President Obama begins second term in office

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President Obama begins second term in office

US President Barack Obama has repeated the oath of office at the US Capitol building in front of hundreds of thousands, publicly launching his second four-year term.

Supreme Court Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office, as Obama laid his hands on a stack of two Bibles - one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration and another that belonged to slain civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday also marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday in the US.

President Obama offered a preview of his second-term agenda in his 18-minute inaugural address.

He said "hard choices" were needed to reduce the federal deficit, a reference aimed at the divided Congress.

“We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.”

He also said America "must lead" the transition to sustainable energy and "cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries."

Obama also spoke in favor of gay rights and same-sex marriage. "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

Shortly after the ceremony ended Obama signed documents officially submitting top administration nominations to the Senate, a tradition set by former President Ronald Reagan.

Obama affirmed the nominations of John Brennan for director of the CIA, former Sen. Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense, Sen. John Kerry for secretary of state and Jack Lew for Treasury secretary.

Four more years

President Obama, 51, was officially sworn in for his second four-year term on Sunday meeting the constitutional requirement that he take the oath by noon on January 20.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband former President Bill Clinton were in attendence along with former President Jimmy Carter. Both men are the only living Democrats who have occupied the White House.

American musicians Kelly Clarkson, James Taylor and Beyonce all performed patriotic songs at the ceremony.

Hundreds of thousands gathered at the National Mall to watch Obama take the oath of office for his second term, a smaller crowd compared to the 1.8 million who gathered for his 2009 inauguration.

President Barack Obama and his family began inauguration day by attending services at St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House on Monday morning.

Vice President Joe Biden and his family were also in attendance.

Chief Roberts also administered the oath of office in the White House's Blue Room on Sunday with the First lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha and a few reporters present.

Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in for his second term in Washington earlier in the day by US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at his official Washington residence, the Naval Observatory.

Sotomayor became the first Hispanic judge to ever officiate for the US nation's two highest offices.

German President Joachim Gauck congratulated President Obama on his second term Monday and invited him for a visit to Germany. “The Germans have a great appreciation for you and your country,” he said in a congratulatory letter.

Source: hc/kms (Reuters, AP, AFP)