Bush Sworn In as 43rd President
Saturday, January 20, 2001
George W. Bush promised to uphold the American standards of unity and compassion for all people and emphasized the need for faith in God Saturday in his first speech as president of the United States.
FOXNews
Saturday: Bush takes the oath of office to become the 43rd president in Washington.
"The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born," Bush said in his 15-minute inaugural address, just after noon.
The number of Biblical references and mentions of a higher power were unusual for a new president's speech.
"We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with his purpose," Bush said in his closing statements. "This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm."
He outlined the four C's of his Compassionate Conservatism agenda: Compassion, of course, civility, character and courage.
Just moments before he spoke to the country, Bush took the oath of office with tears in his eyes and a proud smile on his face in a ceremony watched by hundreds of thousands of onlookers.
Outgoing President Bill Clinton, former President George Bush Sr. and an estimated 500,000 others — many clad in plastic raincoats — gathered in the drizzle at the U.S. Capitol to watch Bush become the new president, 12 years after his father was sworn into office.
The minister who closed the ceremony for the incoming administration prayed that leaders would be able to "sit down and reason with each other," and used the metaphor of one sun setting as the other rises.
Themes of a peaceful transition of power and bipartisan unity were sounded by everyone who spoke.
In his inaugural address, Bush thanked Clinton for his service to the country and Vice President Al Gore for a presidential "contest conducted with spirit and ended in grace."
The ceremony began with the swearing in of newly-elected Vice President Dick Cheney as his wife and family looked on. Gore, who lost one of the closest elections in U.S. history, shook Cheney's hand as he stepped down.
Earlier Saturday morning — less than two hours before Bill Clinton left office and Bush was to become the nation's 43rd president — the pair had coffee together in a symbolic gesture of a peaceful transition.
Mike Segar/Reuters
Saturday: Bush arrives with his wife Laura at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington.
The Big Day
The president-elect and his family began the day quietly, attending services at St. John's Episcopal Church. But excitement swirled around the capital, as revelers prepared a Texas-sized parade and anti-Bush protesters were poised to hit the streets.
The parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, expected to last about 2 1/2 hours, will be led by Bush and Vice President-elect Cheney, starting at the East Front of the Capitol.
More than 10,500 people representing 45 states were to be in the elaborate parade, and thousands lined up along its route.
On the periphery of the festivities, police and protesters predicted the largest inaugural demonstrator presence since tens of thousands marched against the Vietnam War in 1973 at Richard Nixon's second inaugural.
Demonstrators had diverse agendas, but were united by anger over the contested election and mistrust of Bush.
Organizers said as many as 20,000 people could take part in the weekend demonstrations.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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