奥巴马低调举行宣誓就职仪式

 

Gathered with his family in the Blue Room on the White House's ceremonial main floor, Obama put his hand on a family Bible and recited the 35-word oath that was read out loud by US Chief Justice John Roberts.

 

"I did it," Obama said as he hugged his wife, Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia. "Thank you, sweetie," he told Michelle when she congratulated him. "Good job, Dad. You didn't mess up," 11-year-old Sasha Obama told her father.

 

It was a low-key start to the first African-American US president's second term, which is likely to be dominated - at least at the start - by budget fights with Republicans and attempts to reform gun control and immigration laws.

 

Obama, 51, will be sworn in publicly on Monday outside the West Front of the Capitol overlooking the National Mall in front of as many as 800,000 people, a much bigger ceremony replete⁴ with a major address and a parade.

 

Downtown Washington was all but locked down with heavy security. Many streets were closed, lined with barricades⁵. Police sirens blared. Outside the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, an elaborate presidential viewing stand encased in bullet-proof glass was set up for Obama and other VIPs to watch the parade.

 

Sunday's ceremony, shown live on television, was needed because the US Constitution mandates⁶ that the president take office on January 20. Planners opted⁷ to go with a private ceremony on the actual date and then hold the ceremonial inaugural⁸ activities the next day.

 

By Monday, Obama will have been sworn in four times, two for each term, putting him equal to Franklin Roosevelt, who won four terms. A second Obama swearing-in was deemed necessary in 2009 when Robertsflubbed the first one. On Sunday, Roberts read the oath carefully from a card and there were no mistakes.

 

Obama, who won a second four years on November 6 by defeating Republican Mitt⁹ Romney after a bitter campaign, opens round two facing many of the same problems that dogged his first term: persistently¹⁰ high unemployment, crushing government debt and a deep partisan¹¹ divide over how to solve the issues.

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