Behind the smooth words: cold steel

As tradition demands on Inauguration Day, the Bush administration outfitted itself in the sweet pipings of the velvet glove. But a pale spectra intruded on the occasion to remind of the mail-fist intentions of Bush II.Chief Justice William Rehnquist swore in the U.S. president at this quadrennial occasion last time under a thunder cloud suggesting a conflict of interest and worse. With his five-vote majority Justice Rehnquist spoke over the inconclusive will of the voters and, as the Constitution permits, declared as winner a candidate, who was also his favorite.In his dissent, Justice Paul Stevens framed a troubling aspect of the 2000 elections."One thing, however, is certain," he wrote. "Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law. I respectfully dissent."This time around, Rehnquist swore in the president without the cloud of a Supreme Court conflict. The burden otherwise may have been too much to carry into bliss eternal.Much has been made about how Rehnquist got off his death-bed to swear in President Bush, this second time around. Indeed. The ailing octogenarian has thyroid cancer, complicated recently by a tracheotomy to assist his breathing. Parking his wheelchair backstage, Rehnquist hoisted himself upon the tripod of his legs and cane, and descended the stairs decked out in a wool beret and his trademark robe with the four, gold Sergeant Pepper stripes.It was a reminder that upon swearing in President Bill Clinton, the chief justice uttered an unenthusiastic "good luck." With Bush, he offered as hearty a "congratulations" as his tracheotomy would allow. Illness drove him almost immediately from the rostrum and back to his wheelchair.The president was barely in better voice than Rehnquist, with his simian lips tripping workmanlike over his prose. What worked in the speech is what works in all good speeches: tension. Like a gifted halfback making his way downfield, a paragraph would give a leg then take it away.At one point, Bush swelled up to spread "freedom" to all four corners: "If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led." Soon enough, the speechwriter deflated the rhetoric to "show purpose without arrogance." At other times, though his facts didn't quite square with history, the self-delusion was at least was tempered by the possibility of past errors, as in the following paragraph.America, he said, "is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. The story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom. The story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer. It is the American story, a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals."Threaded throughout were strong biblical references laced with implications that Christianity need not be separated from the business of the state. "God" was mentioned outright three times, as was "democracy," both being pushed by a tsunami of "freedom," with 27 mentions and "liberty" with 15.All in all, the speech was a patriotic hymn tailored to appeal across the spectrum. But these were Inauguration Day words. As for action, the country can expect something quite different.Chief Justice Rehnquist stood witness to that more bare-knuckled approach Bush will likely take in his attempt to bend national policy toward the will of the religious right, so-called. As the enabler for Bush's 2000 victory, Justice Rehnquist, long an operator on the Republican right, is thus the handmaiden of the re-election, so-called. His background speaks of what, behind the sweet words of the inauguration, may yet be in store during Bush II.The president referred to slavery and racial suppression in his speech, a condition with which Rehnquist is quite experienced. As a law clerk, Rehnquist drafted memos defending segregation. While not admitting to such racism during his court confirmation hearing, Rehnquist could recall no civil rights bill he favored during the 1960s.Bush also painted a picture of an America under his leadership that simply defends itself. But his bloody war record in Iraq - and his reported intentions in Iran - runs counter to the soaring prose of the inauguration speech. He fancies himself as a war president proud of his Iraq invasion and occupation, despite the mounting death toll, the likelihood of a quagmire, and the absence of weapons of mass destruction that he used to justify the war.Now that the velvety pomp of the inauguration is over, we're likely to see, at home and abroad, the cracking down of the Bush mail fist