Obama takes oath, calls for unity, engagement
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E-mail Xinhua, January 22, 2013
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U.S. first lady Michelle Obama (C) and her two daughters attend the presidential inauguration ceremony on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 21, 2013 [Xinhua] |
![U.S. first lady Michelle Obama (C) and her two daughters attend the presidential inauguration ceremony on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 21, 2013 [Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130122/001ec949fb59126828ba05.jpg "U.S. first lady Michelle Obama (C) and her two daughters attend the presidential inauguration ceremony on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 21, 2013 [Xinhua]")
Visionlaid out
Placed his hand on two Bibles, one owned by President Abraham Lincoln, the other by Dr. Martin Luther King, Obama recited the presidential oath.
The president has been officially sworn in to the second term at a private ceremony in the White House Sunday as required by the constitution. As the date fell on a Sunday, Obama took the oath of office again at the public inauguration ceremony Monday.
This marks the seventh time that a U.S. president's inauguration ceremony falls on Monday following an Inauguration Day on Sunday, and also the second time the ceremonial swearing-in falls on the Martin Luther King Day.
According to David Plouffe, Obama's senior advisor, the inaugural address is part one of his second term agenda. In an interview on Sunday with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week ", Plouffe said the address would "lay out his vision for a second term. The detailed blueprint and ideas will be in the State of the Union," which Obama is to deliver on Feb. 12.
Obama is facing no shortage of challenges in his second term. In addressing the country in a decidedly progressive inaugural address, Obama is trying to enlist the people to advance his agenda in face of Republican resistance in Congress.
Many of the old challenges the president has faced in the first term still hang around now. The economy, an issue that nearly 70 percent of Americans give top priority to in a latest poll, is still weak. Fierce fights over fiscal problems and immigration reforms are also looming for the early months of Obama's second term. The president's newly announced gun control agenda is well expected to meet resistance on Capitol Hill.
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