JOIN USObama's term II kicks off today
US President Barack Obama is all set take oath of office for the third, fourth and final time during an inauguration celebration that kicks off his second term in a more muted tone than his historic swearing-in four years ago.
High unemployment and partisan fights over fiscal policies have drained some of the hope that marked Obama’s first swearing-in after he swept to victory on a mantle of change in 2008 to become United States’ first black president.
This time around, there is a less festive inauguration.
On Sunday, following a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama will be sworn in officially at the White House at 11:55 am EST (16:55 GMT), meeting the constitutional requirement that he do so on January 20. That portion will be private with a small audience of mostly family members.
Obama repeats the procedure on Monday during a public ceremony at the US Capitol.
Both times he will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts who, in 2009 after flubbing the oath the first time, administered it to Obama again in the White House the day after his inauguration.
It will be only the second time Obama has made an inaugural address, however, and millions worldwide will be watching. Some 800,000 people are expected to flock to Washington for the event, down from a record 1.8 million in 2009.
Presidents Dwight D Eisenhower and Ronald W Reagan also had two ceremonies, one private swearing-in on Sunday and a public oath ceremony on the following Monday.
Official sources said Obama will touch on the goals he hopes to address in his second term, while leaving detailed policy blueprints for his State of the Union address next month.
Presidents Dwight D Eisenhower and Ronald W Reagan also had two ceremonies, one private swearing-in on Sunday and a public oath ceremony on that following Monday.