Post date: Jan 20, 2013 10:43:35 PM
United States President Barack Obama officially takes the oath of office during a private ceremony at the White House.
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JANUARY 20, 2013)(UNRESTRICTED POOL) - United States President Barack Obama took the official oath of office for his second term on Sunday (January 20), during a private ceremony at the White House.
Gathered with his family in the Blue Room on the White House's ceremonial main floor, Obama put his hand on a Bible and recited the 35-word oath that was read to him by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts.Obama hugged his wife Michelle and said, "Thank you," after she congratulated him at the swearing-in.
Obama, who became the first African-American U.S. president four years ago, will be sworn in publicly for his second term on Monday in a much bigger ceremony before an audience of as many as 800,000 people outside the U.S. Capitol.
Sunday's ceremony was needed because the U.S. Constitution mandates that the president take office on January 20. Planners opted to go with a private ceremony on the actual date and then hold the symbolic inaugural activities the next day.
The atmosphere surrounding Obama's second inauguration is expected to be more subdued than his first. A bitter 2012 election fight, stubbornly high unemployment and fiscal showdowns - both past and still looming - have tempered the hope that Obama symbolized when he first took office four years ago.
He continues to face a host of domestic and international challenges, ranging from gun control and immigration reform to winding down the war in Afghanistan and reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions.