[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 20, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S667-S670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INAUGURAL CEREMONY
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Inaugural
Ceremony proceedings be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Inaugural Ceremony
Inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama, January 20, 2009,
11:30 a.m.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff assembled on the President's
platform.
The Diplomatic Corps assembled on the President's platform.
The Governors of the United States and its territories and
the Mayor of the District of Columbia assembled on the
President's platform.
Members of the 111th House of Representatives of the United
States, led by majority whip James E. Clyburn and Republican
whip Eric Cantor, assembled on the President's platform.
Members of the Senate of the United States assembled on the
President's platform.
Former Speakers of the House of Representatives, Thomas
Foley and Newt Gingrich, accompanied by Mrs. Foley and Mrs.
Gingrich, assembled on the President's platform.
Former Vice Presidents Walter Mondale, Dan Quayle, and Al
Gore, accompanied by Mrs. Mondale, Mrs. Quayle, and Mrs.
Gore, assembled on the President's platform.
Mr. William M. Daley, Ms. Penny Pritzker, Mr. John W.
Rogers, Jr., Mr. Patrick G. Ryan, and Ms. Julianna Smoot,
cochairs of the 56th Presidential Inaugural Committee; and
Mr. Emmett S. Beliveau, executive director of the 56th
Presidential Inaugural Committee, assembled on the
President's platform.
The President-elect's Cabinet and agency designees
assembled on the President's platform.
The Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John
G. Roberts, Jr., and the Associate Justices of the Supreme
Court of the United States assembled on the President's
platform.
The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, and
Mrs. Rosalynn Carter assembled on the President's platform.
The 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush,
and Mrs. Barbara Bush assembled on the President's platform.
The 42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson
Clinton, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton assembled on the
President's platform.
The children of the Vice President-elect, CPT Beau Biden,
Hunter Biden, and Ashley Biden, accompanied by House Chief
Administrative Officer Dan Beard, assembled on the
President's platform.
Mrs. Marian Robinson and the daughters of the President-
elect, Malia and Sasha Obama, accompanied by Assistant
Secretary of the Senate Sheila Dwyer, assembled on the
President's platform.
The First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, and the wife of the Vice
President, Mrs. Lynne Cheney, accompanied by Secretary Chao,
Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Boehner, and Republican staff director of
the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Mary
Suit Jones, assembled on the President's platform.
Mrs. Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, accompanied by the
Secretary of the Senate, Nancy Erickson; the Clerk of the
House of Representatives, Lorraine Miller; Mr. Blum, Mr.
Pelosi, and Mrs. Reid, assembled on the President's platform.
The President of the United States, the Honorable George
Walker Bush, and the Vice President of the United States,
Dick Cheney, accompanied by Senate Republican leader Mitch
McConnell, Senator Robert Bennett, House Republican leader,
Representative John Boehner, and Secretary for the minority
David Schiappa, assembled on the President's platform.
The Vice President-elect of the United States, Joseph R.
Biden, Jr., accompanied by the inaugural coordinator for the
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies,
Jennifer Griffith; Senate Deputy Sergeant at Arms Drew
Wilson; House Deputy Sergeant at Arms Kerri Hanley; Senate
majority leader, Senator Harry Reid; House majority leader,
Representative Steny Hoyer, assembled on the President's
platform.
The President-elect of the United States, Barack H. Obama,
accompanied by the staff director for the Joint Congressional
Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, Howard Gantman; the Senate
Sergeant at Arms, Terrence W. Gainer; the House Sergeant at
Arms, Wilson Livingood; chairman of the Joint Congressional
Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, Senator Dianne Feinstein;
Senator Robert Bennett; the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Nancy Pelosi; the Senate majority leader,
Harry Reid; House majority leader, Representative Steny
Hoyer; House Republican leader, Representative John Boehner,
assembled on the President's platform.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President and Vice President, Mr.
