(I can't imagine what it would be like now!)

Six years after FDR took office in his first term, he gave an evaluation of where The New Deal was going and what it had done. In the time (from 1933 to 1939 when this address was given) a number of changes took place, not the least was a Recession in 1937 and various court challenges to the NRA, which eventually put it out of existence. And then there was the issue of "Court Packing" in 1937. A lot going on in a comparatively short period of time

But the bottom line was, the New Deal was working and America was slowly getting back on its feet. There was a war looming in Europe, the dress rehearsal being the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The reminder - then as now, is that recovery isn't an overnight thing, the detractors nay-sayers and illusionists were as prevalent then as now. Further evidence some aspects of history don't change at the drop of a hat or change of a phrase.

(Fiscal Policy Address of May 22, 1939 - excerpt)

Until I get all the bells and whistles hooked up and the audio player installed, I decided to run some familiar footage of another historic Inauguration - one which has been getting a lot of play of late, but is still striking in its similarities. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Inauguration of his first term in office in March of 1933.

Watching the coverage from MSNBC today, I was struck by the concerns brought on by new media - the overloading of wireless communication from the Mall, the millions of text messages and cell phone calls. In contrast, the big concern in 1933 was getting the footage of the Inaugural into the Movie theaters on time. Which still meant a few days after the event.

The crowd numbered some 300,000 in 1933, lining the route to the Capitol steps. As of today, the crowd is estimated to be between 2 and 4 million with some 5 billion watching and listening around the world.

The sentiment, excitement and optimism however, are the same.