Obama calls for unity, equality

US: President Barack Obama has inaugurated his second term with an ardent call for unity, but warned his foes their “absolutism” must not thwart action on climate, immigration and gun control.

Obama was publicly sworn in for another four White House years before a flag-waving crowd of an estimated one million, and then delivered an inaugural address in which poetic power veiled clear signs of a liberal governing agenda.

“We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few,” Obama said Monday, from the Stars and Stripes-draped West Front of the US Capitol building, the epicenter of America's political divides.

The 44th president repeatedly used the “We the People” preamble to the US Constitution to suggest how to reconcile America's founding truths and the current discord and dysfunction of its embittered political system.

“Decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay,” said Obama, flexing the freedom of a leader who no longer needs to face voters, and the urgency of a president who knows that second-term powers soon wane.

“We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.” Obama, America's first black president, took the oath of office with his hand resting on Bibles that once belonged to Abraham Lincoln, the president who ended slavery, and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.

And in the evening, the Obamas danced at both inaugural balls at the massive Washington Convention Center.

The first lady, whose fashion choices are closely scrutinized, wore a red halter-neck gown by Jason Wu, who also designed her 2009 ball gown.

“We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully -- not because we are naive about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear,” he said.

While reaching for a soaring note of national unity, Obama's address was laced with liberal ideology, and policy certain to enrage Republicans.

Obama took the oath for a first time Sunday in a private ceremony at the White House because the Constitution states that US presidential terms end at noon on January 20.

AFP