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.jpg "President Barack Obama waves after his speech while Vice President Joe Biden applauds at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington on Monday. The Associated Press")
.jpg "President Barack Obama delivers his Inaugural address at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington on Monday. The Associated Press")
WASHINGTON — Declaring "our journey is not complete," President Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term before a crowd of hundreds of thousands Monday, urging the nation to set an unwavering course toward prosperity and freedom for all its citizens and protect the social safety net that has sheltered the poor, elderly and needy.
"Our country cannot succeed when shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it," Obama said in his relatively brief, 18-minute address. "We believe that America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class," he added, echoing his calls from the presidential campaign that catapulted him to re-election.
The president declared that a decade of war is ending, as is the economic recession that consumed much of his first term.
He previewed an ambitious second-term agenda, devoting several sentences to the threat of global climate change and saying that failure to confront it "would betray our children and future generations." Obama's focus on climate change was notable given that he barely dealt with the issue in his first term.
In an era of looming budget cuts, he said the nation has a commitment to costly programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. "These things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us," he said.
Sandwiched between the bruising presidential campaign and relentless fiscal fights, Monday's inaugural celebrations marked a brief respite from the partisan gridlock that has consumed the past two years. Perhaps seeking a fresh start, Obama invited several lawmakers to the White House for coffee before his speech, including the Republican leaders with whom he has frequently been at odds.
Looking to the challenges ahead, Obama implored Congress to find common ground over the next four years. And seeking to build on the public support that catapulted him to the White House twice, the president said the public has "the obligation to shape the debates of our time."
"Not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals," Obama said.
Moments earlier, Obama placed his hand on two Bibles — one used by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the other by Abraham Lincoln — and recited the brief oath of office. Michelle Obama held the Bibles, one on top of the other, as daughters Malia and Sasha looked on.
Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in for his second term as the nation's second in command.
Monday's oaths were purely ceremonial. The Constitution stipulates that presidents begin their new terms at noon on Jan. 20, and in keeping with that requirement, Obama was sworn in Sunday in a small ceremony at the White House. Because inaugural celebrations are historically not held on Sundays, organizers pushed the public events to Monday, the same day the nation marked the late civil rights leader King's birthday.
Following his address, Obama headed into the Capitol for a lunch with lawmakers and to sign nominations for several Cabinet members. Then it was off for the traditional inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and two glitzy evening inaugural balls.
After a stunning sunrise, the weather for the swearing-in and parade was chilly — upper 30s rising into the lower 40s — and overcast.
Once the celebrations subside, Obama will be confronted with an array of pressing priorities: an economy still struggling to fully a recover, the fiscal fights with a divided Congress, and new threats of terrorism in North Africa. The president has also pledged to tackle immigration reform and stricter gun laws in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., — sweeping domestic reforms that will require help from reluctant lawmakers.
Obama is also facing fresh concerns about terrorism in North Africa. In the midst of the inaugural celebrations, a U.S. official said two more Americans died in Algeria, bringing the U.S. death toll from a four-day siege at a natural gas plant to three. Seven Americans survived, the official said.
The president did not offer any specific prescriptions for addressing the challenges ahead, though he is expected to offer more detail in his Feb. 12 State of the Union address.
Asserting "America's possibilities are limitless," he declared at the Capitol: "My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it, so long as we seize it together."
"We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit," he said. "But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future."
Obama's second inaugural lacked the electric enthusiasm of his first, when 1.8 million people crammed onto the National Mall to witness the swearing-in of the nation's first black president. Far fewer people attended this year's inauguration — officials estimated up to 700,000 people — but the crowd still stretched from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. And shortly before the president spoke, U.S. Park Police announced that the public viewing areas on the Mall were full.
Security was tight across Washington, with streets closed off for blocks around the White House and Capitol Hill. Military Humvees and city buses were being used to block intersections. Volunteers fanned out near the Mall to help direct the crowds.
David Richardson of Atlanta and his two young children were among the earlygoers who headed to the Mall before sunrise.
"We wanted to see history, I think, and also for the children to witness that anything is possible through hard work," Richardson said.
Wendy Davis of Rome, Ga., was one of thousands of inaugural attendees who packed Metro trains. Davis came four years ago as well but was among the many ticketholders who couldn't get in then because of the massive crowds.
"I thought I was early last time, but I obviously wasn't early enough," she said.
By 8 a.m. thousands of people were also waiting in security lines that stretched a block to gain access to the spots along the parade route that were accessible to the general public without a special ticket.
The cold weather was easily tolerated by Marie-France Lemaine of Montreal, who received the trip to the inaugural as a birthday present from her husband. She headed up an Obama advocacy group in Quebec that cheered on the president from north of the border.
"The American president affects the rest of the world," she said.
Comments (65)
Add commentCalypso
Maybe FLOTUS didn't care to waste all that flavor, by letting it get cold first. It all sounds pretty scrumptious to me. Jealous?
Did FLOTUS clear her plates? Since you're reaching for negatives, surely you'll have that information too.
