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 forebearers,
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 shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been
the path for the fainthearted -- 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 toward 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 till 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 the 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 -- and that a
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 our
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 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 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 that we
are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and
communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with
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 nonbelievers. 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, we say
we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside
our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources
without regard to effect. For the world has changed,
and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we
remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans
who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant
mountains. They have something to tell us today, just
as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through
the ages. We honor them not only because they are
guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the
spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something
greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment --
a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely
this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is
ultimately the faith and determination of the American
people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness
to take in a stranger when the levees break, the
selflessness of workers who would rather cut their
hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us
through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage
to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's
willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which
we meet them may be new. But those values upon which
our success depends -- honesty and hard work, courage
and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and
patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true.
They have been the quiet force of progress throughout
our history. 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, firm in the knowledge that there
is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our
character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge
that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed --
why men and women and children of every race and
every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent
Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years
ago might not have been served at a local restaurant
can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we
are and how far we have traveled. In the year of
America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small
band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the
shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned.
The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained
with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our
revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation
ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the
depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue
could survive... that the city and the country,
alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in
this winter of our hardship, let us remember these
timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave
once more the icy currents, and endure what storms
may come. Let it be said by our children's children
that when we were tested, we refused to let this
journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we
falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's
grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of
freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you!
May God Bless You!
   and
God Bless the United States of America!