The dawn of a new age

Barack Obama's inaugural speech today was not the best he's delivered. His speech on election day after being confirmed winner was much more uplifting, inspiring.
But the lack of rhetoric and the more down-to-earth tone adopted today still had a lot of content worth analysing.
He did deliver a critical message that gives us hope that this could be the dawn of a new age.
Obama made clear the challenges and the difficulties the US and the world is facing today. He did not allow the grandeur of the moment to blind him from the tough road ahead. It was a sobre description of the moment we are living.
America is weak, he said. It is at war with terrorists and the economy is in the dumps. Jobs have been lost and people have lost their houses. But most of all he made reference to the sapping of people's confidence.
Basing his launch pad on this bleak scenario, Obama sent out a message of hope to middle America, the poor, minority groups and workers. One can only hope that he will have the courage to capture the moment and pass critical legislation to provide free health care to everybody, improve education, create green jobs, control unscrupulous speculators and ensure wealth is more evenly distributed.
But for us non-Americans it was his message to the rest of the world that had significance. He reached out to the poor nations, to America's enemies, the Muslim world and America's friends.
He harped on the value of dialogue and engagement to overcome problems but made it clear that this should not be interpreted as weakness. He talked of America's military might but insisted on restraint and the power of conviction. America is ready to lead once again, he said, clearly ditching the unilateralism championed by George Bush.
Obama made reference to the difficulties poised by climate change and the need for the US to join hands with other countries to overcome this challenge.
Unfortunately he avoided completely any mention of the Middle East and the Palestinian cause. Hopefully this will be among the first things on his international agenda.
All in all Obama promises to bring along the dawn of a new age. I only hope he will live up to the expectations he has raised in America and the world.