What do you find the nutritional values per serving of eye rolls are?
give credit where credit is due
If you want to blame obama for everything negative, including gas prices, then at least include the positives. Otherwise you just sound like a partisan hack. Which you are, but at least try not to make it so obvious.
Daily Dose of Discrimination
Still alive and well.........
Thank goodness I was dumb enough to vote for Obama. Imagine how much more dumb I would have to be to vote for . . . .what was that other guy's name again?!?
Gas Prices
Have gone down almost $.70 in the past few months.
Which has little to do with who is President, by the way.......
A few more
gun laws won't hurt, after all there are 22,000 on the Fed And State law books already...Sure have stopped the bad guys with guns, right? Wrong!
I would not follow this man
to a free buffet, or a free anything, but that's why he is where he is.
Basically
The libs are saying the only good thing their King has done was get Osama. The silence of their answer is deafening.
What more needs to be said AlaskaStyle?
What Obama did do, was enough to get him re-elected AlaskaStyle. Get used to it, he'll be the President for another term.....only a bit over 1400 more days, until another Democrat holds office. Maybe this time, it will be a (gasp) woman.
what is stunning
is that he talks and talks and talks, but then leads from behind as a matter of policy. That is what we used to call apussy. Now it is admirable? What an example...do not be surprised when we have a nation ofpussies. I do not mean the female genitalia -- I mean the type of person that EXPECTS someone else to step up and take care of him. Who respects that?
grendel,
is that what apussy is? I remember thinking donothing bloggers sitting behind their computers judging everyone else but themselves were pusssies. Have times changed that much since 2008?
alaskanstyle,
you're exactly right. Libs are silent on here... pretty much cuz liberals aren't pleased with Obama. Those crazy liberals aren't pleased with King Obama's ultra-liberal policies, bordering on socialism... Why? Because there is nothing liberal about Obama. So the only things you'll be hearing from us libs are: "what are you stupid? He's not liberal. But he's moderate which is a ginormous step in the right direction."
so.....
What good has Obama done? Instead of spewing off insults how bout someone seriously ANSWER the question.
1 good thing
Since the King's subjects cant answer with one good thing that has come from Obama i'll be the first to answer.
He has ensured once again, that a gun will be behind every blade of grass.
akstyle, here's some I approve of:
Continuing Bush's TARP, which isn't much since it was Bush who managed to do something right in 8 years, but nevertheless, it occurred under his watch.
Saved GM. Good idea as it turned out, although republicans won't admit it.
Closed prisoner torture camp at gitmo. Gitmo is still open, but what are we supposed to do with all those angry torturees?
Stimulus plan, which it turns out wasn't enough, but again, better than nothing.
universal healthcare, not bad. No other president in history accomplished it. Liberals are disappointed that it's such a conservative piece of legislation, but we take what we can get.
Renewed NATO talks. Nice to have some friends again in the world.
Ended most corporate tax relief for outsourcing jobs.
Credit card consumer protection.
Incentives/legislation for renewable energy sources
Wall street reform. Needs even more, but it's better than before.
There are more but I can't imagine you would want me to go on...
By the way, gas prices are not anywhere on this list... why? Because the president has absofukinglutely nothing to do with gas prices, which are dependent on the world's oil supply and demand. Our production is actually huge, but it's not enough to offset all the other producers.
In response to the gun behind every blade of grass comment, it's primarily because he has a D next to his name. Clinton contributed to a mass gun buyout as well. He ended up producing a toothless assault weapons ban, which changed nothing. The NRA was scaring you before Obama was even sworn in. If Obama wanted to make guns his primary focus, he would have done something 3 years ago when he had more Ds in congress. HE wouldn't have cared about reelection, because afterall, he just wants to strip you of your rights. Enough with the gunnut talks. The NRA hasn't changed a bit in 4 years and neither has Obama. He still doesn't care about taking away your guns. Look at the toothless legislation he proposed. Do you have problems reading the proposal or did you just get cliff notes from the NRA?
Cheesypoof LMFAO!
Americans have a saying for what you just described .....its called HALF-ASSED!
woops,
I didn't realize I was discussing politics with a 13 year old. BFF still, gf, right? like omg, right?
love it
when you cant beat an argument and resort to childish immaturity.
seriously, it probably took you 30 or 40 minutes of googling any kind of information you could use and type it up in your response. And it took me a moment to blow it out of the water with one sentence.
so please excuse me while i continue to LMFAO at you.
The removal of the lifetime
The removal of the lifetime cap on insurance coverage of medical expenses literally save a loved one's life.
Obama saved the life of one my own with a simple rule change: no lifetime maximums on health care.
Thank you President Barack Hussein Obama.
I have told the haters this. They think I made it up. But it is true. Anyone who has a chronic illness faced a grim deadline...when do you hit your lifetime cap and treatment ends because you cannot afford them? What will you do then?
akstyle,
30 or 40 minutes on google? I only included what I approved of. If you need google to remind you of healthcare, tarp, stimulus, gitmo torture, green energy incentives, and foreign relations then it's no wonder your retort was "LMFAO." By the way, you have no argument, in case you were wondering. Your posts are simply attempts to rile up liberals on here. There's a term for people like you: internet troll
If you consider my posts to be immature, what do you consider yours to be? I am truly interested in how you view yourself.
