Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States
just after noon on
Tuesday, January 20. After taking a slightly awkward oath of office from
Supreme Court Chief Justice
John Roberts, he followed with a sober but uplifting speech. Here is the text
of that speech, as
prepared for delivery, according to The Associated Press:
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 of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at
war, against a far-reaching
network of violence and hatred. 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. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses
shuttered. Our health care is
too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence
that the ways we use
energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less
measurable but no less
profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that
America's decline is
inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and
they are many. They will
not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they
will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of
purpose over conflict and
discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false
promises, the
recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our
politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to
set aside childish
things.
The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better
history; to carry forward that
precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the
God-given promise that
all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full
measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is
never a given. It must be
earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It
has not been the path
for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only
the pleasures of riches
and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of
things - some celebrated but
more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the
long, rugged path
towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across
oceans in search of a new
life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the
lash of the whip and plowed
the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy
and Khe Sahn. Time
and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their
hands were raw so
that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of
our individual
ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous,
powerful nation on Earth.
Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are
no less inventive, our
goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or
last year. Our capacity
remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow
interests and putting off
unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must
pick ourselves up, dust
ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy
calls for action, bold
and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new
foundation for growth. We
will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that
feed our commerce and bind
us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield
technology's wonders to raise
health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the
winds and the soil to fuel
our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and
colleges and universities to
meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest
that our system cannot
tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have
forgotten what this country has
already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined
to common
purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath
them - that the stale
political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The
question we ask today is
not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -
whether it helps families
find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is
dignified. Where the answer is
yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.
And those of us who
manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform
bad habits, and do our
business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital
trust between a people and
their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.
Its power to generate
wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that
without a watchful
eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper
long when it favors only
the prosperous.
The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our
Gross Domestic
Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend
opportunity to every willing
heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common
good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety
and our ideals. Our
Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a
charter to assure the rule of
law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.
Those ideals still light
the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.
And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the
grandest capitals to
the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of
each nation and every
man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we
are ready to lead once
more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not
just with missiles and
tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood
that our power alone
cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they
knew that our power grows
through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our
cause, the force of our
example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we
can meet those new
threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and
understanding between
nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a
hard-earned peace in
Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to
lessen the nuclear threat,
and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our
way of life, nor will we
waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by
inducing terror and
slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and
cannot be broken; you
cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are
a nation of Christians
and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every
language and culture,
drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter
swill of civil war and
segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we
cannot help but
believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe
shall soon dissolve; that as the
world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that
America must play its role in
ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and
mutual respect. To
those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their
society's ills on the West -
know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you
destroy. To those who
cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent,
know that you are on the
wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to
unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your
farms flourish and let
clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to
those nations like ours
that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to
suffering outside our
borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.
For the world has
changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble
gratitude those brave
Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant
mountains. They have something
to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper
through the ages. We honor
them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they
embody the spirit of
service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.
And yet, at this
moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit
that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and
determination of the
American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in
a stranger when the
levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours
than see a friend lose
their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's
courage to storm a stairway
filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that
finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be
new. But those values
upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair
play, tolerance and
curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are
true. They have been the
quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a
return to these truths.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on
the part of every
American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties
that we do not
grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there
is nothing so satisfying to
the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult
task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to
shape an uncertain
destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and
children of every race
and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why
a man whose father less
than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now
stand before you to
take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have
traveled. In the year of
America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled
by dying campfires on
the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was
advancing. The snow was
stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most
in doubt, the father
of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when
nothing but hope and virtue
could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger,
came forth to meet
[it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship,
let us remember these
timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy
currents, and endure what
storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were
tested we refused to
let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with
eyes fixed on the horizon
and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and
delivered it safely to future
generations.
