak, but Iraqis are always hopeful and optimistic. And they want to believe that it will get better, Wolf.
BLITZER: At this stage, only what, nine or 10 days before the January 30 elections, is everything in place mechanically, technically for those elections to occur?
AMANPOUR: Well, you know, that is a very good question. We asked a lot about that. And there's a lot of vague answers about we don't even know where the polling stations are. Most of them, the Iraqis have not publicized them for obvious security reasons.
We've understood that there's going to be a huge clamp down, obvious, for security reasons, but then, how do people get to the polls on polling day? People are very afraid of actually going out and standing in line to cast their vote, mindful of what's happened, for instance, outside police recruiting stations, where lines of eager recruits are being blown up by suicide attackers.
People are very, very concerned. And to be frank, many people don't know who are on the list, even those sort of well-known candidates that head some of the lists. Many of the rest of the political candidates are unknown. And they haven't even been campaigning in any visible way, again because of the security concerns.
So it's a very -- it's going to be a big challenge. There's still a huge amount of work to do both here and in Iraq and obviously from the American perspective, as well.
BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour, part of our team of reporters already in Baghdad, getting ready for elections a week from this Sunday. Christiane, thanks very much.
Ari Fleischer is here.
Ari, you heard Christiane's report from Iraq. Iraq hovering very much over this second inaugural.
FLEISCHER: Well, and interesting, coming from one of the nations that's the heart of the Arab world, I think when you look at world leader reaction to this speech, which you're going to see, is in the Arab world many of them are hoping that their people don't hear this speech. They want this speech to go away, and they don't want their people to listen to the sounds of democracy.
I think in Western Europe there's going to be some level of uneasiness when President Bush talks about democracy, projection of power. I think there's a sense in Western Europe, let's let the status quo remain. Let's not rock any boats.
In East Europe, Wolf, I think you're going to see this speech be welcomed. People who recently threw over the cloak of tyranny and oppression and communism, these are going to be the people in Russia, in the Baltic nations, in Poland and Hungary, Romania. People there and leaders there are going to say that President Bush is absolutely right on about what he talks about democracy and freedom are the most important goals to achieve. And I think they're going to hail this speech.
BLITZER: It's fair to say, Ari, that there's been a lot of setbacks in Iraq since the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled. Is there a widespread sense in the White House, and you're still very close to a lot of those policy makers there, that in the end, Iraq is going to turn out to be, quote, "a success"?
FLEISCHER: I have to tell you, this is an issue where I really don't know who to listen to. Because when you listen to reports from the field, when you listen to reporters who are working as hard as they can in very difficult circumstances and then you hear from people who are serving our country in the military there, you hear a totally different story.
The people that I talk to in the military, Marines who have been in Falluja, they say they're seeing increasing signs of success, calm. Yes, of course there's violence and killing, but it's a nation of 25 million people. There are many places where there's widespread commerce. There are many place where people are going to school.
And the feeling in many places, including at the White House, is that we just, as Americans, never get to hear all the good news that's happening there along with the bad news.
GREENFIELD: There's one little button about where this speech is going to be heard. I think it's fair to say that among Western Europe in places like France and Germany, it's going to be greeted with a fair amount of cynicism.
There's a widespread belief among Europeans, particularly among European elites, that when the United States talks about freedom, it's a cover. That it's traditional power diplomacy; it's economic interests. It's all of those geopolitical things in the guise of a moralistic democracy.
I think many Americans at home have a very different view, going back to the Marshall Plan and what happened in East Europe that when the United States talks about freedom it means it. But I think there's a very different take about that, depending on where the speech is analyzed, including among our ostensible allies.
BLITZER: What do you think, Barbara?
KELLERMAN: I want to actually go back again to Christiane Amanpour, and I wrote down two of the words that she used, because I wanted to make sure I had them right. She used, I'm sure very thinkingly, the words "disaster" and "debacle."
Now, whatever you may think of our policy in Iraq, the fact that a reporter such as Amanpour uses those words on a day like today could arguably be seen as something of a reality check for the extraordinarily ambitious words we heard from President Bush's mouth earlier today.
