After all the pre-inauguration glitz and fanfare, the stage is finally set for the solemn swearing- in of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday.“Anything is possible in America,” declared the man who will be the first-ever African- American at the helm of the world’s most powerful nation at a time when it is faced with its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Obama sought to put out a cheery ‘America will prevail’ message at a star-studded musical extravaganza in his honour at the Lincoln Memorial — the same venue where civil rights leader Martin Luther King delivered his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in 1963.Half a million people thronged the National Mall as Obama invoked King’s address commenting: “Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character’s content.”
The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court will administer the oath on the steps of the Capitol at noon (10.30 pm IST) in front of an estimated two million people. Obama will deliver his inaugural address soon thereafter.Aides said the address would lay stress on the twin themes of responsibility and accountability.They touched on Obama’s plans to hit the ground running, predicting that he would devote his first week in office to economic recovery, set in motion a 16-month troop withdrawal from Iraq and announce a code of ethics for his administration.“Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead, I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure — that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time,”he said in his remarks at the concert, with the imposing statue of his idol, Lincoln, providing the backdrop.
The ‘We Are One’ concert featured a host of American singing sensations including Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, U2, Shakira, Mary J Blige, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder. Springsteen opened the concert with his song ‘The Rising,’ and Beyonce concluded it with a soulful rendition of ‘America the Beautiful.’ Tens of thousands of people watching the ‘We Are One’ concert on giant screens joined in the finale.
Obama sought to put out a cheery ‘America will prevail’ message at a star-studded musical extravaganza in his honour at the Lincoln Memorial — the same venue where civil rights leader Martin Luther King delivered his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in 1963.Half a million people thronged the National Mall as Obama invoked King’s address commenting: “Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character’s content.”
The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court will administer the oath on the steps of the Capitol at noon (10.30 pm IST) in front of an estimated two million people. Obama will deliver his inaugural address soon thereafter.Aides said the address would lay stress on the twin themes of responsibility and accountability.They touched on Obama’s plans to hit the ground running, predicting that he would devote his first week in office to economic recovery, set in motion a 16-month troop withdrawal from Iraq and announce a code of ethics for his administration.“Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead, I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure — that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time,”he said in his remarks at the concert, with the imposing statue of his idol, Lincoln, providing the backdrop.
The ‘We Are One’ concert featured a host of American singing sensations including Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, U2, Shakira, Mary J Blige, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder. Springsteen opened the concert with his song ‘The Rising,’ and Beyonce concluded it with a soulful rendition of ‘America the Beautiful.’ Tens of thousands of people watching the ‘We Are One’ concert on giant screens joined in the finale.
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