Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Prepsident Obama's Speech January 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/22/us/politics/22obama-inaugural-speech-annotated.html?ref=politics#/?annotation=194723b0b
President Obama’s Inaugural Address
Reporters and editors from The New York Times offered context and analysis on President Obama’s inaugural address. Related Article » Highlightsclick to jump to key momentsPresident Obama
Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.
We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time. For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, we must act knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride. They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.
You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America
.1 of 14Obama Sets Goal to Broaden EqualityBarack Hussein Obama renewed his oath of office at midday Monday, ceremonially marking the beginning of another four years in the White House and firmly embracing a progressive agenda centered on equality and opportunity. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
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2 of 14A Recycled LineObama also focused on the "self-evident" line in the 2004 convention speech that shot him to fame. The tone of this speech and its vision of liberalism are distinctly different from that speech, which was about finding commonality across party lines. — JODI KANTOR
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3 of 14Rebutting the 'Socialism' ChargeThroughout his presidency, Mr. Obama has repeatedly been accused of begin an enemy of business and capitalism. Some even have called him a socialist. There was more fodder in this speech to feed that accusation, including a mention of "collective action." But he also sought to temper that with this specific reference to "hard work and personal responsibility." And he made sure to say that the idea of total reliance on government is a "fiction" that the country does adhere to. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
4 of 14The Meaning Behind "You Didn't Build That"Mr. Obama spent weeks this summer fending off Republican criticism of his line "You didn't build that" -- a reference to the argument that business owners benefit from roads and other things they didn't create. But this section makes clear just how strongly the president believes in the broader idea behind the phrase.
It also echoes another theme he has used: "We're in this together," which is originally a formulation of Jared Bernstein, one of his former economic advisers. — DAVID LEONHARDT
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5 of 14A Desire to Help the Middle ClassSince the early days of the 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. Obama has said that his top priority would be to build an economy that benefits the middle-class more than the economy did under his predecessor. The weak economy has frustrated some of his ambitions on this score, but his tax cuts for the poor and middle-class, his expansion of health insurance and other policies have all been part of this focus. — DAVID LEONHARDT
FacebookTwitter
6 of 14Obama Gets SpecificPeople frequently criticize inaugural speeches for not being very specific, as they did with President Obama four years ago.
But there was a good deal from this inaugural speech that could be important in the months ahead: the way Mr. Obama stuck to, and re-framed, the inequality argument (referring to “takers”); the way he made an affirmative case for entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare); the significant amount of time he spent talking about climate change; and finally, the mention of Stonewall, the uprising that marked the start of the gay rights movement.
It is hard to imagine Mr. Obama having given an inaugural speech this forceful – some might say in your face – four years ago. Part of the reason is that Mr. Obama realizes he has a short window and has to, with this speech and the State of the Union, move quickly to get things done before the light begins to dim on his presidency.
But he is also, as we saw Monday, a president unbound. He is no longer worrying about running for re-election. He is able to think about what he want to do as president. Many times, when you see a president speak, you can almost see the wheels spinning in their head as they think, “How is this going to play? Am I going to stir up the opposition with this? Am I going to get bashed on critics on the blogosphere?”
Not here, not today. — ADAM NAGOURNEY
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7 of 14Health Care and the DeficitBy putting health care before the deficit, Mr. Obama was making clear that he believes — as the numbers suggest — that health-care costs are the primary reason the government faces a long-term deficit. But after facing harsh criticism of his proposals for reducing health costs in 2009 and 2010 — such as the accusations that he favored "death panels" -- he has often shied away from specifics about reducing cost growth. It remains unclear precisely which "hard choices" Mr. Obama supports to reduce the long-term deficit. — DAVID LEONHARDT
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8 of 14The Origin of 'Takers'President Obama referred in his address Monday to the notion of “takers”: Americans who are said to be living off the generosity of the government. Using the word “takers” in this way dates to at least the 1980s and has become popular among conservatives in recent years. “By accepting liberalism’s logic, we are becoming a nation of takers, a people constantly inquiring what our country can do for us, heedless of its cost to society or future generations,” Don Feder, then a Boston Herald columnist, wrote in a 1988 Heritage Foundation publication.
Mike Huckabee used the phrase in a Republican presidential debate in 2007. A Wall Street Journal opinion article in 2011 was called, "We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers." Tyler Cowen, an economist at George Mason University, argued last year in The New York Times that the concept was flawed but useful. Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year, has used the word multiple times, including in this 2010 interview.
Mitt Romney may or may not have used the word in last year's presidential campaign, but he echoed the theme when he talked about the "47 percent of people" who "believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it," as well as when he spoke of the "gifts" Mr. Obama had bestowed on his supporters. — DAVID LEONHARDT
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9 of 14Climate Change Given ProminencePresident Obama made addressing climate change the most prominent policy vow of his second Inaugural Address, setting in motion what Democrats say will be a deliberately paced but aggressive campaign built around the use of his executive powers to sidestep Congressional opposition.
In dedicating eight full sentences on the subject, more than he devoted to any other specific area, Mr. Obama is heading into the effort having extensively studied the lessons from his first term, when he failed to win passage of comprehensive legislation to reduce emissions of the gases that cause global warming. This time, the White House plans to avoid such a fight and instead focus on what it can do administratively. — RICHARD W. STEVENSON and JOHN M. BRODER
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10 of 14On SecurityOne of the most frequent criticisms of Mr. Obama's foreign policy during the 2012 campaign was that he remains naive about the threats that the world presents to American freedoms and interests. In this section -- one of the brief mentions of national security and foreign policy -- the president seeks to quickly answer that charge by reaffirming his desire to confront other nations in part by changing the image of America abroad. Without specifics, though, the mention is not likely to satisfy his most ardent security critics. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
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11 of 14A Key ReferenceThe reference to Stonewall was extremely noteworthy. This was no obscure dog-whistle reference: Stonewall was the place of the uprising in Greenwich Village in 1969, widely viewed as the start of the modern gay-rights movement. It led to the creation of many gay-liberation groups and civil rights laws. But more striking was that in grouping Stonewall with Selma and Seneca Falls, Mr. Obama suggested that the gay-rights movement was the equivalent of the civil rights and women's movement; many black civil rights leaders had long argued against the idea that gay rights and black civil rights were similar struggles. — ADAM NAGOURNEY
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12 of 14An Unrestrained ObamaGone are the vision of a new kind of high-minded politics, the constraint of a future reelection campaign and the weight of unrealistic expectations. In their place was an unapologetic argument that modern liberalism is perfectly consistent with the spirit of the founders and a notice that, with no immediate crisis facing the nation at the start of this term, Mr. Obama intends to use the full powers of his office on behalf of progressive values.
Mr. Obama has always had an internal dialectic to him: pragmatism versus ideology, bold versus cautious, hawk versus dove, post-racial versus man of color. Those tensions all no doubt remain present to some degree.
But he has seemed since Election Day to be choosing more than he has in the past. His decision in the wake of the Newtown massacre to embark on a full-scale effort to crack down on gun violence showed him to be less shackled to political wisdom about what is possible or electorally wise; his willingness to stare down Republicans over raising the debt limit – and winning – showed that he is less likely nowadays to start a negotiation by moving to the center and trying to find common ground. — RICHARD W. STEVENSON
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13 of 14Fighting for Change
Mr. Obama has long been frustrated -- usually by Republicans -- in making good on his promise to change Washington's divisive politics. In this section, he obliquely calls out his Congressional rivals, chiding them for sticking to rigid ideologies and refusing to be flexible. And despite having his own rough-and-tumble campaign apparatus, he decries what he calls "name-calling" in the political sphere. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
FacebookTwitter14 of 14Length of Inaugural Address About AverageWhile shorter than his first inaugural address by 299 words, the length of President Obama’s speech today was fairly average, as inaugural addresses go, according to The American President Project. At 2,096 words, Mr. Obama’s speech came in slightly under the average of 2,353 words.
The longest inaugural address in the nation’s history, at 8,460 words, was given by William Henry Harrison on March 4, 1841. Mr. Harrison broke with precedent by beginning his speech, stopping to take the oath and then resuming his address. The shortest inaugural address was George Washington’s second on March 4, 1793, in which he remarked that he would “endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished honor” on another occasion. — KITTY BENNETT
.By NICK CORASANITI and JOSH WILLIAMS/THE NEW YORK TIMES ..
