PRESIDENT BARACK Obama has promised a new era of American engagement with the world and a renewal of fundamental constitutional principles at home, signalling a dramatic break with the policies of the past eight years.
Speaking before an estimated two million people after he was sworn in as the first African-American president of the United States, Mr Obama said that America “is ready to lead again” as a friend of all who seek a future of peace and dignity.
“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” he said.
“To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.
“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Hundreds of thousands of people started to converge on the National Mall before dawn, braving biting cold to watch the inauguration of a man who noted that, 60 years ago, his father could not have been served at local restaurants. Tens of thousands of police, soldiers and plainclothes officers patrolled the Mall and the streets of downtown Washington as fighter jets flew overhead.
Mr Obama and his wife Michelle began the day with a religious service before taking coffee at the White House with outgoing president George Bush and his wife Laura.
Mr Bush and Mr Obama drove together from the White House to the Capitol, where former presidents were waiting, along with senators and congressmen and numerous celebrities. A few boos greeted the arrival of Mr Bush and former vice-president Dick Cheney, who was in a wheelchair because of a back injury he received while moving into his new house in a Virginia suburb.
The crowd cheered the arrival of Senator Edward Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer. Mr Kennedy appeared to be in good spirits but became ill during the inaugural lunch. Dr Edward Aulisi, chairman of neurosurgery at Washington Hospital Center, said last night that Mr Kennedy had suffered a seizure brought on by simple fatigue and would be released from hospital this morning.
Muhammad Ali was seated on the platform for the swearing-in and among the VIP guests were veterans of the black civil rights movement.
Aretha Franklin performed the patriotic anthem My Country ‘Tis of Thee, moving many to tears as she sang the words “Let freedom ring!”
Both the new president and chief justice John Roberts stumbled over the oath of office but the crowd erupted in a great cheer the moment they heard the words “I, Barack Hussein Obama . . .”
Mr Obama’s 21-minute inaugural address struck a sombre tone, stressing the gravity of the economic and geopolitical challenges facing the US and issuing a call to action.
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” In an unmistakable reference to the Bush administration’s use of torture, illegal wiretapping and suspense of habeas corpus, Mr Obama rejected as false “the choice between our safety and our ideals”, promising a return to the values that underpin the US constitution.
“Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake,” he said. “And so to all 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, and that we are ready to lead once more.”
Mr Obama made only glancing reference to his status as the first African-American to become president, although the platform guests rose in a standing ovation when he spoke of his black father as someone who would have been refused service in Washington 60 years ago.
In her inaugural poem a few minutes later, Elizabeth Alexander was more explicit: “Say it plain that many have died for this day.”
The inauguration ended with a benediction from Rev Joseph Lowery, an 87-year-old veteran of the civil rights movement: “We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back,” he said.
“When brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right. Let all who do justice and love mercy say amen.”