Obama takes oath for crowd

He starts term with unity call

President Barack Obama receives the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts (not seen) as Michelle Obama holds Bibles on Monday at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th presidential inauguration in Washington. The top Bible, which Obama used in his inauguration in 2009, belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The bottom one was Martin Luther King Jr.’s.

President Barack Obama receives the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts (not seen) as Michelle Obama holds Bibles on Monday at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th presidential inauguration in Washington. The top Bible, which Obama used in his inauguration in 2009, belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The bottom one was Martin Luther King Jr.’s.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

— Turning the page on years of war and recession, President Barack Obama summoned a divided nation Monday to act with “passion and dedication” to broaden equality and prosperity at home, nurture democracy around the world and combat global warming as he embarked on a second term before a vast and cheering crowd that spilled down the historic National Mall.

“America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands,” the 44th president declared in a second inaugural address that broke new ground by assigning gay rights a prominent place in the wider struggle for equality for all.

In a unity plea to politicians and the nation at large, he called for “collective action” to confront challenges and said, “Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time - but it does require us to act in our time.”

“We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics or treat name-calling as reasoned debate,” the president said. “We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.”

Elected four years ago as America’s first black president, Obama spoke from specially constructed flag bedecked stands outside the U.S. Capitol after reciting oath of office that all presidents have uttered since the nation’s founding.

The events highlighted a day replete with all the fanfare that a security-minded capital could muster - from white-gloved Marine trumpeters who heralded the arrival of dignitaries on the inaugural stands to the midwinter orange flowers that graced the tables at a traditional lunch with lawmakers inside the Capitol.

The weather was relatively warm, in the mid-40s. The crowd was smaller than the record 1.8 million who attended in 2009. As of 4 p.m., the Washington Metro subway system had 538,000 riders, compared with 807,000 at the same time in 2009, according to Philip Stewart, a spokesman for the transit agency.



RELATED ARTICLES

http://www.arkansas…">Obama’s inaugural blends with King’s dayhttp://www.arkansas…">Locals gather, observe day’s celebrations

The District of Columbia’s mass-transit system decided to temporarily close four stations near the National Mall because of crowding. The problem was exacerbated by a disabled train in northern Virginia that caused extensive delays for passengers trying to get out of the city.

Lines around stations snaked for blocks in some cases, as stranded and frustrated passengers congregated outside entrances.

Obama turned around as he was leaving the inaugural stands to savor the view of the crowd one final time.

“I’m not going to see this again,” said the man whose political rise was swift - from the Illinois Legislature to the U.S. Senate and the White House before marking his 48th birthday.

The inauguration this year shared the day with the national holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and the president used a Bible that had belonged to the civil-rights leader for the swearing-in, along with a second one that been Abraham Lincoln’s. The president also paused inside the Capitol Rotunda to gaze at a dark bronze statue of King.

Democrats and Republicans wished Obama well as he began his second term.

“Congratulations and Godspeed,” House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden as he presented them with flags that had flown atop the Capitol.

National leaders past and present - including Democratic former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter - were on hand. Obama’s immediate predecessor, former President George W. Bush, a Republican, released a statement saying he and his wife, Laura Bush, offered the president and first lady “our best wishes and prayers on this historic day.”

RELATED GALLERY

Bush’s father, 88-year old George H.W. Bush, who was recently released from a Houston hospital after battling a cough, released a statement saying, “Barbara and I send President and Mrs. Obama - and their wonderful girls - our best wishes and prayers on this historic day. May Almighty God bless them and our wonderful country over the next four years.”

Outside, the Inaugural Parade took shape, a reflection of American musicality and diversity that featured military units, bands, floats, the Chinese American Community Center Folk Dance Troupe from Hockessin, Del., and the Isiserettes Drill & Drum Corps from Des Moines, Iowa.

The crowds were several rows deep along parts of the parade route, and security was intense. More than a dozen vehicles flanked the president’s limousine as it rolled down Pennsylvania Avenue, and several agents walked alongside on foot.

