soldiers in Iraq this morning. It's eight or nine hours different then.
In a short while, we'll have a chance to talk to our correspondent there about the mood
of the day there. Here's Senator Locke.
Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the United States Congress, Reverend
Clergy, fellow Americans, welcome to the United States Capitol and the 55th Presidential Inauguration.
Here in a few moments, President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney
will reaffirm their solemn oaths of obligation to support and defend the Constitution.
The inaugural ceremony is a seminal moment in our nation's history. It's the culmination
of a triumphant democratic process that for centuries has placed power in the will of the people
and a unique moment when our leaders stand before the nation and take an oath to uphold a set of principles
chosen by those people. It is a time when all Americans can unite in appreciation for our great republic
while looking to the future with confidence and vision. This ceremony, like the shining dome of the Capitol
above us, is an enduring symbol of America's strength and stability in both challenging and prosperous times.
As President Ronald Reagan said in his first inaugural address, freedom and the dignity of the individual
have been more available here than any other place on earth. The price of this freedom at times has been high,
but we have never been unwilling to pay that price. Since we last met here, America has been challenged
and it has responded to those great tests with strength and steadfast courage of conviction.
We have responded by continuing to be a beacon of hope that has led so many from the shadows of tyranny
into the light of freedom. Today we honor America. Today we celebrate the ever-expanding opportunities
of her people. And today we also honor the brave men and women of our armed forces who sacrificed to guarantee our freedom.
They are standing vigil today to spread peace and freedom to millions throughout the world.
Since 1789, Americans have gathered in peaceful, dignified ceremonies to transfer and reaffirm the authority
of our chief executives. So it is that we gather here again today, looking out over the expanse of greatness
that is America, to celebrate our nation, to commemorate its rich history of achievement,
to advance the intrepid hopes that reside in the hearts of our citizens, and to give thanks to God
for his blessings upon us all. In that spirit, I call now the Reverend Dr. Louis Leon, who will deliver the invocation.
Dr. Leon.
Dr. Leon is the rector of St. John's, the Episcopal Church just across from the White House, where the President
attended services this morning, born in Cuba, came as a child.
Most gracious and eternal God, we gather today as a grateful people who enjoy the many blessings
you have bestowed on this nation. We are grateful for your vision, which inspired the founders of our nation
to create this democratic experiment as one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
We are grateful to you that you have brought to these shores a multitude of peoples of many ethnic,
religious, and language backgrounds, and yet have fashioned one nation out of so many cultures and traditions.
Even as we celebrate this great moment, we remember before you the members of our armed forces.
We commend them to your care, give them courage to carry out their duties, and courage to face the perils
which beset them, and grant them always a sense of your presence in all that they do.
Finally, today, we are especially grateful for this inauguration, which marks a new beginning in our journey
as a people and a nation. We pray that you will shower the elected leaders of this land,
and especially George, our President, and Richard, our Vice President, with your life-giving spirit.
Fill them with a love of truth and righteousness, that they may serve you and this nation ably and glad to do your will.
Endow their hearts with your spirit of wisdom, that they may lead us in renewing the ties of mutual respect,
which form our civic life, so that peace may prevail with righteousness and justice with order.
We pray that you will strengthen their resolve as they lead our nation, seeking to serve you in this world,
that this good and generous country may be a blessing to the nations of the world.
And may they lead us to become, in the words of Martin Luther King,
members of a beloved community, loving our neighbors as ourselves,
so that all of us may more closely come to fulfill the promise of our Founding Fathers,
one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
All this we ask in your most holy name. Amen.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Rehnquist.
Well, this is a big moment, of course, in this ceremony, and you can see everybody turn immediately,
because Chief Justice Rehnquist has been very ill with thyroid cancer.
He's 80 years old. There have been any number of reports about his future on the Court.
There were some, and you can tell by the applause how glad people are to see him just in person today,
because there were some thoughts he wouldn't even make it today, and huge speculation in the press about him retiring from the Court.
