PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens, each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.
OBAMA: What makes us exceptional, what makes us America is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
(APPLAUSE)
That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today we continue a never ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve never been self-executing. That while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by his people here on earth.
OBAMA: The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few, or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people. Entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed. And for more than 200 years we have. Through blood drawn by lash, and blood drawn by sword, we noted that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half slave, and half free.
OBAMA: We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers. Together we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play. Together we resolve that a great nation must care for the vulnerable and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all societies ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.
For we have always understood that when times change, so must we, that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges, that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.
For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future. Or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.
What are your and the GOP’s PRIORITIES this term, Mitch?
President Obama: We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We got your 47%, Romney.
A Look at the Inaugural Speech
by BooMan
Mon Jan 21st, 2013 at 01:37:30 PM EST
Here is the transcript of President Barack Obama’s Second Inaugural Address. I will have some thoughts below:
If you were looking for news to be made in this speech, there really wasn’t too much that surprised. Perhaps it was a little more confrontational than some expected. He mocked Mitt Romney’s 47% remarks, saying that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security weren’t programs for “takers,” but key ingredients in our ability to take the risks and investments that make our country great. He mocked Republicans who deny climate science, saying we can’t deny forest fires and droughts and more powerful storms. He challenged the warmongers and UN-bashers, saying that we don’t need perpetual war and promising to strengthen institutions that help us keep the peace. He reminded the nation that we became close allies with Japan and Germany, hinting that we might one day become good friends with the Iranian people. He also recommitted America to the defense of democracy on every continent.
He gave a full-throated defense of gay equality, mentioning Stonewall in the same breadth as Seneca Falls and Selma, and saying, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”
Despite some early nods to the right acknowledging that government can’t solve every problem and our tradition of limited government, his overall speech was unapologetically progressive. He spoke about business and jobs only obliquely, in the context of investments in research and an energy policy that is forward-looking. His overwhelming focus was on equal rights and equal opportunity. What he said about foreign policy could have been said by any progressive blogger. His economic focus was on lifting up the middle class and providing hope to the impoverished. And he signaled no compromise on entitlements whatsoever, only referring to efforts to slow the growth of health care costs.
I’d give the speech an A+, except there was no mention of rethinking the Drug War or embarking on a major effort at prison reform. Alas, that is apparently still too much to ask.
Now, we must help him keep his promises and fulfill his mission.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/1/21/133730/685
thanks Ametia
You’re welcome. We re-elected the right MAN to lead America.