WASHINGTON : Barack Obama launched his presidency before an estimated 1.5 million people on the National Mall on Tuesday with somber yet confident tones, saying the country will overcome its serious economic and international challenges.

“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real,” Obama said in his inaugural address. “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.”

Obama’s tempered optimism, however, was book ended by celebration in the Mall and across the country for the inauguration of the country’s first African-American president.

“This is America happening,” said Evadey Minott, a Brooklyn, New York, resident who witnessed the inauguration.

“It was prophesized by King that we would have a day when everyone would come together. This is that day. I am excited. I am joyful. It brings tears to my eyes.”

Obama’s address came before a crowd that had been building since 4 a.m. Tuesday down the National Mall. People sang, danced and waved flags as his swearing-in approached.

Many in the crowd seemed moved as Aretha Franklin belted out a rousing version of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” before Joe Biden was sworn in as vice president.

Wearing a navy suit and red tie, Obama repeated the oath of office, his hand on the same Bible used in President Abraham Lincoln’s first inauguration.

When Obama took the podium, however, the jubilant crowd grew somber and quiet, hanging on his every word. There was only scattered applause — punctuated by an occasional “That’s right” or “Amen.”

Obama thanked those who sacrificed so much so “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 promised to end petty squabbles on Capitol Hill, bring “old friends and former enemies” into the fold, and invoked the Bible, saying, “The time has come to set aside childish things.”

He also vowed to leave Iraq to its people, responsibly, and to finish forging “a hard-earned peace” in Afghanistan. To Muslims, he promised “a new way forward, based on mutual interest,” and to terrorists, he leveled a threat: “You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

The challenges are daunting, he said, but anyone who underestimates this nation has forgotten about its past perseverance.

“Greatness is never a given. It must be earned,” he said.

His words resounded with spectators and revelers who let out deafening cheers after his address. Spectator L.J. Caldwell likened Obama to some of the most heroic figures of the civil rights movement.

“When you think back, Malcolm [X] fought, then we come a little further. Rosa Parks sat, then come up a little further, and [the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.] spoke. Then today, President Obama ran and we won,” said Caldwell, of Somerset, New Jersey.

Celebrations weren’t limited to Washington. Across the country, friends and strangers gathered on the streets and in schools, bars and auditoriums to witness Obama’s inauguration, united in their hope that he will deliver on his promise of change.

In New York’s Bronx borough, students huddled in the halls of a school to watch the ceremony on a projection screen.

“They were cheering; they were clapping; they were in awe because everything we had talked about, they were able to see,” teacher Marta Rendon said.

Leaders around the world offered their congratulations. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the United States expressed “its resolve to have an open, new, strong and caring America.”

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Obama is “the hope of our time.”

After Obama’s address, hundreds of thousands remained on Washington’s National Mall as Obama entered the Capitol and signed his first documents as the 44th president of the United States. Among those were his Cabinet nominations. The Senate approved most of those nominations later in the day.

Obama then lunched with lawmakers at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, telling them, “What’s happening today is not about me. It is about the American people.”

Later, Obama’s motorcade carried him past barricaded crowds along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. He and his family watched the rest of the parade in a reviewing stand outside the White House. The president and first lady then began the rounds of 10 official inaugural balls scheduled over the course of the evening.

Many said before the festivities that they did not have tickets and would be happy to catch a mere glimpse of the nation’s first African-American president. Some spectators were more than a mile from the swearing-in ceremony, watching on giant TV screens erected along the National Mall.

At St. John’s Episcopal Church, where the Obamas kicked off a packed day, 9-year-old Laura Bruggerman waited with her mother, Wendy, and father, Jeff, of Bethesda, Maryland. The affable crowd tried to let shorter onlookers and children to the front for better views.

“I want to see Obama. I think that would be really cool. I could tell all of my friends that I got to see him,” the youngster said.

Security was tight in Washington. However, no arrests related to the inauguration were reported as of Tuesday evening, an FBI spokesman said.

The ceremony also drew celebrities like Dustin Hoffman, Denzel Washington and Steven Spielberg.

“It’s behind the dream. We’re just here feeling it with the throngs of people. It’s amazing grace personified,” Oprah Winfrey said, sitting next to actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Obama and congressional leaders formally bade farewell to Bush, and the now-former president took a presidential jet to Midland, Texas, shortly afterward.

As Obama and his wife, Michelle, made their way to the White House, they stepped out of their limousine amid another round of boisterous hoorahs.

The first couple beamed as they walked down Pennsylvania Avenue, waving to the throngs kept back by police barriers. They walked a few blocks before returning to their vehicle to finish the two-mile parade that took them to the White House.

“I have a sneaky suspicion that Barack and Michelle will be out and about on the streets of Washington [during his term]. … You’ll see them again,” said Tracy Miller, who was watching the Obamas.

After arriving at the White House, Obama and his family watched the rest of the inauguration parade from a reviewing stand.

Barack Obama 2009 presidential inauguration At a Glance..

The 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth President of the United States took place on January 20, 2009, under the provisions of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The inauguration marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden as President and Vice President, respectively. The theme of the inauguration was “A New Birth of Freedom”, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

Official inauguration events commenced on January 17 with a train ride beginning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and stopping in Wilmington, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland, before continuing on to Washington, D.C. According to Arizona State University professor Stephen Doig, an estimated 800,000 people attended the inauguration ceremony. Events were scheduled in Washington, D.C. from January 18 to 21, 2009^.

Preliminaries: Train Ride..

The commencement of inauguration activities was a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, a former Illinois politician and the sixteenth president of the United States.

Lincoln travelled by a chartered train from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., in 1861. Lincoln stopped in 70 places along the way to his inauguration, but his tour began in Springfield, Illinois, on February 11, 1861, before arriving in Philadelphia on February 21.

Obama began by holding a town hall meeting in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station at 10 a.m. on January 17. At 11:30 a.m., Obama rode to Wilmington to pick up Vice President-elect Biden, riding in the Georgia 300, a railroad car used by past presidents, and continued to Baltimore where he spoke to a crowd of around 40,000.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prevented private planes, news helicopters, balloonists and others from getting anywhere near the airspace above the train. Obama and family departed from 30th Street Station at 11 a.m. and arrived at Union Station at 7 p.m.

Inauguration Ceremony..

The inaugural program began on January 20 at 10 a.m. EST (15:00 UTC) on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. The National Mall served as the public observation area, and a section of the Mall between 3rd and 4th Streets NW was reserved for ticket-holders.

The program by the Congressional leaders included singing by vocalist Aretha Franklin, and a performance of John Williams composition “Air and Simple Gifts” by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill. Other inauguration participants include the “The President’s Own” (the United States Marine Band) and the United States Navy Band.The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus also performed^. Evangelical pastor Rick Warren delivered the invocation^, while civil rights activist Joseph Lowery of the United Methodist Church delivered the benediction for the inaugural ceremony^.

Vice President-elect Biden took his oath first from Associate Justice John Paul Stevens^, and after Ma, Perlman, Montero, and McGill’s performance of Air and Simple Gifts, President-elect Obama took his oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts. Because the ceremony ran longer than normal, Obama legally became President at noon EST, before being sworn in, per the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution^. Obama was sworn in using the Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861, and used the phrase “so help me God” at the end of the oath^.

The oath of office was followed by a 21-gun salute to the new President from the members of the armed forces, as well as the first playing of four ruffles and flourishes and “Hail to the Chief”. Obama delivered his inaugural address as the President of the United States following his swearing-in ceremony^. Poet Elizabeth Alexander then delivered the Inaugural Poem, “Praise song for the day”^.

According to Arizona State University professor Stephen Doig, an estimated 800,000 people attended the inauguration ceremony. Doig calculated the inauguration crowd estimate after analyzing a GeoEye-1 satellite image shot at 11:19 a.m. EST (16:19 UTC) from a height of 423 miles (681 km). The image was taken 40 minutes before Obama’s swearing-in, but Doig adjusted his estimation to include people who were still coming in before the swearing-in^. Nielson television ratings indicated that 29.2% of televisions in the country were tuned to the inauguration. Four of the top ten markets for inauguration viewership were in the battleground state of North Carolina. The market with the highest ratings was Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area where 51% of televisions were tuned to the inauguration. 44% of televisions in Washington D.C. were tuned to the inauguration^.

Oath of office..

As Obama and Chief Justice John G. Roberts recited the Oath of office, Roberts interrupted Obama as Obama was repeating after Roberts^. Roberts then incorrectly recited the Oath of office, stating, “that I will execute the Office of President to the United States faithfully” (rather than “that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States”).

Obama began to recite, and paused, whereupon Roberts attempted to correct his mistake^. Obama then continued, making the same mistake that Roberts had made and attempted to correct. The rest of the oath was completed without trouble.

Although not required, several constitutional lawyers later said that Obama should retake the oath as soon as possible, as Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur did under similar circumstances^.

Although initially the Obama administration indicated that they did not plan to retake the oath of office^, Obama did retake the oath of office the next day, at 7:35 p.m. on January 21, 2009^. The retaking of the oath took place in the Map Room of the White House in a private ceremony administered by Chief Justice Roberts^.

Guests..

Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, former Vice Presidents Dick Cheney, Al Gore, Dan Quayle and Walter Mondale, along with their wives, attended the inauguration of Barack Obama. Invitations were also sent to the chiefs of diplomatic missions to the United States and their spouses, but not to any other representatives of foreign countries. As a result, North Korea’s offer to send a senior envoy was rejected.

The Tuskegee Airmen were among the invited guests for the inauguration^. The five-person crew of recently crashed US Airways Flight 1549, including pilot Chesley Sullenberger, were also invited.

Eighty-seven year old Sarah Obama led a group of Obama’s Kenyan relatives from his father’s home village of Kogelo.^[32] Other relatives traveling to Washington from Kenya as guests included Obama’s aunt, Maggie Obama, and an uncle, Said Obama.^[32][33] The Kenyan relatives were expected to present Barack Obama with traditional Kenyan gifts, including a three-legged stool usually given to Luo tribal elders, a fly whisk crafted from goat hair and a warrior shield.^[33] Sarah Obama previously attended Obama’s swearing in ceremony as U.S. Senator in 2005.

Color-coded tickets to the inaugural ceremony with yellow, orange, blue, purple and silver borders were also distributed by members of the 111th U.S. Congress to guests for admittance to the U.S. Capitol grounds. Tickets with silver borders were either distributed to the general public by House and Senate congressional members by lottery or on a first-come, first served basis because of overwhelming requests from constituents to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama.^[34][35] Approximately 4,000 ticket holders were unable to get to their seats as the security gates were closed and were subjected to mass crowding, leaving many outside of the Capitol grounds to listen to the event on radios or cellphones. Senator Dianne Feinstein demanded an investigation about what is becoming known as Purplegate.

Celebrations..

HBO presented the inaugural kick-off concert, entitled “We Are One”, at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009. It included performances by Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, Caleb Green, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, Bettye Lavette, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Bruce

Springsteen, James Taylor, U2, Usher, Will.I.Am, and Stevie Wonder. The concert was free and HBO broadcast it on an open feed, meaning that anyone with cable television could watch.Approximately 400,000 people attended this event. Jack Black, Steve Carell, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Ashley Judd, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah, Laura Linney, George Lopez, Kal Penn, Marisa Tomei, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, and Tiger Woods read historical passages. The Washington Metro set a record for the highest Sunday ridership of 616,324, which broke the 540,945 record set on July 4, 1999.

On January 19, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden hosted a “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” event at the Verizon Center. Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers honored military families in concert. The show was broadcast live on the Disney Channel and on Radio Disney. Other celebrity participants included Bow Wow, Corbin Bleu, Queen Latifah, Billy Ray Cyrus, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jamie Foxx.

Obama purchased his first new tuxedo in 15 years for the inauguration. The tuxedo was made by Hart Schaffner Marx, a Chicago-based menswear firm that uses union labor. First Lady Michelle Obama wore a white, one-shouldered, gown, designed by 26 year-old New York designer Jason Wu, breaking with tradition set by former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton in showcasing designers from their home towns. For the daytime ceremony, Mrs. Obama wore a yellow-gold sheath dress with matching coat, made of Swiss wool and lined in French silk, by Cuban-born American designer Isabel Toledo for the inauguration of her husband.

The number of official inaugural balls during inauguration week has not been confirmed, but the Obamas will attend ten official inaugural balls on January 20. The Obamas will begin Inauguration Day night at the Washington Convention Center as hosts of the “Neighborhood Inaugural Ball”, which will commence the evening of celebrations.

The Neighborhood Ball is scheduled to be the premier event of the evening. Numerous celebrities will participate. Obama will also host the “Commander-in-Chief’s Ball” at the National Building Museum for Purple Heart recipients, families of fallen heroes, and spouses of deployed military.

Musical performances at the various balls include Mariah Carey, Sting, Elvis Costello, Young Jeezy, Ashley Judd, Mary J. Blige, T.I., Chaka Khan, Melissa Etheridge and LL Cool J.

During the four nights of the inauguration celebration, District of Columbia bars will be permitted to remain open until 4:00 a.m., later than usual. Additionally, restaurants will be allowed to stay open twenty-four hours a day for the entire four day period. Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies Chairperson, Senator Dianne Feinstein and committee member Senator Robert Foster Bennett felt that the original 5 am liquor curfew and twenty-four hour food service would be a strain on law enforcement resources. The Council of the District of Columbia passed the extended curfews as emergency legislation proposed by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Security..

The District of Columbia police force doubled to 8,000 with police officers from around the United States added to the force for additional security. They were assisted by 1,000 FBI agents.The Secret Service Countersniper team was also assigned to hidden locations throughout the area.

10,000 National Guard troops were also on site including the 153rd Military Police Company of the Delaware National Guard, 5,000 in a ceremonial capacity, and 1,300 unarmed troops aiding Park Police in crowd control on the National Mall.

The remainder performed other security functions.The FAA maintained airspace restrictions on the city from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 20th. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was chosen as the designated successor to ensure continuity of government in case of catastrophe, and spent inauguration day at a U.S. military installation outside of the Washington area.

Schedule..

• Gates to the Inaugural Ceremony open at 8:00 a.m. EST (13:00 UTC)
• The inaugural festivities started at 10:00 a.m. EST (15:00 UTC) on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. Festivities included:
• Musical selections of The United States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus
• Senator Dianne Feinstein provides call to order and welcoming remarks, and introduces each participant.
• Invocation by the Rev. Rick Warren
• Musical selection, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” by Aretha Franklin
• Biden was sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
• Musical selection of “Air and Simple Gifts,” by John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano), and Anthony McGill (clarinet)
• Obama took the Oath of Office at 12:02pm EST (17:02 UTC), administered by Chief Justice John Roberts using the Inaugural Bible of President Lincoln
• Obama gave the inaugural address
• Poem by Elizabeth Alexander
• Benediction by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery
• The National Anthem by The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”
• President Obama escorted former President George W. Bush to a departure ceremony before attending a luncheon in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol
• The 56th Inaugural Parade then made its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Capitol to the White House

Inaugural Luncheon..

Before the luncheon, President Obama entered an office in the Capitol building where he signed his first Presidential orders, per tradition. The first order was a proclamation “declaring a day of national renewal and reconciliation.” During the historic signing, he joked about his left-handedness, and also quipped, “I was told not to swipe the pen.” He also signed orders officially presenting his Cabinet and several sub-Cabinet officials to Congress for their approval.

He then joined several Congressional guests for the Inaugural Luncheon in the Capitol building’s National Statuary Hall. Guests, who included top Washington lawmakers as well as former Presidents and Vice Presidents, were served duck and pheasant with Pinot Noir.

The theme of the luncheon was based on Obama’s 2009 inaugural theme, “A New Birth of Freedom,” which commemorates the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.The red and white china were copies of those used in the Lincoln White House.

A luncheon at the Capitol has been part of the inaugural program since 1953 (before that, the luncheon was usually held at the White House and hosted by the outgoing President and First Lady). The menu often includes dishes representative of the home states of the new President and Vice President, and in 2009 included seafood stew, a pheasant and duck dish, and apple cinnamon sponge cake with sweet cream glacé for dessert. Since 1985, a painting has been chosen to serve as a backdrop for the head table. In 2009, it was Thomas Hill’s 1865 View of the Yosemite Valley, chosen to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 signing of the Yosemite Grant, which was the first time the federal government protected park lands for public use.

During the inaugural luncheon, Senator Ted Kennedy collapsed. He suffered a seizure and was taken to a hospital to recover.Early reports erroneously suggested that Senator Robert Byrd also fell ill during the luncheon.

Parade..

The inaugural parade traveled along Pennsylvania Avenue northwestward from Capitol and ended at the north face of the White House. During the parade, Barack and Michelle Obama twice exited their limousine on Pennsylvania Avenue and walked a portion of the parade route, to the cheers of the crowds in attendance. Their second walk ended just before the gate to the White House.

It has been traditional for the new President to walk instead of being driven, but the new armored limousine was used because of potential threats. Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha, traveled in his limousine and remained inside during the parade.

Joe and Jill Biden also walked at several points during the parade with their children, Beau, Hunter, Naomi and Ashley. Beau, Delaware’s Attorney General and a JAG officer in the Delaware Army National Guard, was given a special furlough from serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to participate in the ceremonies.

The parade extended for over two hours in the afternoon and early evening following the inauguration. It included 15,000 people, 240 horses, dozens of marching bands, two drum and bugle corps, and a mariachi band.

Obama invited the nine-time Drum Corps International (DCI) World Champion The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, the eight-time finalist Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa, and the VMI corps of cadets, as well as the high school marching band from Punahou School, his high school in Hawaii, to perform in the inaugural parade.

Vice President Joe Biden invited several groups from Delaware to march in the parade. The Delaware section was led off by the Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association of which Biden is an honorary member.

Next was his alma mater’s marching band, the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, known as The Pride of Delaware. The Delaware State University Hornets marching band, known as The Approaching Storm, followed.