In his inaugural speech (to continue our critique of his somber address), Obama exhorted his fellow Americans to pull together. "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real," the first African-American head of state said. "They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short time. But know this, America. They will be met!"

We had noted in this column last week that I did not find the kind of eloquence of words and phrases expected of one with a reputation of a fine orator. It may not have been a most inspirational speech, but it was indeed the most purposeful.

It was quite severe, tough-minded and unsparing, at times startlingly so, in its criticism of the policies of President George W. Bush, the outgoing and most unpopular US president ever, about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Whether history will regard Mr. Obama’s remarks as a great speech will surely depend more on the decisions and actions he would take than the words that he spoke which can clarify what he really stands for.

Other political critics, including former presidential speechwriters, also noted that Obama’s inaugural address fell short of the anticipated immortality like those of Abraham Lincoln (Obama’s political "idol"), Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and William Jefferson Clinton.

One of them pointed out that Obama (or perhaps his precocious amanuensis Jon Favreau) used a warmly familiar metaphor like "starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." And also he used the technique of what rhetoricians call "amphora," repeating a phrase at the opening of successive sentences like Obama’s words: "This is the price and the promise…This is the source of our confidence… This is the meaning of our liberty!"

Similarly, another critic wrote that he did not find the kind of passage that’s usually thought of as eloquent. But another praised Obama for his "good speech… There was fine language, some good lines, some not that good, but written with intelligence, compassion, worldliness and skill."

Whatever you may say about the speech of the new POTUS’s First Inaugural Address, it was indeed uplifting, with echoes of Shakespeare, as in his peroration:

"America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter, and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations!"

First, Malacañang’s superflack, led by the "Little President," proclaimed that Gloria Macapagal has crowned herself the "czar" of the government’s anti-drug campaign. This was soon followed by another startling announcement that she has appointed herself "czar" of climate change. And what next will Her Imperial Highness do?

Well, methinks, she’s taking great pains making herself really ridiculously ridiculous!