As millions of people watch Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony,Inaugural address blends inspiration, humility

(01-20) 12:17 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- The 44th president of the United States honored our history as he made history today. It was just the right tone for these perilous times.

President Obama reminded America that change - and great challenges - have defined this nation. The inauguration of the first African American president celebrated the cherished but sometimes elusive American ideal that "all men are created equal." His references to his place in history were spare, understated and poignant.

"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath," he said.

Obama is not the first president to suggest "our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." But no inauguration has drawn an audience as large and as diverse, or a president who, at long last, embodied the realization of the inclusive meritocracy he espoused.

"We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace," he said.

Within the soaring themes of unity was a promising blueprint for some of the ways his administration will change direction from Bush policies. He suggested that the power of free markets to "generate wealth and expand freedom" must be tempered with the "watchful eye" of government. Obama, a constitutional lawyer, said he rejected "as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" - an apparent reference to the use of torture and peeling back of civil liberties during the Bush era. He spoke of leaving Iraq "to its people" and taking on the challenge of global warming. He promised an ambitious effort to revitalize the economy.

"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans," he said. "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."

There were many memorable lines in the speech, none more than its soaring conclusion: "Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

There is something inspiring about any presidential inauguration - the peaceful transfer of power that defines and affirms the strength of our democracy. Few presidents in modern history will encounter the magnitude of problems, domestic and international, that confront President Obama. On this historic day, his speech was sober about the challenges and powerful in its resolve to meet them. He will need every ounce of the remarkable goodwill that was on display today.

source:sfgate