When he takes his hand off the Bible and turns to the thousands who have come to see the President, all he has to do is mention the Constitution. He used the inaugural address as a time to remind people, during the peaceful transition of power, of these deeply held American principles. But this tradition ended in the 20th Century. The President simply stopped explaining the importance of the Constitution and his role in stopping the expansion of power to protect the liberties of the people. This may be hard to believe because Americans rely so much on tradition and emotion when Presidents are inaugurated.
Presidents talk in soaring words and invoke abstract ideals of equality and freedom.
Pundits and journalists condemn or promote his mandate based on their ideological presuppositions. And the people listen for what they might be getting from government over the next four years. The President has become a policy salesman and party leader who seeks to advance his party s cause. But that is not what America s Founders had in mind. The President was originally supposed to represent all the people.