We don't know what -- we do know what's going to happen on January 30. We don't know what's going to happen on January 31 in Iraq. And until some of that becomes somewhat clearer, I think her words are, at a minimum, a cautionary one.
BLITZER: You heard those words that she uttered, too, didn't you, Ari?
FLEISCHER: Well, sure, I heard them. And I was shaking my head, saying whose version is true? What I hear from people over there, they say that they have confidence that the country is getting better and that they -- we are going to be ultimately successful.
I think the real issue for the American people is are we judging events in Iraq by today and tomorrow or by this year and next year or the year after? Are we a patient enough country to let this see itself to fruition?
BLITZER: Let's -- let's go back to the podium. John King, our senior White House correspondent, is there.
John, you have a guest.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do, indeed, Wolf. Long time senior Bush adviser Karen Hughes joining me now. The crowd has gone pretty much.
Karen, an interesting speech from the president in which he talked forcefully about the power of democracy but never said the word "Iraq." Obviously, the elections in Iraq just a little more than a week away. Why not take the opportunity to deliver a pep talk, if you will?
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH ADVISER: Well, I think he viewed this inaugural as a thematic speech that will be followed in a couple of weeks by the State of the Union, during which he will more specifically outline policies he wants to pursue to achieve some of the goals he had today.
But if you look at the history of inaugural speeches they tend to be big picture thematics. And when the president first sat down and talked about what he wanted to accomplish in this inaugural, he had two major goals. He wanted to talk about the fact that our security and liberty around the world are now inextricably linked, that only as we help countries and peoples become more free are we therefore safer here at home.
And he wanted to talk about expanding our freedom here at home. And he talked about economic -- greater economic prosperity, an opportunity society, an ownership society where people -- more people have a chance to own a piece of the real promise of this great country.
And so I think from the very beginning, I'm not aware if whether there was a specific discussion or a specific time, because I've been home in Texas. I've seen the speech during the draft phase, but I'm not aware if there was a specific moment where they said, "Do we or do we not mention the words Iraq -- the word Iraq?"
But clearly, there were a couple of references in the speech about Iraq and Afghanistan, when he talked about times at which we've had to use arms to further our national security.
KING: A very aggressive goal in the sense that use the power of the United States, not necessarily the military power but the power and the prestige of the United States to spread freedom and democracy around the world. Skeptics will ask will the president deliver that message to the Egyptians, to the Saudis, to the Russians and to the Chinese and others as forcefully as he would deliver it to the Saddam Husseins and maybe to Tehran and Damascus?
HUGHES: Well, obviously forcefully implies the use of arms. And what the president has said...
KING: Even in the use of his words. Will he call those leaders aside and say it is time to set the dissidents free, say in China or in Saudi Arabia?
HUGHES: I believe that's what he started to do here today. And it was a forceful speech. He did talk about the policy of this country going forward being to say to those who would oppress their people, to urge them to consider reforms in their country.
To say to those who speak up and are dissidents that the United States -- they have a friend in the United States and that we see them as the future leader of a free country.
And so I think he clearly delivered that message today. He was speaking across the world to people who are oppressed and who look to this nation for our ideals and our -- the freedoms that we cherish and celebrate here today.
KING: Is that this president's defining lesson of September 11?
HUGHES: Absolutely. He believes that September 11 showed us that we can no longer ignore oppression and regions of the world, whole regions of the world like the Middle East, where hatred and oppression allow that kind of terror and hatred to grow and to brew that can ultimately shed blood on our own shores.
And he thinks that was a defining moment in the history of our country, that everything changed that day and that it required changed thinking. And that, as he said today so eloquently, that we have now realized that our deepest ideals as a nation, that we believe in liberty for all, and our national security interests are now inextricably linked.
KING: Let's talk a little bit about the moment here at home. During the ceremonies here our Candy Crowley was inside, talking to people of both parties. And she said everyone will enjoy the ceremony today, but the Democrats are loaded for bear.
They do not want to give this president what he wants on Social Security. They are ready to oppose him quite vociferously on other issues. Where are we domestically?
HUGHES: Well, you know, this is a day of great -- when Republicans and Democrats come together and celebrate our great democracy. I hope going forward -- you heard the president, I think, extend an olive branch today.
