Reporting from Washington — Barack Hussein Obama took his place as the 44th president of the United States under a bright January sky on Tuesday, defining the problems the nation now faces 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 a rejection of the policies and values of his immediate predecessors and a somber call for the return of what he called the traditional American virtues of hard work, fair play, tolerance and sacrifice for the common good.
In moments of crisis, "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 forebears and true to our founding documents," he said.
"So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans."
Evoking the names and values of the Founding Fathers is commonplace in presidential speeches, but in Obama's case the device seemed intended to make a larger point: The change he hopes to bring about will require even his supporters to accept things they don't want to accept, work with opponents they've long demonized and alter long-ingrained lifestyles.
Americans as a whole must adopt a new, more self-denying way of life with little room for "those who prefer leisure over work or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame," he said.
In a passage that echoed Roosevelt's first inaugural, Obama said, "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."
If the speech was exceptionally somber and included relatively few lines designed to draw roars of approval from the enormous crowd, the day nonetheless resounded with jubilation.
