Inaugural speeches make their point in a hurry

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inaugural speeches tend to be quick business — 15 to 20 minutes, give or take a few — and Barack Obama’s is expected to fall in that range Tuesday.

He certainly won’t be setting any records, long or short, for inauguration addresses. That’s tough to do.

The shortest ever lasted several minutes. George Washington took fewer than 150 words to say all he wanted to say at his second inauguration in 1793.

At the other extreme, William Henry Harrison spoke at least for 1 hour and 45 minutes in 1841. He died a month later, of pneumonia. His presidency was the shortest in history and his inauguration speech the longest.

Some of the best remembered speeches were among the tightest. John F. Kennedy’s in 1961 clocked in at just under 15 minutes.

Recent presidents and the length of their inaugural speeches:
—George W. Bush: 15 minutes in 2001, 21 minutes in 2005.
—Bill Clinton: 14 minutes in 1993 (followed quickly by an hourlong speech to Congress), 22 minutes in 1997.
—George H.W. Bush: 20 minutes in 1989, after a prayer and tribute to his predecessor.
—Ronald Reagan: About 20 minutes in 1981, about 22 minutes in 1985.