He talked about speaking anew to the world community, speaking anew to American people. And he talked about his own commitment in good faith to seek to work to unite the country.
Now obviously, for leaders in both parties, that does not mean they're going to compromise their deepest principles or their values. But I think the president will make a renewed effort to find common ground on some of these difficult issues, particularly on the issue of Social Security, on things like the tax code, on which he campaigned during his campaign.
He believes, as you know because you have covered him for a long time, he believes in using his campaign to build political capital, which he then works to spend to try to enact the things on which he campaigned for.
KING: Let me ask you a question about political capital. Many of the president's social conservative supporters are a bit upset, because in pre-inaugural interviews, he said that yes, he still supports a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, but he might have to bow to the legislative reality if there are not enough votes in the Senate to push it forward.
Those supporters might say, if it were not for the president using the bully pulpit, he never would have had the tax cuts. If it was not for the president using the bully pulpit, the Congress would never deal with Social Security. Why won't the president use the bully pulpit, despite what the vote count is here, and say, "I want this. Do it"?
HUGHES: Well, he has used the bully pulpit. But as you know, he addressed the issue in his State of the Union last year and has talked about it, talked about it throughout the campaign.
But at some point there is a reality -- I think what he is saying is you have to recognize the reality, that so long as the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, as long as that is intact and left standing by the courts, that he doesn't see that there's going to be the will here in the legislature to bring that for a vote, because they think the protection is already there.
KING: Karen Hughes, thank you very much for your time. You're looking way too rested. Enjoying your time in Texas, clearly.
HUGHES: Very much so. Very much.
KING: Karen, thank you very much.
And Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Let's just get a wide shot if we can to show our viewers, John, how empty that podium is. I think probably you and Karen Hughes, you may be the only people left. Well, there are a few others, I guess, some of her aides.
But look at that. It was packed.
KING: Karen's asking where they all went, Wolf. It is -- I'll tell you, it is a beautiful scene and a beautiful perspective on Washington on a day that I think turned out a lot better than any of us had expected weatherwise. And where are the people? many have gone to watch the parade, some to have lunch, and some, I think, like Karen Hughes, to get ready for a little partying at the balls tonight.
BLITZER: Thank Karen for us.
And, John, as you and I know, long as it takes to build those platforms and those podiums, they're going to be coming down very, very quickly, and the west front of the U.S. Capitol will go back to its stately self as well.
John, thanks very much. We'll take another quick break.
Our Carlos Watson is watching all of this from the heartland of America with a group of Americans in Ohio, in the state that helped get this president re-elected. From the heartland, Clark County, Ohio specifically, Carlos will be joining us. Much more coverage. We're standing by for the military parades from the Capitol to the White House. Much more coverage when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration was the coldest on record. As overnight temperatures hovered around zero, the inaugural ceremony was moved indoors.
RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy, where we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn't gotten so cold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reagan became the only president to sworn in, in the Capitol Rotunda. The noon temperature outside was just seven degrees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And so the 43rd president of the United States has been inaugurated, sworn into office for a second time about 90 minutes ago or so here in the nation's capital. You're looking at this live picture of the U.S. Capitol. Inside Statuary Hall, they're having lunch right now. Right after that, the motorcade will begin to unfold. There will be a parade up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Congress all the way to the White House. We'll have continuing live coverage of all of this. Watching all of this from the heartland of America, in Ohio specifically, and you're looking live at the Golden Jersey Inn, a (INAUDIBLE), specifically our own Carlos Watson is inside with a group of Americans who have been watching with him.
Carlos, pick it up.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POL. ANALYST: Wolf, you know, the road to the inauguration, the road to the White House for the president went through Ohio. You could argue that it went through Clark County, where we are. It's a county that Al Gore won by some 300 votes in 2000, but with a very concerted turnout effort, the president won by some 1,400 votes in 2004.
I'm here with a great group, Jennifer Davis, who was just saying we're like family even though we have only been together for a couple hours. We all watched the speech together.
And, Jennifer, I want to start with you maybe. What did you think of the president's inaugural speech?
JENNIFER DAVIS: I really liked it. He was very spiritual about a lot of the -- about when he talked, and I liked that in him.
