January 23, 2005

The Philippine STAR, Opinion Page

New Reign of George II

By Babe Romualdez

The just-concluded inauguration of George W. Bush was certainly different from any that one can recall.  There has not been a wartime president sworn in since Richard Nixon's second term in 1973 at the height of the Vietnam War. 

For one thing, they spent close to $100-million for this inauguration.  Corporations contributed an average of $250,000 for the $40-million extravaganza that included fireworks with a big parade and nine inaugural balls.  The Republican Inaugural Committee dubbed the festivities a "celebration of freedom."  

Aside from the Bushes, the only other father-and-son presidents of the United States were John Adams (1797-1801) and John Quincy Adams (1825-1829).  The Kennedys, despite their dynastic plans, didn't even come close.  They only had one president and three senators during their peak in the 1960s. 

In this country, only Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has so far been the only child of a president to become one herself.  Although, the Bushes disdain the word dynasty, it certainly was a proud moment for former President George H. Bush, Sr.  to see his son join the exclusive 16-member two-termer presidents' club. 

In a way, history had reversed itself here because George I had gone to Iraq in 1991, ran for re-election in 1992 and lost.  George II succeeded where his father failed, winning a second term in spite of the divisions caused by the Iraq war.  Since 1981, the Bush family had taken center stage at five presidential inaugurations. 

The last US presidential inauguration I attended was George Bush, Sr.'s in 1989.  Our group included businessman Tony Garcia and his wife, Manila Times columnist Syke Garcia, and Elena Lim of Sony-Solid Industries. 

At that time, Washington was freezing, but not as cold as now with minus 10 degrees.  It is too bad our Publisher Max Soliven and I missed George II's.  Our associates in Washington had invited us to attend the inaugural festivities, but unfortunately, Max has a tight schedule.  He is flying to India this week. 

Except for the first inaugural of George Washington on April 30, 1789, inaugurals were held every March 4 until 1933.  Right after FDR's election, the 20th Constitutional Amendment changed the date to January 20 in order to speed the transition between administrations. 

Maybe the real reason at that time may have been that six months were just too long a wait to get the ineffective Herbert Hoover out of the White House, especially during the darkest days of the Depression.  The American people just wanted a take-charge man at the helm as soon as possible.  FDR was the first president to be sworn in on the new date during his second term in 1937. 

The 35-word oath of office is the centerpiece of the inaugural ceremony and the only portion mandated by law.  The oath has not been changed for 229 years.  It is interesting to note that George Washington added the phrase "so help me God" at the end of the oath.  Since then, all presidents had traditionally followed the original George W.

In 1841, William Henry Harrison served the shortest term of 32 days.  He died of pneumonia after delivering the longest inaugural address for an hour and a half in a freezing March ice storm wearing neither a hat nor a coat. 

In 1949, Harry Truman's inaugural was the first one to get television coverage.  Always a lover of books—and, as we know now, of women—JFK asked Robert Frost to read poetry in an inaugural for the first time.  On that bitter cold and frosty day, Kennedy, who hated wearing hats and overcoats, delivered his inspiring "Ask not what the country can do for you" inaugural speech. 

Bill Clinton, who idolized Kennedy and was perhaps, a lover of women too, also had poetry reading in his first 1993 inaugural.  Clinton's 1997 inaugural was the first one to be broadcast live via the Internet.  

George H. Bush, Sr.'s $25-million inaugural in 1989 was considered to be the most expensive until his son's $100-million bash topped it with most of the funds spent for securing him alone.  People will surely ask why such an incredible amount should be spent on just one man. 

Well, let's face it, a US President has always been a prime target for assassination, most especially, after 9/11.  Long before that, four US presidents have already been assassinated—Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy.  Notwithstanding previous attempts on Truman, Ford and Reagan. 

The most daring attempt was when two Puerto Rican separatists tried to assault Harry Truman with automatic weapons at the Blair Guest House, the temporary presidential residence while the White House was being renovated.

The highlight of George II's speech was when he said, "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.  The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world." 

Translated, it simply means that the United States will continue to help and strengthen democratic governments all around the world to protect America's interests in the next four years.  It still boils down to the "Either you are with us or against us" foreign policy. 

That is why a global opinion poll showed that 70 percent of the world believe that four more years of George II will be dangerous.  In our case, it will be good for the Philippines.  We have our own brand of terrorism, not necessarily from politicians.  The US continues to be our biggest trading partner with over $5-billion in trade.

They are committed to help us reform and modernize our military.  The US Senate Committee on Foreign Appropriations had approved $55-million in US military assistance to the Philippines, more than twice the $30-million in 2004. 

Defense Sec. Nonong Gruz said that the US government has initially provided $7-million for the implementation of Philippine Defense Reform Program with a $17-million counterpart fund. 

The two-hour Chilean Sea Bass "quality time" dinner in Chile between George W. and GMA certainly thawed the frosty RP-US relations after the Angelo de la Cruz caper.  Since that dinner, RP-US relations have improved tremendously, which will make it easy for our friend DFA Sec. Bert Romulo to deal with Condoleezza Rice, who will soon be confirmed as Secretary of State by the US Senate.  

At the end of the day, it is simply plain that George II's new reign will ultimately be a plus and not a pain for the country.

By the way, a well-produced and never-before-seen two-hour special feature on the US Secret Service will be shown sometime next month.  Inside the Secret Service is an interesting documentary on the great lengths the Service takes in securing a US President.

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