Obama calls for unity, equality
2013-01-21 22:20
Washington - President Barack Obama issued an impassioned
call for national unity and equality on Monday, warning political
"absolutism" must not thwart change and renewal, as he was
inaugurated for a second term.
Obama was publicly sworn in for another four White House
years before a crowd of hundreds of thousands on Washington's National Mall,
and delivered an inaugural address steeped in poetic power and broad hints of
his new agenda.
The 44th president repeatedly used the "We the
People" preamble to the US Constitution to suggest how to reconcile America's
founding truths and the current discord and dysfunction of its embittered
political system.
"For now, decisions are upon us, and we cannot
afford delay," Obama said.
"We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or
substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We
must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect," Obama declared.
Obama's speech was noticeably liberal - calling for
protection for the weak, the poor and those lacking health care and obliquely
including a call for gay rights and protection against gun crime for children.
"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," Obama said.
"Our journey is not complete until we find a better
way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land
of opportunity.
"Our journey is not complete until all our children,
from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of
Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from
harm."
The president also said that American security did not
require "perpetual war" and promised to base US global leadership on dialogue, firm alliances
but not to cede the threat of the use of force.
"We will defend our people and uphold our values
through strength of arms and rule of law," Obama said.
"We will show the courage to try and resolve our
differences with other nations peacefully - not because we are nave about the
dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and
fear."
And Obama also vowed the meet the threat of global
warming, despite scepticism on climate change from some Republican foes, and
political barriers to taking serious action.
Swearing in
Obama earlier raised his right hand and rested his left
on Bibles once owned by Martin Luther King jnr and Abraham Lincoln, on an
outdoor platform set on the West Front of the US Capitol building and below its
elegant white dome.
"I Barack Hussein Obama ..." the 44th president
said, vowing to faithfully execute his office and to "preserve, protect
and defend the constitution", led in the oath of office by black-robed
Chief Justice John Roberts.
The president was earlier announced with a peal of
trumpets and walked down the steps from the iconic building to a huge cheers of
"Obama, Obama" from a vast crowd stretching into the distance down
the National Mall below.
Obama, his smile beaming wide, appeared more relaxed than
at his first inauguration four years ago, when he took office as an untested
and inexperienced leader as an economic depression threatened.
The president, the first African American to hold the
office, launched his second term with a private swearing-in ceremony on Sunday,
before basking in the full pomp of his office with public celebrations on Monday.
Supporters
Bundled-up Obama supporters had trekked into town to join
snaking lines for Secret Service checkpoints guarding a steel-fenced secure
zone around the White House and the inaugural parade route.
Armoured military vehicles and parked buses blocked major
roads, as part of a security vice that included air and river exclusion zones,
road closures and a heavy presence of police and National Guard reserve troops.
Though the mood was festive, as revellers crammed into
coffee shops and subway trains heading downtown, Obama's second inauguration
lacked the sense of historic promise and hope that greeted his first term in
2009.
Dignitaries, including former Democratic presidents Jimmy
Carter and Bill Clinton, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, took their
seats on a platform at the West Front of the Capitol.
One Obama supporter, the Reverend Ruddie Mingo, 54,
donated time and money to the president's winning campaign against Republican
Mitt Romney, and said inaugural festivities were less mobbed than four years
ago.
"My hope is that his next four years we can get more
stuff accomplished on both sides," he said.
Returning to office
Obama's political brand has been damaged by an exhausting
first term battling the worst economic storm in decades and brutal partisan
warfare with his Republican rivals, notably over taxes and spending.
When he returns to politics, Obama, 51, has a legacy to
defend, including a historic health care law and a retrenchment from draining
wars abroad, and he is vowing to make good on the promise of a fairer economy.
Obama took the oath for a first time on Sunday in a
private ceremony at the White House because the constitution states that US
presidential terms end at noon on 20 January.
When that date falls on a Sunday, there is a private
swearing-in ceremony before public celebrations and a second oath taking the
next day.
Poignantly, Obama took his second term oath of
office on the federal holiday marking civil rights pioneer King's birthday.
In another historic echo, Obama was the second president
to be sworn in four times - thanks to the Roberts stumble in 2009 and his
double oath duty this year, joining Democratic icon Franklin Roosevelt.
