Amid unprecedented security measures and in the presence of some two million people, Barack Obama took the oath to become the forty-fourth President of the United States of America.
The inauguration ceremony for Obama, (47 years old) held in the Capitol building in Washington, to become the first black U.S. president and to succeed George W. Bush, who has left the White House. He was one of the least popular leaders of the country, leaving his successor two wars, a severe financial crisis and unstable international alliances.
Joe Biden has also taken the Oath as Vice-President of the U.S.
Obama has said in a speech marking his inauguration that he is standing in front of his countrymen, that he feels grateful for the trust accorded to him and remembers the sacrifices made by their ancestors.
He further said “We are going through a crisis whose dimensions have become known to a large extent. Our nation is in a war against a broad network of violence and hatred. The decline of our economy is not only because of the greed and lack of responsibility for some of us, but also because of our failure to make tough decisions, and to prepare our nation for a new era.”
He went on to say “Homes have been lost, jobs have disappeared, and companies have declined. Our health care system is very costly, our schools are facing a lot of problems, and our energy consumption threatens our planet.”
Obama said: “I say to you that the challenges we face are real and numerous. We can not face them so easily or in a short time, but know that America will face these challenges.”
Taking the oath at a ceremony guarded by forty thousand police and army men at the Capitol building, a landmark that had been built by slaves, Obama used his full name and did not drop his middle name (Hussein) as he did in the election campaign. He uttered all of the 35 words of the oath from the same of the Bible that Lincoln used during his inauguration ceremony in 1861.
Obama said, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, swear that I will perform the functions of the office of President of the United States in all sincerity and to the best I can of the capabilities, and I will safeguard and protect the Constitution of the country.”
The ceremony, which began for the first time in 1837, was attended by more than two million people, either in person or viewing it from giant screens, standing in the area that separates the Capitol from the Lincoln memorial, where Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech in 1963.
The celebration, which took place at the west facade of the Capitol, was the most expensive in the country’s history, costing 160 million dollars, a quarter of which will be paid for by Obama.
Bush left the White House as one of the least popular heads of the US (Reuters).
Bush handed over the presidency in a ceremony attended by senior officials including Vice President Dick Cheney, who participated in the ceremony sitting on a wheelchair after suffering a torn thigh muscle yesterday.
In just five years, Obama jumped from his senator seat from the Illinois to becoming the first black U.S. president, convincing Americans of his ability to lead the country despite his relatively limited experience.
But Obama, who went to church early that morning in a typical inauguration tradition, has angered some liberals as he picked the evangelist Rick Warren, a known opponent of gay marriage, to give the invocation.
Immediately after the ceremony, which took place between 04:30 pm GMT, Bush and his wife came down from the steps of the Capitol as ordinary citizens, and returned to their home state of Texas.
First Day
It is expected that the new president will begin his first day on Wednesday by signing of an order to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, a process that will continue for 16 months.
Obama enters the White House reinforced by the majority in the two houses of Congress which has been retrieved by the Democrats for the first time since 1994, but received with a vexing legacy.
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