First black president takes office, facing an array of problems
Before a jubilant(欢呼的) crowd of more than a million, Barack Hussein Obama claimed his place in history as America's first black president, summoning(召唤, 号召) a dispirited(沮丧的) nation to unite in hope against the "gathering clouds and raging storms" of war and economic woe(苦难).
On an extraordinary day in the life of America, people of all colors and ages waited for hours Tuesday in frigid(寒冷的) temperatures to witness a young black man with a foreign-sounding name take command of a nation founded by slaveholders(奴隶所有者). It was a scene watched in fascination by many millions — perhaps billions — around the world.
"We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," the nation's 44th president said.
The presidency passed to Democrat Obama from Republican George W. Bush at the stroke of noon(正午的钟声), marking one of democracy's greatest gifts: the peaceful transfer of power.
As Washington's historic day whirled into night, Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the Neighborhood Ball, the first of 10 official balls of the evening. They were serenaded(唱小夜曲) by Beyonce to the Etta James song "At Last."
On Wednesday, Obama will plunge into(投入) his new job in earnest(认真地) after capping(完成,给…画上最后的点睛之笔) inaugural festivities at a national prayer service in the morning, meeting with his economic team and Iraq advisers and welcoming a stream of public visitors into the White House while Congress gives his economic revival plan a going-over(检查) and takes up the nomination(任命) of Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state. Her confirmation has been held up for now by Republican concern over the foundation fundraising(筹款) of her husband, the former president.
The new president had been buoyant(轻松的) and relaxed through the three days of pre-inaugural festivities. But he seemed somber(严肃的) as he stood on the Capitol steps, placed his left hand on the Bible used by Abraham Lincoln and repeated the inaugural oath "to preserve, protect and defend" a Constitution that originally defined blacks as three-fifths of a person. A deafening(震耳欲聋的) cheer went up.
"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(不情愿地,勉强地) accept but rather seize gladly," Obama said. "This is the price and the promise of citizenship."