2nd term, new focus

President Barack Obama was officially sworn in again Sunday in a small, private ceremony attended by the first family and a few select reporters.

Although the Constitution dictates that the president must take office on Jan. 20, inaugural festivities were saved for Monday. This is the first time this has occurred since former president Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term in 1985.

Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 was infamously flubbed and re-administered after Chief Justice John Roberts spoke out of sequence. This time, the official, intimate ceremony on Sunday went smoothly.

Obama’s youngest daughter, Sasha, noted in a whisper to her father that he did a “good job ... didn’t mess up.” With Obama’s repeated first inauguration and the swearing in this year on Sunday and Monday, Obama is the first and likely the only president to match Franklin Roosevelt’s record of being sworn in as the president four times.

Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to swear in a president or vice president.

For ceremonial purposes, Obama repeated the oath of office Monday, which was the federal holiday marking Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.

Although this is the second time, following Clinton’s reelection in 1997, that a presidential inauguration has fallen on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it has obviously increased the emotional resonance given Obama’s status as America’s first black president.

The 57th Presidential Inauguration theme was “Faith in America’s Future,” which echoed themes expressed in Obama’s campaign of optimism and forward movement as a country. Overall, this inauguration was a smaller, simpler affair than Obama’s first swearing in.

Although the president has the support of a slight majority of Americans, according to most polls, this inauguration serves as a reminder of both what Obama has accomplished so far and what still must be done.

In his inaugural address, Obama repeatedly emphasized the power of average citizens to drive the nation and government forward.

Given recent tragedies, it was unsurprising that he addressed the need to enact new gun-control measures. He also focused on reversing climate change, so far not a priority for the Obama administration, and the continued push for marriage equality.
He also brought up his desire to reform current immigration laws, something which he has previously described as one of the greatest failings of his first term.

Obama generally tends to shy away from matters of race, but the timing of his inauguration cannot help but accentuate the historic nature of his presidency and reelection.

In the past, Obama has noted King and Abraham Lincoln, the memorial of the latter of whom was in view of the president during the ceremonial inauguration, as two people he admires more than almost anyone else in America’s history.

Obama was sworn in by placing his hand on top of two bibles, one belonging to each man, emphasizing the connection between those two historical leaders’ accomplishments and the president’s.

Although Obama is taking office at a time of extreme partisanship and political divide, he can hopefully find a way to emulate both these great men and work across the aisle with Republicans to achieve some of the goals he outlined in his inaugural address.

­— gwinslow@indiana.edu