the you ready to take the oath,

mr. president? will you raise your hand and repeat after me? i, william jefferson, do solemnly swear. william jefferson do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united. that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. and will to best of my ability. and will to the best of my ability. preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. preserve, protect, and defend

constitution of the united states. so help me god. so help me god. good luck.

ladies and gentlemen. the president of the united states of america, william jefferson clinton. my fellow citizens, at this last presidential inauguration of the 20th century. let lift our eyes toward the challenges that await us in the next century.

it is our great good that time and chance have put us not at the edge of a new century and a new millennium, but on the edge of a bright new prospect in human affairs. a moment that will define course and our character for decades to come. we must keep our old ocracy forever. young guided by the vision of a promised land. let us set our sights upon a land of new promise. the promise of america was born in the 18th century. out of the bold conviction that we are all created equal. it was extended and in the 19th century, when our nation spread across the continent, save the union, and abolished the awful scourge of slavery.

then in turmoil and triumph, that promise exploded onto the world stage. make this the american century. and what a century it has been, became the world's mightiest industrial power. save the world from tyranny and to world wars. and a long cold war and time and again reached out across the globe to millions who, like us long for the blessings of liberty along the way. americans produced great middle class and secure it an old age built unrivaled centers of learning and open public schools to all. split the atom and explored the heavens. invented the computer and the microchip. and deepened the wellspring of justice by making a revolution in civil rights for

african-americans and, all minorities, and extend the circle of citizenship opportunity and dignity to. now, for the third time, a new is upon us. and another time to choose. we began the 19th century with a choice to spread our nation from to coast. we began the 20th century with a choice to harness the industrial to our values of free enterprise, conserve vocation and human decency. those choices made all the difference at the dawn of the first century. a free must now choose to shape the forces of the information age and the global society to unleash the limitless of all our

people. and yes. to form a more perfect union. when last gathered our to this new future seemed less certain than it does today. we vowed then to set clear course to renew our nation in these four years we have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by challenge strengthened by achievement. america stands as the world's indispensable nation. once again our economy is the strongest on earth. once again, we are building stronger families, thriving communities, better educational opportunities, a cleaner and problems that once seemed destined to deepen, now bend to our efforts. our streets safer and record numbers of our fellow citizens have moved from welfare to, work

and. once again, we have resolved our time. a great debate over the role of government. today we can declare government is the problem and. government is not the solution. we the american people. we are the solution. our founders that well and gave us a democracy strong enough to endure for centuries. flexible enough to face our common challenges. and advance our common dreams. and each new day, as times change. so government must change. we need a new government for a new century.

humble enough not to try to solve all problems for us. but strong enough to give us the tools to. solve our problems for ourselves. a government is smaller lives within its means and does more with less, yet where it can stand up for our values and interests around world and where it can give americans the power to make a real difference in their every lives. government should do more, not less. the preeminent mission of our new government is to give all american an opportunity, not a guarantee, but a opportunity to build a better lives.

beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to. our founders taught us that to preserve version of our liberty and union depends upon responsible citizenship. and we need a sense of responsibility for a new century. there is work. do. work. that government cannot do. teaching children to read. hiring people off rolls. coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows. to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs. and crime. taking time out of our own lives to serve others. each and every one of us in our own must assume person no responsibility. not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors

and our nation. our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century for any one of us to succeed, we must succeed as one america. the challenge of our past remains, the challenge of our future. will we be nation one people with one common destiny or not? will we all come together or come apart. the divide of race has america's constant curse and each new wave immigrants gives new target voice to old prejudices,

prejudice and contempt. cloaked in the pretense of religious or political convictions are different. these forces have nearly our nation. in the past. they played us still. they fueled the fanaticism of terror and torment the lives of millions in fractured nations. all around the world. these obsessions cripple both those who and of those who are hated. robbing both of what they might become become. we cannot. we will not succumb to the dark

impulses that lurk in the far regions of the soul, everywhere we shall overcome them. and we shall replace them with the generous spirit of a people who feel at home with one another. our texture of racial, religious and political diversity will a godsend in the 21st century. great rewards will come to those who can live together. learn together, work together, forge new ties that, bond together as this era approaches. we can see its broad outlines. ten years ago, the internet was

the mystical province of physicist. today it is a encyclopedia for millions of schoolchildren. scientists are decoding the blueprint of human life. cures for our most feared illnesses seem close at hand. the world is no divided into two hostile camps. instead, we are building bonds with nations that once were our adversaries. growing connections of commerce and culture. give us a chance to lift the fortunes and spirits of people. the world over. and for the very first time in all of history, more people on this planet live under democracy than dictatorship.

