Inauguration Consternation

As the inauguration of the forty-fifth President of the United States draws near, whether to the satiric faux swing of Freddy "Schnicklefritz" Fisher or the doom and gloom tread of Chopin's Funeral March, some quotations come to mind.

The first is from Moliere: "All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing." We will watch nervously to see how President Trump performs at the Inaugural Gala Ball.

The other memorable lines come from a New Yorker article by Jill Lepore. "Inaugural addresses," she wrote, "can be lousy in a whole new idiom." Lincoln's, of course, was the notable exception, and Ms. Lepore also noted worthy addresses by Garfield, the two Roosevelts, Kennedy, and--for brevity, 176 words at his second inauguration--Washington. But then she came to R. Milhous Nixon, who said, "The American dream does not come to those who fall asleep."

And the final words, from H.L. Mencken, commenting on Warren Harding's inaugural address: "It is so bad a sort of grandeur creeps in."

What may we expect Friday, January 20? Perhaps the inaugural tweet.