WATSON: And you didn't mind that at all the fact that he brought up religious analogies and the other things?
DAVIS: No, that didn't bother me at all.
WATSON: Dan, I think it didn't only bother you, but as a strong supporter of the president, I think it probably excited you that the president made allusions to God and to religion.
DAN LEITHAUSER, PHOTOGRAPHY SHOP OWNER: Yes, you are what you eat. I mean, you have to -- when people say I can't impose that on you, but that's who I am, and I don't want to hide that. He didn't hide that. It's a good rallying speech to start the year off with, his administration. So he did a great job, and I liked his analogies for Christianity, because that's what I am, that's who I voted for.
WATSON: Now, Sheila, you're a devout Christian, but I felt like I heard you say it turned you off a little bit, that the president raised religion and made allusions to religion.
SHEILA RICE, KERRY VOTER: Not in the speech, just in one context of the speech he talked about imposing the values, Christian values upon all people, and my view was just that I just don't believe that you can make people who are just born with a sin nature, I don't believe that you can impose Christian values on them; it has to come through revelation. They have to -- you know, I just thought that that was just -- I just thought that was kind of risky to me.
WATSON: Really?
Bob, you've heard lots of speeches. You say you first voted for Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, haven't missed an election since. How good was this inaugural in your mind, this inaugural speech?
ROBERT BUCHY, RETIREE: I thought the inaugural speech rated a B, B plus.
WATSON: You're not give be the president an A?
BUCHY: No, not completely, although for what he was trying to do in spelling out the plan for the next four years of his administration, I thought was excellent.
WATSON: Did you leave anything out that you wish he had talked about? Was there anything you wished the president had mentioned?
BUCHY: No, but I didn't hear any particular hooker lines that will stand out in history for the next 200 years.
WATSON: So there wasn't the torch been passed to a new generation in your mind?
BUCHY: Not in my mind. But I thought it was a good speech.
WATSON: Now, Heidi Abraham, this is the first presidential election that you were able to vote in. You're a 20-year-old student, strongly support the president. Did you like the speech, not like the speech? And tell me what you thought?
HEIDI ABRAHAM, STUDENT: I thought it was a pretty good speech, B plus to A minus kind of range. I thought he gave a clear summary of his vision for the future, you know, with the war on terror and social values and stuff like that. I'm expecting him to lay out a little more policy for this next term in his state of the union, but for an inaugural speech, I thought it was pretty good, pulling us all together around freedom, themes that we can agree on.
WATSON: Theresa, you're a Democrat. How did you feel about the speech? Did this draw you closer to the president? People talk a lot about John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech in 1961, that his approval numbers shot up afterwards, that Republicans and Democrats alike, it brought them closer to his agenda. Did that happen for you here?
THERESA DEMANA, KERRY VOTER: Not really. I do think it was a good speech in, what Heidi said, terms of trying to draw people together, focusing on freedom, which is a good place for him to start, but it didn't have fire for me that would have helped bring me that much closer to him.
WATSON: Now does anyone here -- I mean, there were religious allusions here. Did anyone here worry that the president's reference to religion might turn off some governments around the world, that one of the issues we have right now in terms of working with our allies is that that may have turned people off? Was that a concern among any of you here?
DEMANA: Might it turn other governments off? I think it's a possibility when you have another country that's founded on a different religion, not based on Christianity. And anyone who doesn't hold the same beliefs that he does might get turned off. But it's a personal belief for him, and it's his right to share his beliefs with others.
WATSON: Now, Dan, one of the interesting things I heard the president say is that freedom for the next generation, essentially, America was going to go forth and try to support freedom wherever they can. That might mean more troops in more places. Not just Iraq, not just Afghanistan, but Sudan and other places.
Would you be in support of increasing our military size and if that meant a draft, and clearly the president said -- didn't raise that and he said during the campaign that wouldn't happen, but if that did happen, would you be in support of that as a way to increase our troop size so that we can support freedom in different countries?