President Obama’s Inaugural Address
Reporters and editors from The New York Times offered context and analysis on President Obama’s inaugural address. Related Article » Highlightsclick to jump to key momentsPresident Obama
Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.
We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time. For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, we must act knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride. They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.
You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America
.1 of 14Obama Sets Goal to Broaden EqualityBarack Hussein Obama renewed his oath of office at midday Monday, ceremonially marking the beginning of another four years in the White House and firmly embracing a progressive agenda centered on equality and opportunity. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
FacebookTwitter
2 of 14A Recycled LineObama also focused on the "self-evident" line in the 2004 convention speech that shot him to fame. The tone of this speech and its vision of liberalism are distinctly different from that speech, which was about finding commonality across party lines. — JODI KANTOR
FacebookTwitter
3 of 14Rebutting the 'Socialism' ChargeThroughout his presidency, Mr. Obama has repeatedly been accused of begin an enemy of business and capitalism. Some even have called him a socialist. There was more fodder in this speech to feed that accusation, including a mention of "collective action." But he also sought to temper that with this specific reference to "hard work and personal responsibility." And he made sure to say that the idea of total reliance on government is a "fiction" that the country does adhere to. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
4 of 14The Meaning Behind "You Didn't Build That"Mr. Obama spent weeks this summer fending off Republican criticism of his line "You didn't build that" -- a reference to the argument that business owners benefit from roads and other things they didn't create. But this section makes clear just how strongly the president believes in the broader idea behind the phrase.
It also echoes another theme he has used: "We're in this together," which is originally a formulation of Jared Bernstein, one of his former economic advisers. — DAVID LEONHARDT
FacebookTwitter
5 of 14A Desire to Help the Middle ClassSince the early days of the 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. Obama has said that his top priority would be to build an economy that benefits the middle-class more than the economy did under his predecessor. The weak economy has frustrated some of his ambitions on this score, but his tax cuts for the poor and middle-class, his expansion of health insurance and other policies have all been part of this focus. — DAVID LEONHARDT
FacebookTwitter
6 of 14Obama Gets SpecificPeople frequently criticize inaugural speeches for not being very specific, as they did with President Obama four years ago.
But there was a good deal from this inaugural speech that could be important in the months ahead: the way Mr. Obama stuck to, and re-framed, the inequality argument (referring to “takers”); the way he made an affirmative case for entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare); the significant amount of time he spent talking about climate change; and finally, the mention of Stonewall, the uprising that marked the start of the gay rights movement.
It is hard to imagine Mr. Obama having given an inaugural speech this forceful – some might say in your face – four years ago. Part of the reason is that Mr. Obama realizes he has a short window and has to, with this speech and the State of the Union, move quickly to get things done before the light begins to dim on his presidency.
But he is also, as we saw Monday, a president unbound. He is no longer worrying about running for re-election. He is able to think about what he want to do as president. Many times, when you see a president speak, you can almost see the wheels spinning in their head as they think, “How is this going to play? Am I going to stir up the opposition with this? Am I going to get bashed on critics on the blogosphere?”
Not here, not today. — ADAM NAGOURNEY
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7 of 14Health Care and the DeficitBy putting health care before the deficit, Mr. Obama was making clear that he believes — as the numbers suggest — that health-care costs are the primary reason the government faces a long-term deficit. But after facing harsh criticism of his proposals for reducing health costs in 2009 and 2010 — such as the accusations that he favored "death panels" -- he has often shied away from specifics about reducing cost growth. It remains unclear precisely which "hard choices" Mr. Obama supports to reduce the long-term deficit. — DAVID LEONHARDT
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8 of 14The Origin of 'Takers'President Obama referred in his address Monday to the notion of “takers”: Americans who are said to be living off the generosity of the government. Using the word “takers” in this way dates to at least the 1980s and has become popular among conservatives in recent years. “By accepting liberalism’s logic, we are becoming a nation of takers, a people constantly inquiring what our country can do for us, heedless of its cost to society or future generations,” Don Feder, then a Boston Herald columnist, wrote in a 1988 Heritage Foundation publication.
Mike Huckabee used the phrase in a Republican presidential debate in 2007. A Wall Street Journal opinion article in 2011 was called, "We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers." Tyler Cowen, an economist at George Mason University, argued last year in The New York Times that the concept was flawed but useful. Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year, has used the word multiple times, including in this 2010 interview.
