WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama issued a impassioned call for equality and national unity as he was inaugurated for a second term Monday, warning political "absolutism" must not thwart renewal and change.
Obama was publicly sworn in for another four White House years before a flag waving crowd of hundreds of thousands on Washington's National Mall. Then he delivered an address steeped in poetic power and broad hints of his new agenda.
The 44th president repeatedly used the "We the People" preamble to the US Constitution to suggest how to reconcile America's founding truths and the current discord and dysfunction of its embittered political system.
"Decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay," said Obama with the freedom of a leader who no longer needs to face voters, and the urgency of a president who knows that second-term powers soon wane.
"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," Obama declared.
Though his speech was watched across the globe, Obama sketched over foreign policy, disdaining "perpetual war" and promising diplomacy of engagement backed with military steel -- though did not dwell on specific crises like Iran.
"We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully -- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear."
While reaching for a soaring note of national unity, Obama's address, delivered from the flag-draped West Front of the US Capitol, was laced with liberal ideology, and augured policies certain to enrage Republicans.
Signs of intent on issues like gun control and climate change may also worry those Democrats who must run for re-election in conservative territory in 2014 mid-term polls, and who may hold the fate of Obama's agenda in their hands
In an apparent bid to frame his legacy, Obama said America must shield the weak, the poor and those lacking health care and demanded equality for all races and gay rights, and security from gun crime for children.
"Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law -- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," Obama said.
"Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity," he said, signaling a policy drive on a deeply contentious issue.
"Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm."
Obama also vowed the meet the threat of global warming, despite skepticism on climate change among some Republicans and daunting political and economic barriers to taking meaningful action.
Obama's most emphatic Republican foes welcomed his reach for unity but like the president, hinted at deep ideological divides.
"The President's second term represents a fresh start when it comes to dealing with the great challenges of our day; particularly, the transcendent challenge of unsustainable federal spending and debt," said Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
Defeated Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan congratulated Obama on his inauguration and said for the occasion they would put their differences aside because "we serve the same country, one that is still in need of repair."
Earlier, the president raised his right hand and rested his left on Bibles once owned by Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln, on an outdoor platform underneath the gleaming white dome of the Capitol.
"I Barack Hussein Obama ..." the 44th president said, vowing to faithfully execute his office and to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution," led in the oath of office by black-robed Chief Justice John Roberts.
Speaking to AFP, Republican senator John McCain damned the address with faint praise.
"I thought it was an excellent speech, delivery was obviously excellent," McCain said. "I didn't hear any conciliatory remarks associated with it, but that's his privilege."
Obama, his smile flashing bright, appeared more relaxed than at his first inauguration four years ago, when he took office as an untested and inexperienced leader as an economic depression threatened.
Bundled-up Obama supporters earlier trekked into town to join snaking lines for Secret Service checkpoints guarding a steel-fenced secure zone around the White House and the inaugural parade route.
After his speech Obama dined on bison and lobster with VIP members of Congress before heading back to the White House on the inaugural parade route.
One Obama supporter, the Reverend Ruddie Mingo, 54 -- who donated time and money to the president's winning campaign against Republican Mitt Romney -- admitted the festivities were less mobbed than four years ago.
"My hope is that his next four years we can get more stuff accomplished on both sides," he said.
Obama took the oath for a first time Sunday in a private ceremony at the White House because the constitution states that US presidential terms end at noon on January 20.
Poignantly, Obama took his second, second term oath of office on the federal holiday marking civil rights pioneer King's birthday.
- AFP/ck
Obama issues inaugural call for unity, equality
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Obama issues inaugural call for unity, equality
