George W. Bush will be sworn in...

George W. Bush will be sworn in as the nation’s 43rd president Saturday in Washington. Like his predecessors’ speeches, Bush’s inaugural address will become part of our nation’s heritage.

* In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt asserted his belief “that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance . . . “ In 1961, John F. Kennedy declared “that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” In 1981 when speaking of the nation’s troubled economy, Ronald Reagan said, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

* Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address is more famous than his inaugural speeches. He warned “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

* William Jefferson Clinton is in rare company. Not only is he only one of two presidents impeached while in office, he is the first Democrat to leave the presidency after an eight year run while still enjoying relative popularity and good health since Andrew Jackson.

* People across the nation will be staging a protest Saturday to coincide with Bush’s inauguration. Terming their action a “national rejection of false democracy,” demonstrators are marching against the “illegitimate process” by which Bush gained the presidency. Their theme: “No Vote--No Justice--No Bush Agenda.” Here in Los Angeles, a “Rally for Democracy” will start at 11 a.m. Saturday in downtown’s Pershing Square, followed by a march to the Federal Building at 1:30 p.m. Actor Ed Asner and state Sens. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) and Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) will be on hand.