Here's my list of
Here's my list of "achievements" by Obama, which I, along with future generations, will never be able to express our gratitude appropriately.
- increased federal debt by almost $6T in 4 years
- increased unemployment by 8M people
- decreased wages of those lucky enough to still have a job by thousands of dollars/year
- increased food stamp participants in the country by 46%
- has managed, through his useful idiots in various governmental agencies, to enact onerous regulations in all sectors of the economy - oil and gas, farming, banking, etc.
- will take over 1/6 of our economy when ObamaCare is fully implemented - and we'll be lucky if it's ONLY 1/6
- stirred up the Middle East beehive through his "democracy" project - so far there are close to ten dead Americans to show for his leadership
- gutting of the strongest military on earth, through social engineering (DADT, females in combat), lack of new, innovative hardware and just lack of dollars
- spending taxpayer money to bail out his GM union buddies with a potential loss of $25B to said taxpayers
And as cheesy would say, "there are more but I can't imagine you would want me to go on..."
@calypso
How about ending a war that the Bush administration intentionally lied to get us into? 4000 dead Americans from that one.
I am pretty happy with killing Osama and ending torture.
FYI, Republican presidents are responsible for the majority of the US debt. Maybe two unfunded wars and a massive unfunded tax cut had something to do with it? But that would interfere with your fever dream of a Soviet sleeper spy born in Kenya taking the USA under the control of the ONE WORLD ORDER... du-du-duuuuuuuuuuu
Until you issue a demand that the military budget be cut, you are really just spitting into the wind on the deficit.
Oh, el boor, I don't think
Oh, el boor, I don't think Obama was born in Kenya. He's just an all American kid raised up by the radicals of the 60's. His grandpa and his mother and his college professors. That's all.
It's always who one hangs around with - right?
calypso,
where is the direct evidence linking obama to said "achievements"?
Increased federal debt was inevitable considering the economic decline that took place in 2007.
Same with unemployment.
Same with decreased wages.
Same with welfare recipients.
You should probably be a little more specific on the regulations. Banking regulations were very necessary after the financial crisis that took place. In fact many would argue his regulations didn't go far enough. Republicans are arguing for that.
will take over 1/6th of the economy? What does that statement mean exactly? Stop reading and believing the chain emails. You can't even fact-check a statement like that. It's just poorly written. Maybe you should go back and read exactly what was forwarded to you by some other lazy dingbat.
Stirred up the middle east? You mean continue with bad bush administration policies. I'll agree with that.
The US military has not been gutted. Again with the chain emails. Stop reading them. Or at least check them out before you copy/paste it.
Saving GM, which saved thousands of jobs. The official tally on taxpayer losses is expected to be about $5 billion after the last of GM shares are sold. Considering the bank bailouts were profitable in the billions, the US government is still in the black on the bailouts. Sorry... I'd be happy to criticize you more if you would like to continue. If you would like to limit the criticism then just stick to what you can prove and nothing more.
@ calypso
President Barack Hussein Obama's maternal family, a pretty normal bunch:
Ann Dunham
Mother of Barack Obama, born in 1942; died in 1995. Born Stanley Ann Dunham, she was an American anthropologist who specialized in economic anthropology and rural development. She earned her PhD from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and worked with the United States Agency for International Development, the Ford Foundation, and Women's World Banking, to promote the use of microcredit in order to combat global poverty. The Ann Dunham Soetoro Endowment in the Anthropology Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the Ann Dunham Soetoro Graduate Fellowships at the East–West Center (EWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii are named in her honor. Obama refers to his mother as the dominant figure in his formative years. "The values she taught me continue to be my touchstone when it comes to how I go about the world of politics."
Stanley Armour Dunham
Stanley Dunham is the grandfather of Barack Obama. He was born in 1918 and served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II, enlisting just after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Stanley and his wife Madelyn raised Obama in Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition to Obama, Stanley is related to six US presidents: James Madison, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1992, and is buried at the Punchbowl National Cemetery.
Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham
Barack Obama's maternal grandmother was born in 1922 and died on November 2, 2008. She was a bank vice president in Hawaii. Obama said that when he was a child, his grandmother "read me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and told me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something."
cheesy, having any kind of
cheesy, having any kind of adult discussion with you is like trying to explain economics to children. Grow up.
el boor - did you take your biographies of Obama's family out of Dreams From My Father? Doesn't Obama's family life sound so warm and fuzzy?
Now you need to do some research on these associates of Obama's - this will help you see where his ideology comes from.
Rashid Khalidi
Tony Rezko
Frank Marshall Davis
Bill Ayers
Jeremiah Wright
Derrick Bell
Valerie Jarrett's dad
@Calypso Check out Silverado
@Calypso
Check out Silverado Savings and Loan.
good to
hear there was a white guy in the wood pile.
calypso,
so, you're agreeing with me? If you can't defend one point you attempt to make in a long drawn out post then all I can assume is you fold. Am I correct? And let me know when you're ready to put on the big kid shoes and carry on an adult discussion. I'd be happy to read something like that from you for a change.