LEITHAUSER: The president said it wasn't going to happen and I think it's one of the most political things people started so the president, he's not going to initiate that. He said he would not. If things come to be tough, we may have to. And you have to do what you have to do. I know if you have a son between -- or daughter between 18 and 27, you get really nervous. You hope it doesn't happen. But boy, I just thank God for those people who fight and defend our freedom right now. They're heroes to me. And I just love them, I honor them and their families and support them. But yes, if that's what it takes for us to do, we have to get tough. I mean, if I could go, I would go. This is one of those things. Freedom is that important.
WATSON: Now, Sheila, how do you feel about the cost? You know, we're likely -- the president is likely to ask the Congress for another $100 billion in the next couple of months to support Iraq. Is that an issue for you, knowing that supporting freedom around the world could be a costly endeavor financially? Is that an issue for you?
RICE: It is. It's an issue because I support the war because we're there and people are fighting it, but I just think it is the wrong war at the wrong time. I...
WATSON: So you don't support the war?
RICE: I mean, I support the men who are serving, but I just think the war -- I just think the soldiers should come home.
WATSON: Did the president's words at all today change your perspective? Could you see more of his side? You didn't vote for the president, but could you see more of the reason why he thinks this is important and did this? Did this make you want to support him more, whether it's Iraq or other places?
RICE: No, it didn't. It didn't make me want to support him more. Because, as from the beginning, I don't think he's clear on why we're in Iraq and I just don't think it's the right time. I really don't think it's the right time.
WATSON: Now, Bob, there was a brief mention of Social Security. You know that looms as maybe the president's biggest domestic change. Give me your thoughts on the possible changes in Social Security. Is that something you look forward to? Something you don't look forward to?
BUCHY: In the long run changes are going to have to be made. There's no doubt about that in my mind. In the short run, a lot of things do not need to be done because it isn't that crucial timewise.
WATSON: Right. But accounts. Are you OK with private accounts?
BUCHY: Yes. Very definitely. I'll be honest with you, I started out in life when I left college. I had Social Security taxes taken out of my pay. I also set aside an equal amount as to what Social Security took from me every paycheck and I put that into savings and investments and everything else. And I did that throughout my life. The funds I set aside from Social Security, all equivalent on my own, has put me into seven figures of net worth.
WATSON: So you think that your experience is a testament to what private accounts can be? BUCHY: Absolutely. There's no question.
WATSON: But now, Sheila, talk to me, because you've got a different perspective on it, on these private accounts.
RICE: Well, I just have a different perspective in that what he's saying worked for him, I don't see where everybody...
BUCHY: Everybody can't do it. They don't have the discipline to do it.
RICE: And I think that -- that's what my concern is, is that everybody is being empowered at the same level. And it starts early on like with education. We have to bridge the gap in the early foundation of people's lives to make sure that everybody comes out at least -- they're in the same ballpark. Just what he's saying is good for him.
WATSON: So you're questioning the fundamental underpinnings of the president's opportunities society theme. You're saying you're not sure everyone's ready to be in charge of their health care, in charge of their education, in charge of their retirement accounts?
RICE: Yes, I'm saying that. Definitely not.
WATSON: Jennifer, how do you feel about the notion of someone young like you, someone with two kids, being in charge of your health care, in charge, maybe, of your retirement savings accounts?
DAVIS: I like it. I mean, I'd want to be in charge of it but...
WATSON: Now tell me this. If someone said OK, we're going to let you be in charge of it, but if for any reason it doesn't go well, we're not going to make up the difference.
DAVIS: I would like -- I mean, you could be able to do it or you don't have to do it. I mean, do you understand what I'm saying?
WATSON: Oh, so make it voluntary.
DAVIS: If you want it to go in an IRA account or if you want us to deal with it, then, you know, you select the option you want. I think that would be a good way.
WATSON: Now, who didn't have an issue discussed today that they wish had been discussed in the inaugural? Did anyone have an issue that you say if the president talked about that would have rung my bell, I would have been excited about that?
DEMANA: The issue I based my vote on isn't something that really, I think, would have been brought up in an inaugural speech, so...
WATSON: Stem cell research. But you didn't expect him to mention it?
DEMANA: No.
WATSON: Wolf, you can hear that this group paid attention. In general people seem to think the president gave a solid speech, but didn't seem to move Democrats or Republicans in this group. And who knows, maybe the state of the union in a couple of weeks will have a greater impact.
BLITZER: All right, Carlos. We've heard what your guests have to say about the president's speech. What about you? What did you think? How did the president do?
WATSON: I thought the president -- my opinion, I thought the president gave a strong performance. I thought interesting enough, it was probably the most internationalist inaugural probably since Kennedy's inaugural speech in '61, I think even more so than some of the Reagan speeches. And I think a lot of foreign governments are going to listen closely to it.
I think there's going to be an intriguing question going forward. If over the next four years, beyond Afghanistan and beyond Iraq but certainly including those, the president begins to have some success in terms of democracy building, then I think this is a speech that could be remembered going forward as the freedom speech and if indeed it kicks off a larger wave of freedom, I think it will have greater resonance.
Conversely, if that ends up being a good line, but Iraq falters, becomes a debacle or disaster as Christiane suggested, or if Afghanistan has more trouble, then I think this will be like most inaugural speeches, one that happens for a moment and is forgotten ten days later.
BLITZER: Carlos Watson in Ohio. We're going to get back to you, Carlos. A very, very interesting discussion with your guests. Thank you very much. We'll take another quick break. Much more coverage.
We're standing by for the start of the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. Look at law enforcement authorities. They're gearing up for the parade. They've been gearing up for this entire day. Unprecedented security here in the nation's capital. Much more coverage of this inauguration day when we get back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And this is an area that has about a thousand demonstrators. The organizers say the reason that the number is no more than that is because so many people are having a hard time getting in.
Something has occurred in just the last couple of minutes. If you will look over, you will now see the police reinforcing, lining up in several files of people now, wall to wall along this area, obviously in anticipation of the president and the parade going past. The police, by the way, from Chicago and right next to me, there are people from Pennsylvania State Police, lots of people from the D.C. area. There are probably as many policemen here as there are demonstrators. The demonstrators, meanwhile, have pushed up against the barrier.
The mood here, for the most part, has been festive, although people, of course, from a variety of causes have been making their speeches and their complaints. But as you see, as the speeches begin now, the police are moving even closer to the barriers, to make sure that there's no question that they are able to put on a show of force that they can follow up on.
Again, the mood of the demonstrators thus far has been nothing more than loud, boisterous, a few little incidents, but nothing really to talk about, a lot of complaints about the fact that too many of them are having trouble getting in.
But as I said in this authorized demonstration here, there's soon going to be a confrontation with the president as he goes past. We have been told that what we can expect is that demonstrators will turn their back on President Bush. No indications that they plan anything more aggressive than that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Bob, this is a relatively recent phenomenon in U.S. history, authorized demonstration areas. We saw it in Boston at the Democratic Convention. We saw it in New York at the Republican Convention. I take it that what you're suggesting there are a lot more people who would like to be in that authorized area than currently exists?
FRANKEN: Well, as a matter of fact, there is something quite unique about this one. They have provided bleachers in this area, they, the Park Service, have provided bleachers in the area for some of the demonstrators. Of course, there are other demonstrators that say they don't want any part of this authorized demonstration, so they are in other parts of the city, sometimes having minor skirmishes with officials. There's the kind of thing that we've come to expect at these incidents.
But what we've also come to expect is massive show of force on the part of the police, and we're not being disappointed here.
BLITZER: Bob Franken, we'll get back to you. We'll watch those demonstrations very carefully.
I want to show our viewers the parade route, how it will unfold. We have an animation to show you if we can get that ready. The parade will leave Capitol Hill and head over to Pennsylvania Avenue, begin the beautiful, beautiful route along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, all of the federal office buildings along the way, and past the Canadian embassy, which is there as well. Eventually it will wind up making a right turn. You'll see it make a right turn at 15th Street, right about here. That's where it makes a right turn, then it will make a left onto Pennsylvania Avenue, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the destination. That's the reviewing stand where all of this will wind up. One of the stops will be Freedom Plaza along the way.
Our Elaine Quijano is there. I take it a little bit different than where Bob Franken was reporting from, Elaine. ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. Hello to you, Wolf. I can tell you in just the last couple of hours or so, we have seen the bleachers here at Freedom Plaza start to fill up. Over the course of the morning of course not a lot of folks showing up. Some folks standing in line and a few hearty souls up in the top part of the bleachers, but now you see quite a bit of people here have gathered, including part of the Texas contingent this sizable Texas contingent. Joining me now are James and Carol Fear (ph).