But it has been utterly clear that he was determined to administer the oath of the President today,
and quite frankly, he looks a lot better on television with that smile on his face
than some of the rather raw speculation we've been reading in the press.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce one of today's most popularly acclaimed meso-sopranos,
Miss Susan Graham of Texas to sing, Bless This House.
Well, it's one of the great hymns, of course, written back in the 1920s.
Susan Graham grew up in Midland, Texas. She's friendly with the Bush family. She has a wonderful voice.
Bless this house, O Lord, we pray.
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.
Bless the roof and cheer me tall.
Let thy peace fly over all.
Bless this door that it may prove ever open
To joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heavenly light.
Bless the hearth, a blazing bear,
Look ascending like a prayer.
Bless the folks who dwell within,
Keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all that we may be fit,
O Lord, to dwell within.
Look above that one day we may dwell
Within.
Amen.
Susan Graham from Midland, Texas.
Thank you, Susan. Please join me now in welcoming Senior Senator from Connecticut, the Honorable Christopher J. Dodd.
Senator Dodd, of course, is the Democratic representative on this joint committee.
President and Mrs. Bush, Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, our fellow citizens,
The Vice President of the United States will now take the oath of office.
His wife Lynn and their daughters, Elizabeth Cheney Perry and Mary Cheney, will hold the family bible.
I now have the honor to present the speaker of the House of Representatives,
The Honorable J. Dennis Hastriff, to administer the oath of office to the Vice President, Richard Bruce Cheney.
Mr. Speaker.
One of those rare times you hear the Vice President's middle name, Bruce.
I, Richard Cheney, do solemnly swear,
That I will defend and support the Constitution of the United States,
That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States,
Against all enemies, foreign and domestic,
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,
That I will take this obligation freely,
That I take this obligation freely,
Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,
That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of my office,
On which I am about to enter, so help me God.
Congratulations.
That oath is actually a little bit longer than the one the President actually takes,
and it used to be customary for the Vice President to make an inaugural address.
Not now.
This is the speech of the President of the United States,
while Columbia played for the Vice President,
though originally written in honor of George Washington.
Denise Graves grew up here in Washington, D.C.
She's a hometown girl hugely popular in this town,
which is eerily quiet today,
forbidden in most parts of town.
I will sing.
Let me know in my heart when my days are through.
America, America, I gave my best to you.
Each generation, from the plains to distant shore,
with the gifts they were given, were determined to live more.
Valiant battles forced together, acts of conscience fought alone.
These are the seeds from which America has grown.
Let them stay of me. I was one who believed.
In sharing the blessings I've received,
let me know in my heart when my days are through.
America, America, I gave my best to you.
For those who think they have nothing to share,
who fear in their hearts there is no hero there,
nor each quiet act of dignity is that which fortifies the soul of a nation that never dies.
Let them stay of me. I was one who believed.
In sharing the blessings I've received,
let me know in my heart when my days are through.
America, America, I gave my best to you.
Not to advertise particularly, but those of you seeing this on high definition television today are looking at the future and it is quite astonishing.
It sets the tone for what we are about to do. It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Rehnquist, who will administer the Presidential of Office, Justice Rehnquist.
William Rehnquist is the 16th Chief Justice of the United States.
There's no question that it has been difficult.
Will you raise your right hand Mr. President and repeat after me.
I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States
and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations.
President using the same family Bible he used in 2001.
Gun salute of course.
I would like to introduce the 43rd President of the United States, the Honorable George W. Bush.
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President Bush, President Clinton,
members of the United States Congress, Reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow citizens.
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution
and recall the deep commitments that unite our country.
I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live
and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together.
For a half a century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders.
After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical.
And then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability and we have seen its deepest source.
For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny, prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder,
violence will gather and multiply in destructive power and cross the most offended borders and raise a mortal threat.
There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment
and expose the pretensions of tyrants and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led by events and common sense to one conclusion.
The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.
The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one.
From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights and dignity and matchless value,
because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and earth.
Across the generations, we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government because no one is fit to be a master and no one deserves to be a slave.
Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our nation.
It is the honorable achievement of our fathers.
Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture
with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary.
Freedom by its nature must be chosen and defended by citizens and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.
And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own.
America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling.
Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations.
The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable,
and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people from emerging threats.
Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation,
the moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right.
America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude,
or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.
America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators.
They are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed.
In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty, though this time in history,
four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt.
Americans of all people should never be surprised by the power of our ideals.
Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul.
We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery.
Liberty will come to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world.
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors.
When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know America sees you for who you are, the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe, as Abraham Lincoln did,
those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know.
To serve your people, you must learn to trust them.
Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know.
We honor your friendship.
We rely on your counsel.
And we depend on your help.
Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies.
The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens.
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure.
Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill and would be dishonorable to abandon.
Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom.
And as Hope Kindles hope, millions more will find it.
By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well, a fire in the minds of men.
It warms those who feel its power.
It burns those who fight its progress.
And one day, this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.
Few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause.
In the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy, the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments,
the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies,
some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives.
And we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time.
I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes.
You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers.
You have seen that life is fragile and evil is real and courage triumphs.
Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself.
And in your days, you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character.
America has need of idealism and courage because we have essential work at home,
the unfinished work of American freedom.
In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence
instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the GI Bill of Rights.
And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time.
To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country,
we will bring the highest standards to our schools and build an ownership society.
We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance,
preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society.
By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny,
we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear,
and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character,
on integrity and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our own lives.
Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self.
That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards,
and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount,
the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people.
Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before,
ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service and mercy and a heart for the weak.
Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another.
Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love.
Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another,
and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth.
And our country must abandon all the habits of racism,
because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many.
From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few.
Did our generation advance the cause of freedom, and did our character bring credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background,
Americans by choice and by birth, are bound to one another in the cause of freedom.
We have known divisions which must be healed to move forward in great purposes,
and I will strive in good faith to heal them.
Yet those divisions do not define America.
We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand over a single heart.
And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good,
and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice,
and the captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom.
Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability.
It is human choices that move events.
Because we consider ourselves a chosen nation, God moves and chooses as He wills.
We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind,
the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul.
When our founders declared a new order of the ages,
when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty,
when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner of freedom now,
they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled.
History has an ebb and flow of justice,
but history also has a visible direction set by liberty and the author of liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public
and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration,
a witness said it rang as if it meant something.
In our time, it means something still.
America in this young century proclaims liberty throughout all the world,
and to all the inhabitants thereof, renewed in our strength, tested but not weary,
we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may he watch over the United States of America.
Well, I think there's a little irritation there on the podium
because in the final paragraph or two of the President's speech,
some people in the audience down there at the foot of the east side of the Capitol
were demonstrating either the President's presence or the President's policies,
not altogether certain precisely what they had in mind,
but there has been a presence of demonstrators in the city today.
It's been mostly peaceful.
There have been very few conflicts with police, but in the great American tradition
of self-expression to which the President alluded,
people have come to express their sentiments on the war,
on some of the President's policies.
The President's speech will have been seen and heard around the world,
certainly heard throughout the Middle East, both Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya,
both broadcasting the inauguration.
Thank you.
God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads all in beauty of a starry land.
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
Of grateful songs before thy throne arise.
Refresh thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never-ending day.
Fill all lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, Lord, and praise thee ever thine.
God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads all in beauty of a starry land.
God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads all lives with glory, glory, glory, glory.
The United States Marine Band and the chorus of the United States Navy Band,
The Navy Sea Chanters,
Following the President's second inaugural speech.
People think of inaugural addresses, I think for the most part they think of only a few highlights.
What did you think? Was it a great speech or not? We're going to talk about that shortly.
The ceremony is not quite over.
Please continue standing, or stand if you're not standing now,
As Pastor Kirby John Colwell will deliver the benediction.
And please remain standing for the singing of all of us of our national anthem.
It will be led by Technical Sergeant Bradley Bennett.