Inauguration

Fresh Details of Obama Speech

Accountability, confidence, "culture of responsibility."

As Barack Obama prepares to deliver the first speech of his historic presidency, details about the themes he'll touch on are beginning to trickle out. He'll emphasize public confidence in the face of economic upheaval, and a new "culture of responsibility," according to incoming chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel. Incoming press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama had written the speech himself last weekend, and that the bulk of it was now completed. He'll talk about the fact that "we need more responsibility and accountability, certainly, in the way our government acts," said Gibbs. But specific wording was being kept tightly under wraps. Perhaps ironically, the themes are similar to those that outgoing President George W. Bush made the cornerstone of his own Inaugural speech when he ushered in a new "responsibility era."