you know the old anthem.

please raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, george walker bush, do solemnly swear. i, george walker bush do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states, that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. and will to the best of my ability and will the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. so help me god. so help me god.

congratulations.

ladies and gentlemen, the of the united states. george w bush. thank you all. chief justice rehnquist, president carter, president. white.

president clinton. distinguished guests, my fellow citizens. the peaceful transfer of authority rare in history yet common in our country with a simple. we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings. as i began, i thank president clinton for his service to our nation and. and i thank vice president gore for a contest conducted with spirit and ended with grace. and i honored and humbled to stand here where so many of america's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow. we have a place, all of us.

and a long story, a story we continue but whose end we will not see. it is a story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. the story a slaveholding society that became a servant of freedom. the story of a power that went into the world. to protect but not possess. to defend, but not to conquer. it is the american story. a story of flawed and fallible people united across the generation by grand and enduring ideals. the grandest these ideals is an unfolding promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance. that no insignificant person was ever born. americans are called to enact this promise in our lives and in

our laws. and though our has sometimes halted and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course. through much of the last century, america was faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging. now is the seed upon the wind taking root in many nations. our democratic faith is more than the creator of our country. it is the inborn hope of our humanity. an ideal we carry. but do not own. a trust we bear and pass along. every even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel. while many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise. even the justice of our own

country, the ambitions of americans, are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth in and sometimes our differences run so deep. it seems we share a continent, but not a country. we do not accept this. and we will not allow it. our unity, our union is a serious work of leaders and citizens and every generation and this is my solemn pledge. i will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity opportunity. i know this was in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates equal in his image. and we are confident principles

that unite and lead us onward. america has never been united by blood or birth or soil. we are bound by ideals that. move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests, and teach is what it means to be citizens. every child must be taught these principles. every citizen must uphold them. and every immigrant embracing these ideals makes our country more not american. today. today, we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion mission and character. america at best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility.

a civil society demands from each us goodwill and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness. some seem believe that our politics can afford to be petty because in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small. but the stakes america are never. if our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led. if we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism. if we permit our economy to drift in decline, the vulnerable will suffer. most. we must live up the calling. we share. civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. it is the determined choice of trust over cynicism of community, over chaos and this commitment. if we keep it is a way to share

accomplishment. america, at its best also courageous. our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defeating common dangers defined our common good. now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us. we must show courage in a time of blessing by problems instead of passing them on to future generations. together, we will reclaim america as schools before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives. we will reform social security and medicare, spurring our children from struggles. we have the to prevent and we will reduce taxes to recover the momentum of our economy and

reward the effort and enterprise of working americans. we will build our defenses beyond challenge lest weakness, invite challenge. we will confront weapons of mass destruction so that a new century is spared new horrors. the enemies of liberty in our country should make no mistake. america remains engaged in the world by history and by choice. shaping a balance of power that favors freedom. we will defend our allies and our interests. we will show purpose. without arrogance, we will meet aggression and bad faith. with resolve and strength and all nations. we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.

america, at its best, is compassion unit and the quiet american conscience. we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise. and whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault. abandonment and, abuse are not acts of god. they are failures of love. and the proliferation of presence. however necessary is no substitute for hope and. order in our souls where there are suffering is duty. american in need are not strangers. they are citizens. not problems, but priorities.

and all of us are diminished when. any are hopeless. government is great, responsive abilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights are common schools. yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government. and some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer. church and charity synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity. and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our laws. many in our country not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen. those who do and i can pledge our nation to a goal when we see

that wounded traveler on the road to jericho, we will not pass to the other side. america, at its best, a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected. encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats. it is a call to conscience. and though it requires sacrifice, it a deeper fulfillment. we find the fullness of life not only in options, but in commitments. and we find that children community are the commitment that set us free. our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness. on on. on. on. honored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.

sometimes in life were called to do great things. but a sign of our times, as said, every day we are called to do small things with great love. the most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone. i will live and lead by these principles to advance my convictions with civility, to serve the public interest, with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion. to call for responsibility and try to live it as well. and all these days, raise, i will bring the values of our history to care of our times. what you do is as important as anything government does. i ask you to seek a common good beyond, your comfort to defend needed reforms against easy attacks. to serve your nation with your

neighbor. i ask you to be citizens. citizens not spectator us citizens. not subjects responsible citizens. building communities of service and a nation of character. americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. when the spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. when the spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it. after the declaration of independence was signed, virginia statesman john page to thomas jefferson.

we know the race is not to swift nor the battle to the strong. do you think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm? much time has passed since jefferson arrived for his inauguration. the years and changes. but themes of this day. he would know. our nation's story of courage and its simple dream of dignity. we are not the stories author who fills time and eternity with his purpose. yet his purpose is achieved in our duty and our duty as fulfilled and service to one another. never tiring, never yielding, never finishing. we renew that purpose today to make country more just and generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives, each and every life. this work continues. the story goes on.

and an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm. god bless you all and god bless america.