As recent predecessors have, the president emerged from his car and walked several blocks. His wife, Michelle, was with him, and the two held hands while acknowledging the cheers from well-wishers during two separate strolls along the route.

A short time later, accompanied by their children and the vice president and his family, the first couple settled in to view the parade from a reviewing stand built in front of the White House.

A pair of nighttime inaugural balls completed the official proceedings, with a guest line running into the tens of thousands.

Obama addressed cheering crowds at the Commander in Chief Ball, speaking by video to thank a group of troops in southern Afghanistan. Then he introduced his “date,” Michelle Obama, who danced with her husband in a ruby chiffon and velvet gown while Jennifer Hudson sang “Let’s Stay Together.”

In his 18-minute inaugural speech, Obama did not dwell on the most pressing challenges of the past four years. He barely mentioned the struggle to reduce the federal deficit, a fight that has occupied much of his and Congress’ time and promises to do the same in months to come.

He spoke up for the poor - “Our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it” - and for those on the next-higher rung - “We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.” The second reference echoed his calls from the presidential campaign that catapulted him to re-election.

“A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun,” said the president who presided over the end of the U.S. combat role in Iraq, set a timetable for doing the same in Afghanistan and took office when the worst recession in decades was still deepening.

“We will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom,” he said in a relatively brief reference to foreign policy.

He also placed emphasis on the need to fight global climate change.

“Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science,” he said, “but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.” He said America must lead in the transition to sustainable energy resources.

On the climate, the White House plans to focus on what it can do administratively.

The centerpiece will be action by the Environmental Protection Agency to clamp down further on emissions from coal-burning power plants under regulations still being drafted - and likely to draw legal challenges.

That step will be supplemented by adoption of new energy-efficiency standards for home appliances and buildings, which are geared toward reducing the demand for electricity. Those standards would echo the increase in fuel economy that the administration required from automakers in the first term.

The Pentagon, one of the country’s largest energy users, is also taking strides toward cutting use and converting to renewable fuels.

Obama also declared his support for the gay-rights movement, likening the struggle to earlier crusades for women’s suffrage and racial equality.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” said the president, who waited until his campaign for reelection last year to announce his support for gay marriage.

His speech touched little on issues likely to spark opposition from Republicans who hold power in the House.

He defended Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as programs that “do not make us a nation of takers; they free is to take the risks that made this country great.”

He referred briefly to making “the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit,” a reference to a looming debate in which Republicans are seeking spending cuts in some health-care programs to slow the rise in a $16.4 trillion national debt.

He also cited a need for legislation to ease access to voting, an issue of particular concern to minority groups, and to overhauling immigration and gun-control legislation that he is expected to go into at length in his State of the Union speech Feb. 12.

But his speech was less a list of legislative proposals than a plea for tackling challenges.

“We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect,” he said, and today’s “victories will only be partial.”

There was some official business conducted during the day.

Moments after being sworn in, the president signed nomination papers for four new appointees to his Cabinet, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts for secretary of state, White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew to be treasury secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and White House adviser John Brennan to head the CIA.

A few dozen protesters were gathered along the Inauguration Day parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue invoking the legacy of King and opposing violence.

The protesters from the anti-war group ANSWER Coalition handed out posters saying “Dr. King’s Legacy ... Jobs Not War.” Protesters also had signs saying “Indict Bush Now” and “Drone Strikes [equals] War Crimes.”

The group was granted a tiny patch of land on the route to conduct its protest, but in the morning hours before the parade began, coalition members roamed freely over several blocks.

Flight restrictions were in place in the skies over Washington, with extra security on the city’s waterways. Spectators were limited in where they could drive and what they could take to the inauguration.

The Secret Service, the lead law enforcement agency for the event, didn’t reveal specific precautions, though tactics in the past have included trained sharpshooters, bomb-sniffing dogs, air patrols and surveillance cameras with feeds streaming into a command center.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was absent for security reasons, maintaining a tradition that one member of the president’s Cabinet not attend the inaugural ceremonies so he could head the government in case of any catastrophic event.

Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and The New York Times.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/22/2013