Mitt Romney may or may not have used the word in last year's presidential campaign, but he echoed the theme when he talked about the "47 percent of people" who "believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it," as well as when he spoke of the "gifts" Mr. Obama had bestowed on his supporters. — DAVID LEONHARDT
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9 of 14Climate Change Given ProminencePresident Obama made addressing climate change the most prominent policy vow of his second Inaugural Address, setting in motion what Democrats say will be a deliberately paced but aggressive campaign built around the use of his executive powers to sidestep Congressional opposition.
In dedicating eight full sentences on the subject, more than he devoted to any other specific area, Mr. Obama is heading into the effort having extensively studied the lessons from his first term, when he failed to win passage of comprehensive legislation to reduce emissions of the gases that cause global warming. This time, the White House plans to avoid such a fight and instead focus on what it can do administratively. — RICHARD W. STEVENSON and JOHN M. BRODER
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10 of 14On SecurityOne of the most frequent criticisms of Mr. Obama's foreign policy during the 2012 campaign was that he remains naive about the threats that the world presents to American freedoms and interests. In this section -- one of the brief mentions of national security and foreign policy -- the president seeks to quickly answer that charge by reaffirming his desire to confront other nations in part by changing the image of America abroad. Without specifics, though, the mention is not likely to satisfy his most ardent security critics. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
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11 of 14A Key ReferenceThe reference to Stonewall was extremely noteworthy. This was no obscure dog-whistle reference: Stonewall was the place of the uprising in Greenwich Village in 1969, widely viewed as the start of the modern gay-rights movement. It led to the creation of many gay-liberation groups and civil rights laws. But more striking was that in grouping Stonewall with Selma and Seneca Falls, Mr. Obama suggested that the gay-rights movement was the equivalent of the civil rights and women's movement; many black civil rights leaders had long argued against the idea that gay rights and black civil rights were similar struggles. — ADAM NAGOURNEY
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12 of 14An Unrestrained ObamaGone are the vision of a new kind of high-minded politics, the constraint of a future reelection campaign and the weight of unrealistic expectations. In their place was an unapologetic argument that modern liberalism is perfectly consistent with the spirit of the founders and a notice that, with no immediate crisis facing the nation at the start of this term, Mr. Obama intends to use the full powers of his office on behalf of progressive values.
Mr. Obama has always had an internal dialectic to him: pragmatism versus ideology, bold versus cautious, hawk versus dove, post-racial versus man of color. Those tensions all no doubt remain present to some degree.
But he has seemed since Election Day to be choosing more than he has in the past. His decision in the wake of the Newtown massacre to embark on a full-scale effort to crack down on gun violence showed him to be less shackled to political wisdom about what is possible or electorally wise; his willingness to stare down Republicans over raising the debt limit – and winning – showed that he is less likely nowadays to start a negotiation by moving to the center and trying to find common ground. — RICHARD W. STEVENSON
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13 of 14Fighting for Change
Mr. Obama has long been frustrated -- usually by Republicans -- in making good on his promise to change Washington's divisive politics. In this section, he obliquely calls out his Congressional rivals, chiding them for sticking to rigid ideologies and refusing to be flexible. And despite having his own rough-and-tumble campaign apparatus, he decries what he calls "name-calling" in the political sphere. — MICHAEL D. SHEAR
FacebookTwitter14 of 14Length of Inaugural Address About AverageWhile shorter than his first inaugural address by 299 words, the length of President Obama’s speech today was fairly average, as inaugural addresses go, according to The American President Project. At 2,096 words, Mr. Obama’s speech came in slightly under the average of 2,353 words.
The longest inaugural address in the nation’s history, at 8,460 words, was given by William Henry Harrison on March 4, 1841. Mr. Harrison broke with precedent by beginning his speech, stopping to take the oath and then resuming his address. The shortest inaugural address was George Washington’s second on March 4, 1793, in which he remarked that he would “endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished honor” on another occasion. — KITTY BENNETT
.By NICK CORASANITI and JOSH WILLIAMS/THE NEW YORK TIMES ..
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President Obama You are a Wise Man
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are more than deserving of a second term and I wish you all the blessings. You are a true leader, a visionary and understands clearly what is human rights to which we all have a right to expect. The commentary below is commendable of your courage and insight.
