Obama's forceful vision for America: ‘We must act'

WASHINGTON — Barack Hussein Obama ceremonially opened his second term Monday with an assertive inaugural address that offered a robust articulation of modern liberalism in America, arguing that “preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.”

On a day that echoed with refrains from the civil rights era and tributes to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Obama dispensed with the post-partisan appeals of four years ago to lay out a forceful vision of advancing gay rights, showing more tolerance toward illegal immigrants, preserving the social welfare safety net and acting to stop climate change.

At times he used his speech, delivered from the West Front of the Capitol, to reprise arguments from the fall campaign. He rebutted the notion expressed by conservative opponents that America risks becoming “a nation of takers” and extolled the value of proactive government in society. Instead of declaring the end of “petty grievances,” as he did taking the oath as the 44th president in 2009, he challenged Republicans to step back from their staunch opposition to his agenda.

“Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-old debates about the role of government for all time — but it does require us to act in our time,” he said in the nearly 20-minute address. “For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act.”

Obama used Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, as he did four years ago, but this time added King’s Bible as well to mark the holiday honoring the civil rights leader. He became the first president to mention the word “gay” in an inaugural address as he equated the drive for same-sex marriage to the quest for racial and gender equality.

The festivities at the Capitol came a day after Obama officially took the oath in a quiet ceremony with his family at the White House on the date set by the Constitution. With Inauguration Day falling on a Sunday, the swearing-in was then repeated for an energized mass audience a day later, accompanied by the pomp and parade that typically surrounds the quadrennial tradition.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on a brisk but bright day, a huge crowd by any measure, although far less than the record turnout four years ago. If the day felt restrained compared with the historic mood the last time, it reflected a more restrained moment in the life of the country. The hopes and expectations that loomed so large with Obama’s taking the office in 2009, even amid economic crisis, have long since faded into a starker sense of the limits of his presidency.

Now 51 and noticeably grayer, Obama appeared alternately upbeat and reflective. When he re-entered the Capitol at the conclusion of the ceremony, he suddenly stopped his entourage to turn back toward the cheering crowds gathered on the National Mall.

“I want to take a look one more time,” he said. “I’m not going to see this again.”

If the president was wistful, he was firm in his message. He largely eschewed foreign policy except to recommend engagement over war, instead focusing on addressing poverty and injustice at home. He did little to adopt the language of the opposition, as he has done at moments in the past, and instead directly confronted conservative philosophy.

“The commitments we make to each other— through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security — these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us,” he said. “They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.”

He was more specific in discussing policy than presidents typically are in an Inaugural Address. Particularly noticeable was his recommitment to fighting climate change.

“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” he said.

He offered a more inward-looking approach to foreign policy, saying that “enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.” He also talked of overhauling immigration rules so “bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our work force, rather than expelled from our country.”

For a president who had opposed same-sex marriage in his early political years, the speech was a clear call for gay rights, as he noted the journey “through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall,” symbolically linking seminal moments in the struggles for equal rights for women, blacks and gays and lesbians.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” he said.The expanse between the Capitol and the Washington Monument was filled with supporters, many of them blacks attending only the second inauguration of a black president. As large TV screens flickered in and out and the audio often warbled, the ceremony was difficult to follow for many braving the Washington chill.

The speech was followed by song, poem and benediction from Kelly Clarkson, Richard Blanco, the Rev. Luis Leon and Beyonce. The president and first lady got out of their motorcade twice to walk stretches along Pennsylvania Avenue. Biden and Jill Biden did as well, and the vice president greeted bystanders with gusto.

The two families then settled into the specially built bulletproof reviewing stand to watch the parade. Obama, who often uses Nicorette to tame an old smoking habit, was spotted chewing as the bands marched past.

By evening, the Obamas were heading out to celebrate, planning to attend two official inaugural balls — down from the 10 four years ago — before returning home for the next phase of their sojourn in the White House.