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To a world eager for his leadership to replace Bush's, Obama had welcome words: "We are ready to lead once more."

The day began well before dawn as people made their way downtown to secure spots from which to witness history, and it was to extend well past midnight through a swirl of 10 official inaugural balls and many more unofficial galas.

The drama exceeded even the breathless buildup of recent days' nearly nonstop discussion on TV, podcasts and text messages. Not only heavily policed and barricaded Washington but much of the country virtually halted in its tracks -- even, albeit briefly, inside the casinos of Las Vegas.

The nation has celebrated 55 inaugurations, but none like the one that made a president out of the son of Kenya and Kansas, a man who rose to America's highest office largely untested at executive leadership, his political experience encompassing only four years in the US Senate and eight in the state legislature of his home state of Illinois.

Blacks especially powered the jubilation that was thick in the chilly air. Even though Obama didn't give the topic of race, his or others, much treatment in either his campaign nor his inaugural, blacks poured into Washington from all over to watch firsthand as one of their own at last shattered a painful racial barrier.

"It almost leaves me speechless," said 69-year-old Tony Avelino, who traveled from Brea, Calif. "This situation is so emotional it's basically an unreal experience," added 56-year-old Cleveland Wesley, on the Mall from Houston with his wife as the sun rose.

Many others also see in Obama fresh reason for optimism at a time of great national insecurity. Or a chance for rest from the eight acrimonious years of the Bush presidency. Or even a turn toward modernity, as a country hurtling into new ways of communicating, connecting and conducting business chose a man more comfortable in that world than any leader before him.

Excitement over Obama's young, camera-ready family and the thought of Malia Obama and her sister, 7-year-old Sasha, turning the stately White House into a children's playroom also figured prominently in the day.

Among the feverishly discussed questions: What would fashion-forward Michelle Obama be wearing when the first couple arrived at their first evening ball to dance to pop singer Beyonce crooning the old blues classic "At Last"? The shimmering gold brocade sheath dress and matching coat that she chose for the daytime sparked immediate watercooler discussion, especially when she paired the outfit with green gloves against the cold.

In a country nearly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, it was notable that protests were nearly unseen, a remarkable shift from the two Bush inaugurations that were marked by boisterous demonstrations. One group of about 20 people from a Baptist church in Kansas demonstrated with anti-gay slogans.

With his White House campaign and landslide November victory built in part on his rhetorical gifts, Obama sought to provide reassurance for the future while compelling listeners to sacrifice.

He articulated eloquently the deeper effect on the American psyche of the problems of war and recession: "a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights."

Not so, said Obama. But he cautioned that the effort will require all citizens, no matter party, age, skin color, or status, to get to work.

"The time has come to set aside childish things," he said, invoking the Bible. "Greatness is never a given. It must be earned."

Bush, the man who has led the nation the past eight years, hosted the Obamas for coffee in the morning, accompanied them to the Capitol and sat tightlipped in the front row for Obama's swearing-in and speech.

Obama thanked Bush for his service as president and never directly criticized him. But he also repeatedly talked of the need to abandon current practices, whether "the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics," the lack of a watchful enough eye on financial markets, or what he called a false choice between safety and ideals -- a reference to brutal interrogation practices and other actions taken by the Bush administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come," Obama said.

Afterward, he escorted his predecessor to a helicopter and Bush flew first to Andrews Air Force Base for a private departure ceremony, then on to a welcome rally in Midland, Texas and finally, by nightfall, his ranch near Crawford, Texas. As the architect of two unfinished wars and the man in charge at a time of economic calamity, the now ex-president left Washington under the cloud of approval ratings hovering at historic lows. People in the crowd booed when Bush's image was flashed on jumbotrons and one contingent near the Capitol sang "Na-na-na-na, hey, hey, goodbye" in a jeering farewell.

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