Inauguration of President Barack Obama (2009) news, photos and video

'We seek a new way forward'

Full text of the speech given before more than a million on the National Mall

January 20, 2009

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst o...

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Inauguration of Barack Obama
Click here for complete Inauguration coverage on the Chicago Tribune's Barack Obama page, including an Inauguration schedule, information on speeches and entertainment, and related video.

Barack Obama's inauguration: 'We must pick ourselves up'

By Christi Parsons and Peter Nicholas | Washington Bureau

January 21, 2009

WASHINGTON — Barack Hussein Obama took his place as the 44th president of the United States under a bright winter sky on Tuesday, painting this perilous national moment in unsparing terms and exhorting Americans to respond by taking greater responsibility for themselves, the country and the world.

Standing on the West Front of the Capitol as the first African-American ever sworn in as president, Obama celebrated that historic achievement, noting that "a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

But the heart of Obama's first address to the nation as its president was rejection of the policies and values of his immediate predecessors and a somber call for the return of what he called traditional American virtues of hard work, fair play, tolerance a...

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Inauguration of President Barack Obama (2009)

On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the United States. Obama took his place as the 44th president under a bright winter sky, painting this perilous national moment in unsparing terms and exhorting Americans to respond by taking greater responsibility for themselves, the country and the world. More than 1 million people flocked to the National Mall to take part in the event, spilling outward from the gleaming white Capitol steps toward the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial more than a mile away. Show more »

On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the United States. Obama took his place as the 44th president under a bright winter sky, painting this perilous national moment in unsparing terms and exhorting Americans to respond by taking greater responsibility for themselves, the country and the world. More than 1 million people flocked to the National Mall to take part in the event, spilling outward from the gleaming white Capitol steps toward the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial more than a mile away. « Show less

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Inauguration of President Barack Obama (2009)