Demagogue

My father called Sunday night and mentioned the inaugural speech. I said people here paid attention--it was broadcast live--and that it fell flat because Bush's words about freedom were seen as contradicted by his first-term actions. Here's someone who says the same thing and explains it better, though in his case from a particularly Middle Eastern perspective. You could pretty much insert "Western Europe" in place of "Middle East" in this piece, and except for the emphasis on Israel and the Palestinians, it would be accurate.