Friday, January 16, 2009

Relive past inauguration speeches

Hulu.com is a really great online video resource. They have a big library of TV shows, movies, and various videos that are available for viewing. You occasionally have to sit through a 15- or 30-second commercial every so often, but overall I think it's worth it.

Hulu has a section with Inauguration speeches from every president since FDR, and a few more radio addresses and silent newsreels from before that. You get a real historical perspective from listening to some of these historic speeches. Go to Hulu.com/inaugural-speeches for the library of inauguration speeches.

You notice a lot of interesting things when you watch the speeches. Here's an image from JFK's inauguration, with a remarkably awkward moment when Nixon lunges across LBJ to shake Kennedy's hand right after the speech. You miss things like that when you focus only on the "Ask not..." portion of the address.

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