I was at the school today, and regretfully missed President Bush’s 2nd inauguration speech, but it was everything that I predicted. If you haven’t already, read my longer-than-normal post called The new war for the new term, in which I predicted that America’s new struggle would be ending tyranny.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush sought in his second inaugural speech to define his new term as a fight for freedom in every nation with the “ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” At home, he urged a divided nation to find the unity it had felt after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Looking ahead to history’s judgment, Bush asked two questions in his speech Thursday from the Capitol steps: “Did our generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause?”

Bush, the 43rd president and the 16th to be elected to a second term, spoke briefly about his new term’s domestic goals, including overhauling Social Security. But his 21-minute address to the nation – and the world – focused on freedom, a word he uttered 27 times.

“There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment and expose the pretensions of tyrants and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom,” the 58-year-old president said.

His father, former President George H.W. Bush, looked on.

More work is needed, the president said, to both protect America from future attacks and to advance its ideals in other parts of the world – a mission he said was the “calling of our time.”

“It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world,” he said.

Later he added: “We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: the moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right.”

I’d obviously like to gloat right now, but instead I think it would be more appropriate to say how happy I am for the people of the world who live under tyrannous regimes. You have a real, active ally in your fight, and it’s the strongest one you could ever get. I hope the rest of the free world will agree.