Op-Ed Columnist
A Map of Human DignityBy FRANK BRUNI
Published: January 21, 2013 171 Comments
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Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall. The alliteration of that litany made it seem obvious and inevitable, a bit of poetry just there for the taking. Just waiting to happen.
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Earl Wilson/The New York Times
Frank Bruni
Go to Columnist Page »
.Frank Bruni's Blog »
.Related
Obama Offers Liberal Vision: ‘We Must Act’ (January 22, 2013)
Related in Opinion
Editorial: President Barack Obama (January 22, 2013)
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For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow @andyrNYT.
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Read All Comments (171) »
But it has waited a long time. And President Obama’s use of it in his speech on Monday — his grouping of those three places and moments in one grand and musical sentence — was bold and beautiful and something to hear. It spoke volumes about the progress that gay Americans have made over the four years between his first inauguration and this one, his second. It also spoke volumes about the progress that continues to elude us.
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall,” the president said, taking a rapt country on a riveting trip to key theaters in the struggle for liberty and justice for all.
Seneca Falls is a New York town where, in 1848, the women’s suffrage movement gathered momentum. Selma is an Alabama city where, in 1965, marchers amassed, blood was shed and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood his ground against the unconscionable oppression of black Americans.
And Stonewall? This was the surprise inclusion, separating Obama’s oratory and presidency from his predecessors’ diction and deeds. It alludes to a gay bar in Manhattan that, in 1969, was raided by police, who subjected patrons to a bullying they knew too well. After the raid came riots, and after the riots came a more determined quest by L.G.B.T. Americans for the dignity they had long been denied.
The causes of gay Americans and black Americans haven’t always existed in perfect harmony, and that context is critical for appreciating Obama’s reference to Stonewall alongside Selma. Blacks have sometimes questioned gays’ use of “civil rights” to describe their own movement, and have noted that the historical experiences of the two groups aren’t at all identical. Obama moved beyond that, focusing on the shared aspirations of all minorities. It was a big-hearted, deliberate, compelling decision.
He went on, seconds later, to explicitly mention “gay” Americans, saying a word never before uttered in inaugural remarks. What shocked me most about that was how un-shocking it was.
Four years ago we lived in a country in which citizens of various states had consistently voted against the legalization of same-sex marriage.
But on Nov. 6, the citizens of all three states that had the opportunity to legalize gay marriage at the ballot box did so, with clear majorities in Maryland, Maine and Washington endorsing it.
Four years ago the inaugural invocation was given by a pastor with a record of antigay positions and remarks. This year, a similar assignment was withdrawn from a pastor with a comparable record, once it came to light. What’s more, an openly gay man was chosen to be the inaugural poet, and in news coverage of his biography, his parents’ exile from Cuba drew more attention than his sexual orientation. That’s how far we’ve come.
And the distance traveled impresses me more than the distance left. I want to be clear on that. I’m proud of our country and president, despite their shortcomings on this front and others. It takes time for minds to open fully and laws to follow suit, and the making of change, in contrast to the making of statements, depends on patience as well as passion.
But the “gay” passage of Obama’s speech underscored the lingering gap between the American ideal and the American reality. “Our journey is not complete,” he said, “until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
He means the right to marry. As long as we gay and lesbian Americans don’t have that, we’re being told that our relationships aren’t as honorable as those of straight couples. And if that’s the case, then we’re not as honorable, either. Is there really any other reading of the situation?
Despite our strides, gay and lesbian couples even now can marry only in nine states and the District of Columbia. The federal government doesn’t recognize those weddings, meaning that in terms of taxes, military benefits and matters of immigration, it treats gays and lesbians differently than it treats other Americans. It relegates us to an inferior class.
The Supreme Court could soon change, or validate, that. There are relevant cases before it. For his part Obama could show less deference to states’ rights, be more insistent about what’s just and necessary coast-to-coast, and push for federal protections against employment discrimination when it comes to L.G.B.T. Americans. His actions over the next four years could fall wholly in line with Monday’s trailblazing words. My hope is real, and grateful, and patient.
Joe Nocera is off today.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on January 22, 2013, on page A25 of the New York edition with the headline: A Map Of Human Dignity..
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/opinion/bruni-a-map-of-human-dignity.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130122&_r=0
Op-Ed Columnist
A Map of Human DignityBy FRANK BRUNI
Published: January 21, 2013 171 Comments
Google+
Save
Share
Reprints
Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall. The alliteration of that litany made it seem obvious and inevitable, a bit of poetry just there for the taking. Just waiting to happen.
Enlarge This Image
Earl Wilson/The New York Times
Frank Bruni
Go to Columnist Page »
.Frank Bruni's Blog »
.Related
Obama Offers Liberal Vision: ‘We Must Act’ (January 22, 2013)
Related in Opinion
Editorial: President Barack Obama (January 22, 2013)
Connect With Us on Twitter
For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow @andyrNYT.
.Readers’ Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (171) »
But it has waited a long time. And President Obama’s use of it in his speech on Monday — his grouping of those three places and moments in one grand and musical sentence — was bold and beautiful and something to hear. It spoke volumes about the progress that gay Americans have made over the four years between his first inauguration and this one, his second. It also spoke volumes about the progress that continues to elude us.
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall,” the president said, taking a rapt country on a riveting trip to key theaters in the struggle for liberty and justice for all.
Seneca Falls is a New York town where, in 1848, the women’s suffrage movement gathered momentum. Selma is an Alabama city where, in 1965, marchers amassed, blood was shed and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood his ground against the unconscionable oppression of black Americans.
And Stonewall? This was the surprise inclusion, separating Obama’s oratory and presidency from his predecessors’ diction and deeds. It alludes to a gay bar in Manhattan that, in 1969, was raided by police, who subjected patrons to a bullying they knew too well. After the raid came riots, and after the riots came a more determined quest by L.G.B.T. Americans for the dignity they had long been denied.
The causes of gay Americans and black Americans haven’t always existed in perfect harmony, and that context is critical for appreciating Obama’s reference to Stonewall alongside Selma. Blacks have sometimes questioned gays’ use of “civil rights” to describe their own movement, and have noted that the historical experiences of the two groups aren’t at all identical. Obama moved beyond that, focusing on the shared aspirations of all minorities. It was a big-hearted, deliberate, compelling decision.
He went on, seconds later, to explicitly mention “gay” Americans, saying a word never before uttered in inaugural remarks. What shocked me most about that was how un-shocking it was.
Four years ago we lived in a country in which citizens of various states had consistently voted against the legalization of same-sex marriage.
But on Nov. 6, the citizens of all three states that had the opportunity to legalize gay marriage at the ballot box did so, with clear majorities in Maryland, Maine and Washington endorsing it.
Four years ago the inaugural invocation was given by a pastor with a record of antigay positions and remarks. This year, a similar assignment was withdrawn from a pastor with a comparable record, once it came to light. What’s more, an openly gay man was chosen to be the inaugural poet, and in news coverage of his biography, his parents’ exile from Cuba drew more attention than his sexual orientation. That’s how far we’ve come.
And the distance traveled impresses me more than the distance left. I want to be clear on that. I’m proud of our country and president, despite their shortcomings on this front and others. It takes time for minds to open fully and laws to follow suit, and the making of change, in contrast to the making of statements, depends on patience as well as passion.
But the “gay” passage of Obama’s speech underscored the lingering gap between the American ideal and the American reality. “Our journey is not complete,” he said, “until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
He means the right to marry. As long as we gay and lesbian Americans don’t have that, we’re being told that our relationships aren’t as honorable as those of straight couples. And if that’s the case, then we’re not as honorable, either. Is there really any other reading of the situation?
Despite our strides, gay and lesbian couples even now can marry only in nine states and the District of Columbia. The federal government doesn’t recognize those weddings, meaning that in terms of taxes, military benefits and matters of immigration, it treats gays and lesbians differently than it treats other Americans. It relegates us to an inferior class.
The Supreme Court could soon change, or validate, that. There are relevant cases before it. For his part Obama could show less deference to states’ rights, be more insistent about what’s just and necessary coast-to-coast, and push for federal protections against employment discrimination when it comes to L.G.B.T. Americans. His actions over the next four years could fall wholly in line with Monday’s trailblazing words. My hope is real, and grateful, and patient.
Joe Nocera is off today.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on January 22, 2013, on page A25 of the New York edition with the headline: A Map Of Human Dignity..
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/opinion/bruni-a-map-of-human-dignity.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130122&_r=0
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