Obama's Speech Links Economy, Broad Change

In his inaugural address, the President calls for changes in energy, health care, and infrastructure in order to deal with the economic crisis

Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th U.S. President by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in front of the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

By Theo Francis

In an inaugural address at once soaring in style, optimistic in tone, but sober in short-term outlook, President Barack Obama kept the economy front and center, quickly making the case that tackling the country's deep economic problems would require both bold, immediate action and sweeping changes to the nation's infrastructure and its energy and health-care sectors.

Although he offered no new specifics, Obama cast the goals of the proposals he has been shaping in grand terms, promising to "harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories" and "wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its costs," according to prepared remarks.

Without pointing fingers too specifically, he briefly scolded potential opponents "who question the scale of our ambitions—who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans." He admonished that "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."

Question of Whether Government Works

Obama, who became the nation's 44th president and the first African American to hold the office, spoke to a crowd that stretched along the National Mall, essentially unbroken from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. Generally good-natured despite temperatures in the mid-20s and the threat of snow, some toward the rear of the huge crowd sang "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye," an obvious reference to the end of the Bush Administration. They switched to chants of Obama's name as the introductions of other dignitaries dragged on.

The Reverend Rick Warren, a controversial and conservative evangelical minister whose position against gay rights drew protests from many more liberal Obama supporters, offered a largely nondenominational prayer, asking God for both forgiveness and guidance, but uncharacteristically invoking Jesus Christ only at the end and in personal terms.

Shortly after taking the oath of office, Obama signed papers formally nominating those he hopes will serve as cabinet secretaries, and declaring Jan 21 a "National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation." A half-dozen appointees were confirmed Tuesday afternoon, and most or all of the rest are likely to receive speedy approval in the Senate; even New York Federal Reserve Chief Timothy Geithner, his nominee for Treasury secretary, who has come under scrutiny for failing to pay some taxes in past years, is expected to get the nod by the end of the week, after a Wednesday hearing.

The one dark note on an otherwise happy day for Obama came during a luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, where Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 76 years old, suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital. Several other lawmakers at the event were visibly shaken by the incident, but Kennedy, who is expected to spearhead health-care reform efforts in the Senate, was reported to be conscious and talking at the hospital.

At the head of the traditional parade from the Capitol to the White House, Obama left his armored limo briefly to walk several blocks, something security experts had called unlikely because of the difficulty of securing such a large area with so many people in it. The president and his wife, Michelle Obama, stayed to the middle of the road, surrounded by vehicles and Secret Service bodyguards. Some signs suggested the apparently impromptu move had been planned: The area was lined with government buildings, and a lobbyist with offices near the point where the Obamas began walking said security getting into the area and their building had been stiff.

In his address from the Capitol steps, Obama called for an end to "stale political arguments," Obama laid the groundwork for what many predict will be an expansion of the federal government's efforts unseen for many generations.