The Nation: Ford: Our Nightmare Is Over

Excerpts from the President's inaugural address last Friday:

Mr. Chief Justice, my dear friends, my fellow Americans.

The oath that I have taken is the same oath that was taken by George Washington and by every President under the Constitution. But I assume the presidency under extraordinary circumstances, never before experienced by Americans. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.

Therefore I feel it is my first duty to make an unprecedented compact with my countrymen. Not an inaugural address, not a fireside chat, not a campaign speech. Just a little...

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