Ready to lead
Matthew StephensEditor's note: Central Michigan Life sent two editors to Washington D.C. to capture the history of Barack Obama's inauguration.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Before a crowd of more than a million people, Barack Obama claimed his place in history as America's first black president, calling the nation to unite in hope against the "gathering clouds and raging storms" of war and economic distress.
At noon Tuesday, Republican George W. Bush passed the presidency to the democrat, making Obama the nation's 44th president.
On the Capitol Steps, Obama placed his left hand on the Bible - the same used by Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration - and repeated the inaugural oath "to preserve, protect and defend" a Constitution that long ago defined blacks as three-fifths of a person.
"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world. Duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly," Obama said. "This is the price and the promise of citizenship."
He made careful allusion to the inability - or unwillingness - of Americans to adjust to the state of the American economy.
Congress has already given Obama $350 billion in new financial-industry bailout money and is fast-tracking a massive economic stimulus bill to be worth $825 billion or more.
"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age," he said.
Unlike most of his predecessors, Obama takes office with his agenda in many ways set for him.
He inherits an economy that seems more foreboding than at any inauguration since Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, with some 11 million people now out of work and trillions of dollars of stock market investments lost.
Obama must work with two wars, one in Iraq, which most of the country has long wanted over, and another in Afghanistan that is spiraling downward and in need of an overhaul. The continuing fear of another calamitous terrorist attack still grips many Americans.
Obama plunges into his new job in earnest on Wednesday, meeting with his economic team and Iraq advisers while Congress gives his economic revival plan a going-over and takes up the nomination of Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state.
Her confirmation has been held up for now by Republican concern over the foundation fundraising of her husband, the former president.
As one of his first official acts, Obama signed a presidential proclamation declaring Tuesday a "National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation." He also officially nominated his Cabinet, except for Commerce and Defense secretaries. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, does not need to be renominated.
Obama's inaugural address only touched upon a series of his promises from his campaign: get U.S. out of Iraq, stabilize Afghanistan, create more jobs, "restore science to its rightful place," boost the use of alternative energy, address climate change, transform schools, manage government spending wisely and oversee a more bipartisan approach to policy-making.
His ascension to the White House was cheered around the world as a sign to all that America will be more open to change.
"To the Muslim world," Obama said, "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
Still, he warned, "To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."
Obama thanked Bush for his service as president and did not directly criticize him. But he also repeatedly spoke of the need to abandon current practices, including "the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
