Barack Obama swears on Capitol Hill for the second time as President of the United States

44 U.S. President Barack Obama celebrated the beginning of his second and final term with the traditional oath at the foot of the Capitol, with hundreds of thousands of people. Obama, 51, was officially inaugurated on Sunday in a short ceremony at the White House by the President of the Supreme Court, Judge John Roberts, following exactly the Constitution, which stipulates that the term begins at noon Jan. 20 after the election. Whenever that day fell on a Sunday, tradition dictates that the oath is made the next day to the American people. "I, Barack Hussein Obama, I promise to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution," read Obama two Bibles, to the president of the Supreme Court, John Roberts. It is the seventh time that the U.S. president is sworn in by 21 January. Given the stands erected at the foot of Congress, facing the long esplanade known as the "Mall", a crowd of about 800,000 people waved flags and waved signs celebrating "4 more years", four more years of Democratic presidency. Attendance is considerably lower than the 1.8 million in 2009 wanted to celebrate the arrival of the White House's first black president, but the atmosphere is equally enthusiastic. "Today we have even more meaning if anything" Audrey told AFP, a black nurse of 53 years from Florida, coming for the occasion. The oath is to 12H00 (17H00 GMT): Obama placed again before Judge Roberts, with his wife Michelle holding Bibles between the president chose for the occasion, one belonging to President Abraham Lincoln, the other black leader of Marthin L. civil rights King Jr. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered outside the Capitol greeted boisterously to the people who were taking a seat on the stage, including former presidents Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), celebrities like Eva Longoria and Beyoncé ministers and legislators. The president and his family and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife opened the day with a prayer service at the church of Saint John, two blocks from the White House. Obama greeted the crowd at the exit of the mass. The president was dressed in a dark suit, unlike four years ago, when he wore a coat and scarf also by cold polar ruling. Michelle Obama wore a blue-gray coat, while daughters Sasha and Malia wore two separate dresses violet tones. Then both came to the Capitol for the ceremony, amid tight security, with cement blocks, military vehicles with camouflage colors, snipers on the roofs of the buildings along the way. Four years ago, in his inaugural address, Obama thanked Americans had chosen "hope and not fear." Although the worst of the economic crisis has been overcome and the Democratic president has closed a war, the Iraq, it appears that the tone will be more sober this time, because the illusion has been replaced by realism and a constant pulse Congress partially in opposition hands. At the international level, the death of hostages, among whom were Americans, after abduction in a gas plant in Algeria last week, also diverted attention from the start of his second term. Obama and his wife Michelle have lunch in the Capitol after the ceremony, with hundreds of guests, to go then to Pennsylvania Avenue and lead a parade to the number 1600, the direction of the White House. There, in a new stand built as is traditional at the northern entrance of the mansion, witness the passage of military bands and schools across the country.

• 2013-01-21T19:01:34+00:00
• Duration: 04:12

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