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Article: Sowing and reaping: Clinton's language of renewal. (Editorial)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- February 3, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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REVIEWS OF PRESIDENT Clinton's inaugural address were mixed. Some critics complained about the absence of a memorable phrase (a criticism that ignores the fact that phrases become memorable only after time has passed and they become fixed in the nation's collective memory). Of the many commentators on the speech, columnist William Safire was one of the few to notice the way Clinton's quotation of Galatians 6:9--"And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not"--pertained to his overall theme.
It is customary for presidential addresses to employ religious references as pietistic icing. Remarks on justice, for example, are ...