Presidential inaugural speeches have historically connected with the American public, and President George W. Bush's address, scheduled to take place at noon, is not expected to be any different.

Thomas Benson, a communication arts and sciences professor who studies political rhetoric in presidential speeches, said it would be interesting to see if Bush labels international events as crises during his speech to promote a sense of unity among the public.

"Certainly the country is experiencing some difficulty [in Iraq]," Benson said. "This is a time of such contentiousness, like at the other times in history, but there's also a debate as to whether the crisis has been manufactured."

Benson added that people are being told a Social Security crisis exists, but there are an equal number of people who feel there is no cause for concern.

"Contentiousness over issues has been a theme in American political life for a long time," Benson said.

Benson said the speeches of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were memorable not only because they were eloquent speakers, but because they were living in significant times of crisis or change.

Inaugural speeches are essentially ceremonial, brief and general, Benson said, and differ from other speeches like the State of the Union address, which tends to be detailed advice given to Congress for a legislative agenda.

Bob Shepherd, Centre County Democrats chairman, said memorable speakers make a big impact.

"Charisma and their speaking ability is a big part of what makes these speeches famous," Shepherd said.

Benson added that to some extent, Ronald Reagan displayed qualities of a speaker that really connected with people.

"These are all speeches that are part of familiar literature," Benson said. "These kinds of speeches seldom enter the political canon of the universally great orators."

Benson said when Lincoln took office, the southern states were beginning to secede, and Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression.

Though the events of today are somewhat unique, they are not comparable to times in the past, he said.

"There are certainly moments of crisis when we don't have great speakers," Benson added.

Shepherd said he does not feel Bush is one of those great speakers, and said he will not be watching the speech this afternoon.

"I'm sure he'll be saying the same things as he always says," Shepherd said. "And how he'll save us from all the forces of evil."

Young Americans for Freedom member Shauna Moser said that although Bush makes mistakes sometimes, the content of his speech will overshadow the imperfections.

"It's hard when everyone in the world hates you and wants you to mess up," Moser said.

"But obviously he got re-elected, so he must be doing something right," she added.