President-elect and Vice President-elect, ladies and
gentlemen, welcome to the inauguration of the 44th President
of the United States of America.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. The world is watching today as our great
democracy engages in this peaceful transition of power. Here
on the National Mall, where we remember the founders of our
Nation and those who fought to make it free, we gather to
etch another line in the solid stone of history. The freedom
of a people to choose its leaders is the root of liberty. In
a world where political strife is too often settled with
violence, we come here every 4 years to bestow the power of
the Presidency upon our democratically elected leader.
Those who doubt the supremacy of the ballot over the bullet
can never diminish the power engendered by nonviolent
struggles for justice and equality like the one that made
this day possible. No triumph tainted by brutality could ever
match the sweet victory of this hour and of what it means to
those who marched and died to make it a reality. Our work is
not yet finished, but future generations will mark this
morning as the turning point for real and necessary change in
our Nation. They will look back and remember that this was
the moment when the dream that once echoed across history
from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial finally reached the
walls of the White House.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. In that spirit, we today not only
inaugurate a new administration, we pledge ourselves to the
hope, the vision, the unity, and the renewed call to
greatness inspired by the 44th President of the United
States, Barack Obama.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Thank you, and God bless America.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. At this time I call upon Dr. Rick Warren,
pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, to
provide the invocation.
Pastor WARREN. Let us pray.
Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything
we can't see exists because of You alone. It all comes from
You. It all belongs to You. It all exists for Your glory.
History is Your story. The scripture tells us: Hear, O
Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And You are the
compassionate and merciful one, and You are loving to every
one You have made. Now, today, we rejoice, not only in
America's peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we
celebrate a hinge point of history, with the inauguration of
our first African-American President of the United States. We
are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled
possibility, where the son of an African American can rise to
the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that
Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in
heaven.
Give to our new President Barack Obama the wisdom to lead
us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the
compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him,
his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one
of our freely elected leaders. Help us, O God, to remember
that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or
blood but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when
we forget You, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness
and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to
treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the
respect that they deserve, forgive us.
As we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new
birth of clarity in aims, responsibility in our actions,
humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes,
even when we differ. Help us to share, to serve, and to seek
the common good of all. May all people of goodwill today join
together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more
prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never
forget that one day all nations and all people will stand
accountable before You.
We now commit our new President and his wife Michelle and
his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into Your loving care. I
humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life,
Yeshua, Esau, Jesus, Jesus, who taught us to pray: Our
Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I am so pleased to introduce world renowned
musical artist Aretha Franklin to sing ``My Country Tis of
Thee.''
(Performance by Ms. Aretha Franklin.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Please join me in welcoming my colleague
from Utah, the Honorable Robert Bennett.
Mr. BENNETT. It is my great honor to introduce Associate
Justice of the Supreme
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Court of the United States John Paul Stevens, who will
administer the oath of office to the Vice President-elect.
Will you all please stand.
Associate Justice JOHN PAUL STEVENS administered to the
Vice President-elect the oath of office prescribed by the
Constitution, which he repeated, as follows:
``I, JOSEPH ROBINETTE BIDEN, JR. do solemnly swear that I
will support and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose
of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the
duties of my office on which I am about to enter. So help me
God.''
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. It is my pleasure to introduce a unique
musical performance: Mr. Itzhak Perlman, violinist; Anthony
McGill, clarinet; Yo-Yo Ma, cellist; and Gabriela Montero,
pianist, performing ``Air and Simple Gifts,'' a composition
arranged for this occasion by John Williams.
(Performance by Mr. Yo-Yo Ma, Mr. Anthony McGill, Ms.
Gabriela Montero, and Mr. Itzhak Perlman.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. It is my distinct honor to present the
Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John G.
Roberts, Jr., who will administer the Presidential oath of
office. Everyone, please stand.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, JOHN G. ROBERTS,
JR., administered to the President-elect the oath of office
prescribed by the Constitution, which he repeated, as
follows:
``I, BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, do solemnly swear that I will
faithfully execute the office of President of the United
States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So
Help me God.''
THE CHIEF JUSTICE. Congratulations, Mr. President.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great
personal honor to present the 44th President of these United
States, Barack Obama.
(Applause.)
The PRESIDENT. Thank you. Thank you.
