Star
guests and performers at Monday's ceremonies included singers John Mayer, Katy
Perry, Beyonce and Jay-Z and actress Eva Longoria
President Obama scaled back the soaring oratory and
instead called for an end to the partisan rancor dividing Washington and the
nation as he was publically sworn in Monday to his second term as America’s
44th President.
“We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few,” he said in his 18-minute inaugural address.
“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.”
More than 800,000 people crowded on the National Mall watched the ceremony and millions more across the country and around the world followed it on live broadcasts.
The pomp, pageantry and partying came a day after Obama was officially sworn in during a brief and intimate White House ceremony.
“We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few,” he said in his 18-minute inaugural address.
“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.”
More than 800,000 people crowded on the National Mall watched the ceremony and millions more across the country and around the world followed it on live broadcasts.
The pomp, pageantry and partying came a day after Obama was officially sworn in during a brief and intimate White House ceremony.
Many of the dignitaries
gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol were bundled up against the
near-freezing weather in heavy coats, and some appeared to be shivering.
Obama showed a true Chicagoan’s disdain for the cold by uttering the 35-word oath while dressed smartly in a dark top coat — and flashing a mega-watt smile.
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath flawlessly — unlike in 2009, when he recited it from memory and flubbed the words.
“Congratulations, Mr. President,” Robert said as a roaring cheer rose from the crowd and a booming 21-gun salute echoed across Washington.
There were stars amid the pols and there were loud cheers for Jay-Z and Beyonce, who belted out the National Anthem, for James Taylor, who crooned “America the Beautiful,” and for Kelly Clarkson, who performed “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”
and got a smooch from Obama when she was through.
In his address, 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 - including a vow to addresses to the threat of global climate change, an issue that he rarely mentioned during his first four years in office.
He also vowed to protect the social safety net that has sheltered the poor, elderly and needy.
“They do not make us a nation of takers,” Obama said of Medicare and Social Security. “They free us to take the risks that make this country great.”
That appeared to be a subtle shot at Mitt Romney, who was secretly recorded dissing “the 47%” and others who rely on government programs.
And citing the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York that gave birth to the gay rights movement, the nation’s first black President called for “our gay brothers and sisters” to be “treated like anyone else under the law.”
It was the first time a President has mentioned the word “gay” in an inaugural address.
The swearing-in was to be followed by a parade and two celebratory balls — the Commander-in-Chief’s ball for 4,000 service members and families of deployed troops, and a blowout bash for 40,000 at Washington, D.C.’s convention center.
Because Monday’s ceremony fell on the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Obama placed his hand on two Bibles Monday, one owned by the fallen civil rights leader and the other owned by Abraham
Lincoln.
First Lady Michelle Obama was a vision in a tailored gray coat and youthful bangs, while First Daughters, Malia 14, and Sasha, 11, were resplendant in their plum and purple coats.
Sasha, however, appeared to be a bit weary and was seen trying — and failing — to stifle a yawn while her dad was giving his inauguraladdress
Watching the ceremony were two of Obama’s predecessors, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
Also there was Obama’s one-time rival, Hillary Clinton, whose tenure as the President’s secretary of state is ending — and who many hope will return to Washington in four years as Madame President.
“How are you,” the bespectacled and cheery-sounding former First Lady and New York senator said as she glad-handed fellow pols before the President arrived.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the master of ceremonies for the outdoor ceremony, said the theme was “Faith in America’s Future.”
The Big Apple was also represented proudly by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, which sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and Public School 22 chorus from Staten Island, which serenaded the crowd with four patriotic songs.
Watching in the crowd were lovebird singers John Mayer and Katy Perry.
“Proud,” was the one-word answer a beaming Perry gave when asked how she felt.
Obama’s second inauguration was half the size of his first, when nearly 2 million turned up in Washington to witness history.
But while Team Obama cut back the number of balls from 10 to two, in acknowledgement of the still tough economic times, there were expected to be almost as many people partying at the convention center as there were on Jan. 20, 2009.
Obama began his day with a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, just steps away from the White House.
While the President was in the sanctuary, a Twitter message from the official @Barack Obama was posted at 9:25 a.m.
