MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Obama appeals to values and pledges era of responsibility

Barack Obama became the United States 44th president on Tuesday assuring allies he'll rebuild the world's shattered economy while repairing strained friendships as millions cheered the apparent arrival of a new age of political idealism. He promised to leave aside the confrontational dogma and develop a more open and conciliatory relationship with the rest of the world.

"Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils 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," Obama said. "Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. 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." Amid a roar from the euphoric millions amassed to watch him make history as the country's first Afro-American president, he concluded: "We are ready to lead once more." A sea of citizens from all walks of life shivered in the cold of Washington DC to see Obama deliver an address that seemed at times designed to remind them he was no saviour, merely a man now overseeing a country embroiled in two separate wars in far-away lands and battling another enemy on the home front: a free-falling economy. "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real," he said as they spilled from the base of the Capitol crammed into the expansive grassy stretch known as the National Mall. "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." Clad in a red tie and white shirt under a dark overcoat adorned with an American flag pin, Obama flashed a smile when he first stepped to the dais to take his oath. He later thanked outgoing president George Bush, who was among the onlookers at the Capitol, for his years of public service, even as the new president took on the formidable task of undoing the damage of his predecessor's administration. "Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old," he said. "What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition - on the part of every American - that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly." Tuesday's events were sullied only twice: once when Chief Justice John Roberts fumbled the oath of office, then again, more seriously, when Sen. Ted Kennedy suffered a seizure during the inaugural luncheon and was taken to hospital. His doctors later reported Kennedy, a fervent Obama supporter who has been diagnosed with brain cancer, was fine, his seizure having been brought on by fatigue. Also on hand for the ceremony were Obama's other living predecessors Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as Laura Bush and Lynne Cheney, wife of Dick Cheney. Obama mentioned Iraq and Afghanistan by name as he pledged to peacefully end US two unpopular wars, to mitigate the threat of nuclear war and tackle global warming. But he also had a pointed message for US enemies. "We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence," Obama said to rousing cheers from the crowd. "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."