My fellow citizens, I stand here today humbled by the task
before us, grateful for the trust you bestowed, mindful of
the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush
for his service to our Nation, as well as the generosity and
cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the Presidential oath.
The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity
and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath
is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these
moments, America has carried on not simply because of the
skill or vision of those in high office but because we, the
people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears
and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it
must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.
Our Nation is at war against a far-reaching network of
violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a
consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some
but also our collective failure to make hard choices and
prepare the Nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs
shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly;
our schools fail too many; and each day brings further
evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our
adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators
of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable
but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our
land, a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable,
that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.
They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met
easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America--
they will be met.
(Applause.)
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over
fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this
day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and
false promises, the recriminations and wornout dogmas that
for far too long have strained our politics. We remain a
young Nation, but in the words of scripture: The time has
come to set aside childish things. The time has come to
reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history,
to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed
on from generation to generation, the God-given promise that
all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to
pursue their full measure of happiness.
(Applause.)
In reaffirming the greatness of our Nation, we understand
that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our
journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.
It has not been the path for the fainthearted, for those who
prefer leisure over work or seek only the pleasures of riches
and fame. Rather, it has been the risk takers, the doers, the
makers of things, some celebrated but more often men and
women obscure in their labor who have carried us up the long
rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they
packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across
oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in
sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the
whip, and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died
in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again, these men and women struggled and
sacrificed and worked until their hands were raw so that we
might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the
sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the
differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most
prosperous, powerful Nation on Earth. Our workers are no less
productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less
inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they
were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity
remains undiminished, and our time of standing pat and
protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant
decisions--that time has surely passed. Starting today, we
must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again
the work of remaking America.
(Applause.)
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state
of our economy calls for action, bold and swift. And we will
act, not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation
for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric
grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us
together. We will restore science to its rightful place
and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's
quality and lower its cost. We will harness the Sun and
the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our
factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges
and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All
this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our
ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too
many big plans. 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. What the cynics fail to
understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that
the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so
long no longer apply.
The question we ask today is not whether our Government is
too big or too small but whether it works--whether it helps
families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a
retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is, yes, we
intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will
end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held
to account--to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our
business in the light of day--because only then can we
restore the vital trust between a people and their
Government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force
for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand
freedom is unmatched. But this crisis has reminded us that
without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control
and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the
prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended
not just on the size of our gross domestic product but on the
reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity
to every willing heart--not out of charity but because it is
the surest route to our common good.
(Applause.)
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice
between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers,
faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a
charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a
charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals
still light the world, and we will not give them up for
expedience sake. And so to all the other peoples and
governments who are watching today, from the grandest
capitals to the small village where my father was born, know
that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman,
and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity and that we
are ready to lead once more.
(Applause.)
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and
communism not just with missiles and tanks but with sturdy
alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our
power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do
as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through
its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of
our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities
of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy.
Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new
threats that demand even greater effort, even greater
cooperation and understanding between nations.
We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and
forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends
and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the
nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.
We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waiver
in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims
by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you
now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You
cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
(Applause.)
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not
a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews
and Hindus, and nonbelievers. 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
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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
American must play its role in ushering in a new era of
peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward based on
mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around
the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's
ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on
what you can build, not what you destroy.
(Applause.)
To those who claim power through corruption and deceit and
the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side
of history but that we will extend a hand if you are willing
to unclench your fist.
(Applause.)
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside
you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to
nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those
nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can
no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our
borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without
regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must
change with it.
As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we will
remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who at
this very hour patrol far off deserts and distant mountains.
They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who
lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not
only because they are the guardians of our liberty but
because they embody the spirit of service, a willingness to
find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet at
this moment--a moment that will define a generation--it is
precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much
as Government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith
and determination of the American people upon which this
Nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when
the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would
rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which
sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's
courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke but also a
parent's willingness to nurture a child that finally decides
our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we
meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success
defends--honesty and hard work, courage and fair play,
tolerance and curiosities, loyalty and patriotism--these
things are old. These things are true. They have been the
quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is
demanded, then, is a return to these truths; what is required
of us now is a new era of responsibility--a recognition, on
the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves,
our Nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly
accept but, rather, seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that
there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of
our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is
the source of our confidences--the knowledge that God calls
on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
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.
(Applause.)
So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and
how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in
the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by
dying camp fires on the shores of an icy river; the capital
was abandoned, the enemy was advancing, the snow was stained
with blood; at a moment when the outcome of our Revolution
was most in doubt, the Father of our Nation ordered these
words be read to the people:
Let it be told to the future world . . . that in the depth
of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive . .
. that the city and the country, alarmed at one common
danger, came forth to meet [it].
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter
of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With
hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents and
endure what storms may come. 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.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I have the distinct pleasure of introducing
an American poet, Elizabeth Alexander.
Ms. ALEXANDER. ``Praise Song for the Day.''
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other,
catching each other's eyes or not, about to speak or
speaking.
All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble,
thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our
tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform,
patching a tire, repairing the things in need or
repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere, with a pair of
wooden spoons on an oil drum, with cello, boom box,
harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus. A father considers the
changing sky. A teacher says, ``Take out your pencils.
Begin.''
We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth,
whispered or declaimed, words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of some
one and then others, who said I need to see what's on
the other side.
I know there's something better down the road. We need to
find a place where we are safe. We walk into that which
we cannot yet see.
Say it plain: that many have died for this day. Sing the
names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the
train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and
the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering
edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day. Praise
song for every hand-lettered sign, the figuring-it-out
at kitchen tables.
Some live by love thy neighbor as thy self, others by first
do no harm or take no more than you need. What if the
mightiest word is love?
Love beyond marital, filial, national, love that casts a
widening pool of light, love with no need to pre-empt
grievance.
In today's sharp sparkle, the winter air, any thing can be
made, any sentence begun. On the brink, on the brim, on
the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. And now it is my privilege to introduce the
Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery to deliver the benediction.
Reverend LOWERY. God of our weary years, God of our silent
tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far along the way, Thou
who has by the might, led us into the light, keep us forever
in the path we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our
God, where we met Thee; lest our hearts drunk with the wine
of the world we forget Thee, shadowed beneath Thy hand, may
we forever stand true to our God and true to our native land.
We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we have
shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon
thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th President of these United
States, his family and his administration. He has come to
this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed,
global fiscal climate. But because we know you have got the
whole world in Your hands, we pray for not only our Nation
but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink,
though pressed by the flood of mortal ills, for we know that,
Lord, You are able and You are willing to work through
faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our
brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the
exploitation of the poor, the least of these, as well as
favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.
We thank You for the empowering of Thy servant, our 44th
President, to inspire our Nation to believe that, yes, we can
work together to achieve a more perfect Union. While we have
sown the wind of greed and corruption and even as we reap the
whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek
forgiveness and we come in the spirit of unity and solidarity
to commit our support to our President by willingness to make
sacrifices necessary to respect Your creation, to turn to
each other and not on each other.
And now Lord, in the complex arena of human relationships,
help us to make choices on the side of love not hate, on the
side of inclusion not exclusion, tolerance not intolerance.
And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the
spirit of fellowship, of koinonia, and the oneness of our
family. And take that spiritual power back to our homes, our
workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, wherever
we seek Your will.
Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle, look over our
little ``angelics,'' Sasha and Malia. We go now to walk
together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the
difficult days ahead. We know You will not leave us alone
with Your hands of power and Your heart of love. Help us,
then, now Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into
tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his
or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when
justice will roll down like water and righteousness as a
mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors
rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask You to help
us work for that day when Black will not be asked to get
back, when Brown can stick around, when Yellow will be
mellow, when the Red man can get ahead man, and when White
will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and
love mercy say amen. Say amen. And amen. Amen.
(Applause.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the
singing of our national anthem by the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters
Chorus. Following the anthem, please remain in place while
the presidential party exits the platform. Thank you very
much.
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(Performance by the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters.)
(The Inagural ceremony was concluded at 12:36 p.m.)
____________________