Now you're from Hallsville (ph), Texas. What are your feelings here today? What's going through your head right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just excited to be here. It is a great occasion. We are in support of President Bush 100 percent, and we did that by coming to the inauguration, and being part of this parade is also part of it.
QUIJANO: And Mr. Fear, what about you? Why did you feel it was so important to be here today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, just the same thing, just showing support for President Bush, and him being from Texas, it was easy for us to do. And it's just very interesting to see all of the activities and festivities here in Washington. It's very good.
QUIJANO: How is the weather for your liking?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather is cold, but it's not that bad. We were here four years ago, it and it was actually raining, and so really it's been very nice, and the snow has been beautiful yesterday.
QUIJANO: And you have been here all week long, is that right, Mr. Fear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we came in on Sunday, and been here since, done a lot of sightseeing and visiting with our Congressman and so forth and had a good time.
QUIJANO: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate you being here.
And those are just some of the folks that have come out here, and I can tell you, again, some folks, some hearty folks, decided to come in early, but now we are seeing, Wolf, the majority of people coming in to this particular area. We also see along Pennsylvania Avenue now the cordon of military personnel. We see Marines. We're told some 1,500 members of the military will be taking part in the cordon part of this ceremony, and at the same time, Wolf, we see of course, a heavy police presence that we have heard Bob and others talk about throughout the course of the day. But folks here are very anxious, already looking very much forward to seeing President Bush, Mrs. Bush come down Pennsylvania Avenue -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And you'll have a great view from your vantage point, Elaine Quijano at Freedom Plaza, right off of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. You'll be watching all of this unfold. Thank you, Elaine.
Ari Fleischer has been with us since the beginning. It seems like so long ago, doesn't it, we've been watching history unfold, and it's a lot different watching it here on our set than it was four years ago when you were right in the thick of things, the press secretary of the president of the United States.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: And really, Wolf, What strikes me is the second term has begun. It began on our watch, on this show, and this is how history gets made in this country. I think the president is going to have a big challenge in four years, because he's making it challenging. He's not asking for easy issues to come up. He's putting hard issues on Congress' plate, and that's going to test the president. It's going to test the Congress. It's going to test this notion of bipartisanship. A change in Social Security, a new tax code, changes in Social Security, success in Iraq. There's a lot is going on; that's because he's made it a big area, a big time. That's how he's wanted to govern.
BLITZER: The Social Security issue, the privatization, partial privatization of those accounts, it's a huge issue, it may be the No. 1 domestic challenge for the president. Were you surprised when the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Thomas, the other day, seemed to imply, hey, this is not going to work, Mr. President, you've got a difficult mission up here.
FLEISCHER: Well, I was surprised at the way it all blew up, but on the other hand, knowing Bill Thomas as well as I do, if Washington is a bull right, Bill Thomas is the ultimate matador. I mean, there's just -- Bill Thomas stakes out his turf and talks tough, but he's also the consummate legislator. He is the person you want on that committee to get the job done at the end of the day. So it's going to be shaped and reshaped by the Congress, but who's setting the agenda. It's President Bush, and it's a big agenda.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Ari, it's also a pretty significant political possibility. There seems to be a feeling that they can actually move, you guys, can actually move toward a semipermanent Republican majority. If you can persuade working-class Americans that privatization, or whatever you want to call it, is a better idea, moving away from the idea of government-mandated benefit, creating more of an investor class so-called, you're going to create the conditions for a long-term Republican rule. Is this on this president's mind?
FLEISCHER: I don't think he's approached it in that sense. I look back at his first inaugural address. He actually said there we need to reform Social Security. So this is something he ran on in 2000, because he believes in it.
But what I am struck with when you look at history and today's times, is this is the first time a Republican president has been re- elected with a Republican House and a Republican Senate since the 1920s. There are some longstanding trends under way. Republicans have 55 senators. That's the high-water mark for senators since 1926. These are long-standing trends, where the country is really moving center right. It's not moving right center, but it is moving center right.
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