Millions see Obama sworn in
Source: Agencies |
January 22, 2013, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
President Barack Obama swore to protect and defend the US Constitution in a massive public celebration of American democracy yesterday, marking the second inauguration of the country's first black president.
Trumpets sounded a fanfare, cannons fired and hundreds of thousands of people outside the Capitol watched the president take the oath of office.
Millions of people across the world watched the ceremony on television.
Obama then began an inaugural address that touched on the broad gifts that bring the country together, and pointed to the work ahead, "the realities of our time."
While he was officially sworn in on Sunday, as required by law, the glitter of Inauguration Day - the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, the night of balls, the ceremonial beginning of a new four-year presidential term - still enlivened staid Washington.
The celebration was pushed to Monday because January 20 fell on a Sunday this year. That placed the grand ceremony on the US holiday marking the birthday of revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
Obama, the politician who rose improbably from a history as a community organizer in Chicago and a professor of constitutional law to the pinnacle of power, faces a nation riven by partisan disunity, a still-weak economy and an array of challenges abroad.
He also faces a less charmed standing on the world stage, where expectations for him had been so high four years ago that he was given the Nobel Peace Prize just months into his presidency.
Trumpets sounded a fanfare, cannons fired and hundreds of thousands of people outside the Capitol watched the president take the oath of office.
Millions of people across the world watched the ceremony on television.
Obama then began an inaugural address that touched on the broad gifts that bring the country together, and pointed to the work ahead, "the realities of our time."
While he was officially sworn in on Sunday, as required by law, the glitter of Inauguration Day - the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, the night of balls, the ceremonial beginning of a new four-year presidential term - still enlivened staid Washington.
The celebration was pushed to Monday because January 20 fell on a Sunday this year. That placed the grand ceremony on the US holiday marking the birthday of revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
Obama, the politician who rose improbably from a history as a community organizer in Chicago and a professor of constitutional law to the pinnacle of power, faces a nation riven by partisan disunity, a still-weak economy and an array of challenges abroad.
He also faces a less charmed standing on the world stage, where expectations for him had been so high four years ago that he was given the Nobel Peace Prize just months into his presidency.
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