US

"We are ready to lead once more" says Obama

Article published on the 2009-01-20 Latest update 2009-01-21 10:00 TU

US President Barack Obama delivers his speech after taking the Oath of Office to become the 44th President of the United States
(Credit: Reuters)

US President Barack Hussein Obama called on the American people to band together during the economic downturn in his speech to the more than three million people who came out in person to hear the 44th president speak at his inaugural ceremony in Washington DC on Tuesday. But he also had words for the global community.

 

"To all the 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, we are ready to lead once more," to the biggest cheers of his speech.

"All this we can do, all this we will. Now there are some who question the scale of our ambtions, 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 has joined a common purpose and necessity to courage."

"Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more."

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, with mutual trust and mutual respect," he said.

Referring not only to the state of the economy but internal and governmental discord, Obama addressed the crowd and called for everyone to band together.

"Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of re-making America," said Obama to cheers from the two million people who came to see the inauguration in person. "For everywhere we look, there is work to be done," he said.

Obama thanked 43rd president George W. Bush for his help during the presidential transition process, but he referred to the former president's lack of leadership more than once during his speech.

Analysts have made links between Obama and the US's 17th president, Abraham Lincoln, as well as the 35th president, John F. Kennedy. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation as president in 1863 and ended slavery in the United States, and is considered one of the country's greatest leaders.

Lincoln was seen as a great orator and was an inspiration for John F. Kennedy when he took office in 1961, who was a proponent of the civil rights movement before he was assassinated in 1963.

"I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors," Obama began.

His references to unity, strength and the diversity of the United States was one of the key themes of his 20-minute speech.

"Our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers," he said.

"We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth, and because we have tasted the bitter swill and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall somehow pass, that the lines of tribes shall soon dissolve, that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself."

Analysts have made links between Obama and the US's 17th president, Abraham Lincoln, as well as the 35th president, John F. Kennedy. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation as president in 1863 and ended slavery in the United States, and is considered one of the country's greatest leaders.

"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense," said Obama. "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

Obama said that the American values of freedom "still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake."