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President George W Bush shares the podium with the former president and vice president
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Mr George W. Bush has taken the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States and has pledged to work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.
As a very light drizzle fell on the west front of the Capitol, Mr Bush swore the 35-word oath of office every other president has taken assuming power following one of the most contentious presidential races in history.
Mr Bush did not mention his bitter battle with Democrat Mr Al Gore that ended after the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in his favor, but he clearly had healing national wounds in mind when he gave his brief inaugural address.
Mr Bush noted that some doubted America's integrity and that it sometimes seemed "we share a continent, but not a country".
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"We do not accept this and will not allow it," Mr Bush said. "Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation. And this is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity," the new President said.
Some of those angry about the election outcome mingled in the crowd of celebrants to protest Bush's inauguration, holding up signs like Hail to the thief to support their belief the election was stopped before all the votes were counted.
Among those on the Capitol platform for the inauguration were: Mr Clinton, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, former-president Jimmy Carter and mr Bush's defeated election opponent Mr Al Gore.
Perhaps the proudest people on the podium were the new president's father, former president George Bush. It was 12 years ago that he took the same presidential oath of office as his son and then handed over the reins of power to Clinton eight years ago.
Mr George W. Bush is only the second son of a president to follow his father to the White House and the first since John Quincy Adams in 1825.
After Mr Dick Cheney was sworn in as the new vice president, Mr Bush stepped to the front of the podium just after noon. He put his hand on a Bible used at the first inauguration of George Washington in 1789 and repeated the 35-word constitutionally required oath of office. As every president since Washington has done, he added the words So help me, God.
The oath was administered by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, one of the five Supreme Court justices who voted in Bush's favor to end the ballot-counting in Florida and thereby assure the victory over Gore.
Reuters