>>Obama: I am.

>>Roberts: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear

>>Obama: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear

>>Roberts: that I will execute the office of President

to the United States faithfully

>>Obama: that I will execute ...

>>Roberts: faithfully the office

of President of the United States

>>Obama: the office of the President

of the United States faithfully

>>Roberts: and will, to the best of my ability

>>Obama: and will, to the best of my ability

>>Roberts: preserve, protect

and defend the Constitution of the United States

>>Obama: preserve, protect

and defend the Constitution of the United States

>>Roberts: so help you, God.

>>Obama: so help me, God.

>>Roberts: Congratulations, Mr. President.

[cheers]

All the best wishes to you.

[cheers]

["Hail to the Chief" music and 21 gun salute]

>>Feinstein: It is my great personal honor

to present the 44th President

of these United States, Barack Obama.

[cheers and applause]

>>Obama: Thank you. Thank you.

My fellow citizens.

I stand here today humbled by the task before us,

grateful for the trust you have bestowed,

mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation,

as well as the generosity

and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides

of prosperity and the still waters of peace.

Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds

and raging storms.

At these moments, America has carried on not simply

because of the skill or vision of those in high office,

but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals

of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been.

So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.

Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network

of violence and hatred.

Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed

and irresponsibility on the part of some,

but also our collective failure to make hard choices

and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered.

Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many;

and each day brings further evidence

that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries

and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis,

subject to data and statistics.

Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping

of confidence across our land - a nagging fear

that America's decline is inevitable,

and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.

They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.

But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear,

unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances

and false promises, the recriminations and worn

out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled

our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture,

the time has come to set aside childish things.

The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit;

to choose our better history; to carry forward

that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation

to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal,

all are free, and all deserve a chance

to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand

that greatness is never a given.

It must be earned.

Our journey has never been one

of short cuts or settling for less.

It has not been the path for the faint-hearted -

for those who prefer leisure over work,

or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers,

the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men

and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us

up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled

across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West;

endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord

and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed

and worked until their hands were raw

so that we might live a better life.

They saw America as bigger than the sum

of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences

of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today.

We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.

Our workers are no less productive

than when this crisis began.

Our minds are no less inventive, our goods

and services no less needed than they were last week

or last month or last year.

Our capacity remains undiminished.

But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests

and putting off unpleasant decisions -

that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up,

dust ourselves off, and begin again the work

of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift,

and we will act - not only to create new jobs,

but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids

and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place,

and wield technology's wonders

to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil

to fuel our cars and run our factories.

And we will transform our schools and colleges

and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do.

And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -

who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many

big plans.

Their memories are short.

For they have forgotten what this country has already done;

what free men and women can achieve

when imagination is joined to common purpose,

and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is

that the ground has shifted beneath them -

that the stale political arguments that have consumed us

for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too

big or too small, but whether it works -

whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage,

care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.

Where the answer is no, programs will end.

And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held

to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits,

and do our business in the light of day -

because only then can we restore the vital trust

between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force

for good or ill.

Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched,

but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye,

the market can spin out of control -

the nation cannot prosper long

when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just

on the size of our Gross Domestic Product,

but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability

to extend opportunity to every willing heart -

not out of charity, but because it is the surest route

to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice

between our safety and our ideals.

Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils

that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter

to assure the rule of law and the rights of man,

a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them

up for expedience's sake.

And so to all the 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 we are ready to lead once more.

[applause]

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism

and communism not just with missiles and tanks,

but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us,

nor does it entitle us to do as we please.

Instead, they knew that our power grows

through its prudent use; our security emanates

from the justness of our cause, the force of our example,

the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy.

Guided by these principles once more,

we can meet those new threats

that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation

and understanding between nations.

We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people,

and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.

With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly

to lessen the nuclear threat,

and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver

in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims

by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents,

we say to you now that our spirit is stronger

and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us,

and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength,

not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims,

Jews and Hindus - and non-believers.

We are shaped by every language and culture,

drawn from every end of this Earth;

and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war

and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger

and more united, we cannot help but believe

that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines

of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller,

our common humanity shall reveal itself;

and that America must play its role in ushering

in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward,

based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

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.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you

to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow;

to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty,