US Vice President Joe Biden walks with his sons Beau (L) and Hunter (2nd R) and his wife Jill down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade in Washington January 20, 2009. [Agencies]
Obama's 10-year-old daughter, Malia, aimed a camera at her father as he spoke. Michelle leaned onto the edge of her seat, body tensed and brow knitted.
"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America," Obama said.
He alluded to the inability -- or unwillingness -- of Americans to adjust to the passing of an industrial-based economy. "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age," he said. With that, the 47-year-old former Illinois senator transformed himself -- from a candidate claiming his campaign is about the voters to a president promising to put the nation in the people's hands.
Unlike most predecessors, Obama takes office with his agenda in many ways set for him.
An economy that seems more foreboding than at any inauguration since Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, with some 11 million people now out of work, and trillions of dollars of stock market investments lost. Two wars, one in Iraq that most of the country has long wanted over and another in Afghanistan that is spiraling downward and needs an overhaul. The continuing fear that another calamitous terrorist attack is not out of the question.
More inspirational than prescriptive, Obama's inaugural address only glancingly mentioned a series of promises from his campaign: to get the US out of Iraq, stabilize Afghanistan, create jobs, "restore science to its rightful place," boost the use of alternative energy, address climate change, transform schools, manage government spending wisely and oversee a more bipartisan, less-divisive approach to policy-making.
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, blogs, 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.
【免费咨询报名电话：010-6801 7975】
咨询报名MSN:xueliedu@hotmail.com
试一试网上报名
咨询报名QQ：
| 1505847972 | 1256358232 | 1363884583 | 1902839745 | 800072298 | 754854002 |
| 中专升大专 | 中专升本科 | 高升专 | 高升本 | 专升本 | 自考 |
报名咨询在线MSN：
