Hope is reborn for the world

TWO million voices roared their approval and chanted one man’s name as a wall of sound reverberated across America and around the world in one of the most momentous days in history.

THE MAN WHO DARED TO DREAM Obama THE MAN WHO DARED TO DREAM: Obama

“Obama, Obama” rang out as the new President of the most powerful nation on Earth walked into the Washington sunlight and into the history books as America’s first black president.

The adulation, fervour and hope was obvious, but so too were the secret service sharpshooters hanging off the balconies and looking out over a sea of people crammed on to the National Mall that stretches down to the Lincoln Memorial.

Millions lined the parade route along Penn sylvania Avenue where Barack Obama and wife Michelle would later go to take their place in the White House. In scenes the like of which have not been since John F Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961, many cried openly and there were some boos for out-going President George W Bush.

Obama and his wife Michelle share an intimate moment Obama and his wife Michelle share an intimate moment

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After being sworn in as the 44th President, Obama used his speech to call on Americans to rebuild the country’s stricken economy and shattered reputation in the world.

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More than two billion watching on TV round the world heard the new President say: “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America,” he boomed across the Mall to cheers and tears from the vast crowd.

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With echoes of predecessors Franklin D Roosevelt and Kennedy as well as civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Obama spoke of hope triumphing over fear, liberty meaning equality for all and a new era of responsibility.

“To all 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,” he said, to cheers and whoops ringing through the crowd.

His wife Michelle held the antique Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861 as Obama laid his right hand upon it and took the oath of office. After he finished his 16-minute inaugural address, chants of his old campaign slogan “Yes We Can” rippled up from the masses stretching down the Mall.

Washington and the rest of the country was gripped by a mood of exuberance and optimism, despite Obama’s sombre words warning that America was still at war and in the depths of economic crisis.

“I loved this day, I watched history being made and not only America but the whole world was watching,” said Sheunetta Dirke, a 57-year-old black housewife from Columbus, Georgia. “My great-grandparents were slaves. Obama has fulfilled Martin Luther King’s dream of a more equal America and this is just a wonderful day.”

Obama stood in front of the Capitol building that was built by slaves, and he, his wife Michelle and their daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, will move into a White House that was also built by slaves.

“There is nothing so defining of the spirit than putting our will to a difficult task, this is the meaning of liberty,” Obama said.

“A man whose father, 60 years ago, might not have been served in a restaurant can now stand before you and take this most sacred oath,” he continued, referring to his Kenyan-immigrant father and the rules of segregation of past decades that meant blacks could not eat in the same restaurants as whites, go to the same schools or use the same public toilets or drinking fountains in America. Senator Diane Feinstein brought Barack Obama to the stage by saying “the world is watching” referring to the global TV audience. As Obama looked from the Capitol down the National Mall to the Lincoln Memorial his eye was drawn to the statue of slavery abolitionist Abraham Lincoln sits .

It was here that Martin Luther King made his “I have a dream” speech in 1963 calling for racial equality. And in the shadow of that monument, America acknowledged its past by ushering in a new age.

He was sworn in under his full name, Barack Hussein Obama, a name which many thought would dissuade enough Americans from voting him into office.

But as he was pronounced President, a deafening 21-gun salute boomed out from Howitzer guns positioned behind the Capitol, then the band played the rousing Hail To The Chief as Obama stepped forward to give his inaugural address. “My fellow citizens, I stand here today humbled by the task before us ... and grateful for the trust you have bestowed in me,” he began.

He set a tone mixing warnings of uphill struggles with the encouragement and optimism that American would overcome those struggles. “Every so often this oath is taken amid gathering clouds and raging storms,” he said. “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.”

Just as Roosevelt, when he was leading the US through the Great Depression, told Americans that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself “which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”, and John F Kennedy called for renewal and change, there were echoes in Obama’s speech.

“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,” he said as the crowds roared their approval. “We have chosen hope over fear.” .

And echoing JFK’s request that Americans ask “not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” he called for a new era of responsibility.

Shortly after he went inside the Capitol building and was handed the codes to America’s nuclear arsenal, Obama sat down for lunch with Michelle and 200 dignatories. Later he attended the parade prior to taking up residence in the White House.

In contrast outgoing President Bush got into a green helicopter with wife Laura and with one last wave, took off for his own part in history. [>

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