Obama showed a true Chicagoan’s disdain for the cold by uttering the 35-word oath while dressed smartly in a dark top coat — and flashing a mega-watt smile.
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath flawlessly — unlike in 2009, when he recited it from memory and flubbed the words.
“Congratulations, Mr. President,” Robert said as a roaring cheer rose from the crowd and a booming 21-gun salute echoed across Washington.
There were stars amid the pols and there were loud cheers for Jay-Z and Beyonce, who belted out the National Anthem, for James Taylor, who crooned “America the Beautiful,” and for Kelly Clarkson, who performed “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”
and got a smooch from Obama when she was through.
In his address, 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 - including a vow to addresses to the threat of global climate change, an issue that he rarely mentioned during his first four years in office.
He also vowed to protect the social safety net that has sheltered the poor, elderly and needy.
“They do not make us a nation of takers,” Obama said of Medicare and Social Security. “They free us to take the risks that make this country great.”
That appeared to be a subtle shot at Mitt Romney, who was secretly recorded dissing “the 47%” and others who rely on government programs.
And citing the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York that gave birth to the gay rights movement, the nation’s first black President called for “our gay brothers and sisters” to be “treated like anyone else under the law.”
It was the first time a President has mentioned the word “gay” in an inaugural address.
The swearing-in was to be followed by a parade and two celebratory balls — the Commander-in-Chief’s ball for 4,000 service members and families of deployed troops, and a blowout bash for 40,000 at Washington, D.C.’s convention center.
Because Monday’s ceremony fell on the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Obama placed his hand on two Bibles Monday, one owned by the fallen civil rights leader and the other owned by Abraham
Lincoln.
First Lady Michelle Obama was a vision in a tailored gray coat and youthful bangs, while First Daughters, Malia 14, and Sasha, 11, were resplendant in their plum and purple coats.
Sasha, however, appeared to be a bit weary and was seen trying — and failing — to stifle a yawn while her dad was giving his inauguraladdress
Watching the ceremony were two of Obama’s predecessors, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
Also there was Obama’s one-time rival, Hillary Clinton, whose tenure as the President’s secretary of state is ending — and who many hope will return to Washington in four years as Madame President.
“How are you,” the bespectacled and cheery-sounding former First Lady and New York senator said as she glad-handed fellow pols before the President arrived.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the master of ceremonies for the outdoor ceremony, said the theme was “Faith in America’s Future.”
The Big Apple was also represented proudly by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, which sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and Public School 22 chorus from Staten Island, which serenaded the crowd with four patriotic songs.
Watching in the crowd were lovebird singers John Mayer and Katy Perry.
“Proud,” was the one-word answer a beaming Perry gave when asked how she felt.
Obama’s second inauguration was half the size of his first, when nearly 2 million turned up in Washington to witness history.
But while Team Obama cut back the number of balls from 10 to two, in acknowledgement of the still tough economic times, there were expected to be almost as many people partying at the convention center as there were on Jan. 20, 2009.
Obama began his day with a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, just steps away from the White House.
While the President was in the sanctuary, a Twitter message from the official @Barack Obama was posted at 9:25 a.m.
Recording
artists Jay-Z and Beyonce arrive on the West Front of the Capitol in
Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for President Barack Obama's ceremonial
swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration.
On Sunday, looking somewhat older and definitely grayer than he did four years earlier when he made history by becoming the first African-American President, officially began his second term.
With his left hand on a Bible that has been in his wife’s family since 1958, Obama swore to “faifthfully execute the office” and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.”
Vice President Biden recited his oath in a separate ceremony at his official residence, tapping Bronx-born Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to swear him in.
The small ceremonies were a function of the calendar and the Constitution, which mandates that a President’s term begins at noon on Jan. 20.
The reason for the two swearing-in ceremonies was because that date fell this year on a Sunday — a day when inaugural ceremonies tradionally are not held.
The two oaths Obama cited this year, coupled with the two oaths he recited in 2009, put him in the history books. He is now tied with four-termer Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the only Presidents to utter those 35 special words four
times.
(ALSO)...
No comments:
Post a Comment