Obama
sworn in as first Black US President
Accra, Jan. 20, Ghanadot/GNA -Barack
Hussein Obama, made history at exactly 1707 hours on
Tuesday when he was sworn in as the first Black
President of the United States (US).
President Obama moves into the oval office as the
nation's fourth youngest president at age 47 with the
racial barrier-breaking record believed to have been
impossible by generations of the minority.
His inauguration marked the 56th time that a US
President had been sworn in for a four-year term since
1798, when George Washington first took the same oath.
President Obama, believed to be an embodiment of the
dream of the legend; Martin Luther King Jnr. was sworn
in my Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens with
former President Abraham Lincoln's Bible, which was last
used in 1861.
He is the 44th President and the third from Illinois
after Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.
Former US Presidents, Jimmy Carter, George H.W Bush and
Bill Clinton, Obama's family, past and incoming cabinet
members of the Senate and House of Representatives,
Supreme Court justices and many invited guests from
around the world attended the ceremony.
In his inaugural address at Washington's National Mall,
President Obama, dressed in black suite with red tie
without missing words in a 15-minute ex tempo speech,
expressed the hope to unite all countries with America.
President Obama, who received intermittent cheers and
standing ovation from the crowd said: "All are equal,
all are free and all … deserve freedom to achieve a
purpose".
He encouraged Americans "to pick up themselves to remake
America" and thanked ex-President Bush for "his
generosity and cooperation".
" American must usher in a new era of peace. This new
era calls for responsibility, duty for ourselves and
others", President Obama added.
Some of the crowd could not control their emotions as
they broke down in tears for seeing America's history
rewritten in fulfilment of a new hope for the Black race
during President Obama's speech.
Mr Joe Biden, 66, also took the oath as the 47th Vice
President of the US.
Vice President Biden, a lawyer, had run for presidency
twice in 1998 and 2008, but never came close.
He has served 36 years as Senator from Delaware,
establishing himself as a respected voice on foreign
affairs and national security.
GNA