my fellow americans, as we look back at this remarkable. we may ask, can we hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the achievements of the 20th century and america, and to avoid the awful bloodshed that stained its legacy. to that question, every american here and every american in our land today must answer a resounding yes. this is the heart of our task. with a new vision of government. a new sense of responsibility. a new of community, we will sustain america's journey the

promise we in a new land. we will find again in a land of promise. in this new land. education will be every citizen's most prized possession. our schools will have the standards in the world. ignite the spark of possibility in the eyes. every girl and every boy. and the doors of higher education be open to all the knowledge and power of the information. age will be within reach, not just of the few but of every classroom, library, every parents. children will have time not only to work, but to read and play together. and the plans make at their kitchen table will be those of a

better home, a better job. the certain chance to go to college. our streets will echo again with the laughter of our children, because no one will try to shoot them or sell them drugs anymore. everyone who can work will work with today's permanent underclass. part of tomorrow's growing middle class. new miracles of medicine last will reach, not only those who can claim care. but the children in hard working families too long denied we will stand mighty for peace and freedom and maintain a strong defense against terror and destruction. our children sleep free from the threat of nuclear. chemical or biological weapons ports and airports farms and

factories will thrive with trade and innovation and ideas. and the world's democracy will lead a whole world of democracies. our of new promise will be a nation that needs obligations. a nation that balances its budget but never loses the balance of its values. a nation where. a nation where our brand parents have secure retirement and, health care and their know we have made the reforms necessary to sustain those benefits for their time. a nation that fortified as the world's most productive economy, even as it protects the great

natural bounty of our water air and majestic land and. and in this land of new promise, we will have reformed our politics so that the voice of the people will always speak louder than the din of narrow interest, regaining the and deserving the trust of all americans. fellow citizens us build that america a nation ever forward toward, realizing the full potential of its citizens prosperity power. they are important and must maintain them. but let us never forget the

greatest progress we have made and the greatest progress we have yet to make is in the human heart. in the end, all the world's. and a thousand armies are no match for the strength and decency of, the human spirit. 34 years ago, the man whose life celebrate today spoke to us down there at other end of this mall. in words that move conscience of a nation like a prophet, old, he told of his dream that day, america would rise up and treat

all its citizens as equals. before the law and in the heart. martin luther king's was the american dream. his quest is our quest the ceaseless strive being to live out true creed. our history been built on such dreams and and by our dreams and labors. we will the promise of america and the 21st century. to that effort, i pledge all my strength and every power. my office. i. i ask the members of congress to join in that pledge. the people return to office. a president of one party and a

congress. another. surely they did not this to advance the politics of petty bickering and extreme partizanship. they plainly deplore our. no. they call all us instead to be repairer of the breach and to move on with america's mission. america demands and deserves big things from us and. nothing big ever came from being small. let us remember. the timeless wisdom of cardinal

bernardin when facing the end of his own life he it is wrong to waste the precious gift of time on and division division fellow citizens. we must waste the precious gift of this time for all us are on that same of our lives and our journey to will come to an end. but the journey of our america must go on. and so my fellow americans, we must be strong. for there is much to dare the demands. our time, our great and they are different let us meet them with

faith and courage, with patience and a grateful, happy heart. let us shape the hope of this day into the noblest in our history. yes. let us build our bridge bridge. our bridge wide enough and strong enough for every american to cross. to a blessed of new promise. may those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know, say of us that we let beloved land into a new. with the american dream alive

for all her children, with the american promise of a more perfect union, a reality for all her people. with america's bright of freedom spreading throughout all the world. from the height of this place and the summit of this century, let us go forth. may strengthen our hands for the good work ahead and always, always bless our america.