All inaugural speeches worth their salt need alliteration and President George W. Bush's was no exception. This was to be the era of the four Cs: "civility, courage, compassion and character". The last was well understood by all who had watched the campaign to be a sharp jab of the political stiletto in the back of the departing Bill Clinton.
It was short, only 14 minutes, and contained many assertions of American exceptionalism. "Through much of the last century," said the new President, "America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations. "Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along. . ."
But Mr Bush's commitment to those many nations merited only another two paragraphs in his speech and then only to make it clear that America's global vision is largely defensive and very specifically defined in terms not of a global humanitarian commitment but a hard calculation of national interest. It is known as the Powell doctrine, after the new Secretary of State.
"We will build our defences beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors," he said.
"The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake: America remains engaged in the world by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favours freedom. "We will defend our allies and our interests. We will show purpose without arrogance. We will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. And to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth."
The words will be read with a heavy heart in Europe's capitals as much for what they do not say as for what they do. No mention of campaigning for disarmament, but a clear hint at National Missile Defence. No mention of collective security through the UN, but an assertion of raw American power.
Domestically, Mr Bush reiterated his commitment to key campaign causes: tax reform, education and Medicare reform. And he tried to reach out to those constituencies who have been like a foreign country to the Republicans, the poor and the ethnic minorities.
"In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise," he said. "I can pledge our nation to a goal: when we see that wounded traveller on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side."
But the sub-text put the stress on what the individual could do, on what charities and the churches could do, not on the state.
"What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbour. I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character."
And, true to form, Mr Bush embarked on his own remodelling of the English language, but, for once, intentionally.
Civility he redefined as more than politeness, as an essential underpinning of democracy. "Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos."