George Walker Bush became the 43rd president of the United States on Saturday, taking the oath of office in a chilly drizzle before a flag-draped U.S. Capitol and pledging to “build a single nation of justice and opportunity.”
Bush became only the second president’s son to reach the high office himself. He took power after an election of historic divisiveness, in which Bush lost the popular vote and won the Electoral College only after a bitter five-week recount settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Little of that turmoil was in evidence Saturday, however, as leaders of both parties came together for the pomp and ritual that the United States, with its populist tradition, permits itself every four years.
Bush took the oath of office at 12:01 p.m. with his wife, Laura, by his side. It was administered by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and was greeted by cheers from the crowd of thousands that swept from the Capitol through the mist toward the Washington Monument.
In a 14-minute speech, Bush reiterated the theme of compassion he had repeated tirelessly during his campaign, and he spoke of the poor and underprivileged in a way more common to Democrats.
“America at its best is compassionate,” Bush said. “In the quiet of 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.
“All of us are diminished when any are hopeless,” he said. “Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do.”
Democrats generally responded favorably. “He set the right tone,” said Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
In following John Quincy Adams as the second son of a president to hold the office, Bush’s inaugural address in some ways echoed the one his father, former President George Bush, delivered on the same spot 12 years earlier.
“We need compromise; we have had dissension,” the elder Bush said in 1989, extending his hand to Democratic leaders seated nearby. “I yearn for greater tolerance.”
Aides had said Bush would have delivered the same speech had he won by a landslide, and the new president indeed did not refer to the unusual way he came to power.
Bush, who campaigned on a promise to bring a civil tone to Washington, sought to begin that tone by striking a note of inclusiveness. In deference to groups that generally supported his opponent, Bush spoke highly of immigrants and noted that America was once a slave-holding nation.
“Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation,” Bush said. “This is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.”
Bush’s inauguration derived an added poignancy from the presence of his father. Bill Clinton resoundingly defeated the elder Bush eight years ago; his son, who was known to be bitter about that defeat, earned a measure of revenge by beating Clinton’s chosen successor, Vice President Al Gore.
On Saturday, Clinton, Gore and the elder Bush all looked on as the new president took the oath of office, creating a tableau of conflict and reconciliation.
After reciting the oath, Bush embraced his father, who rubbed away a tear. As Bush thanked all the former presidents, he paused dramatically after saying “President Bush,” to a cheer from the audience.
The new president wasted little time exercising his new authority. He immediately sent the names of seven non-controversial Cabinet appointees to the Senate, including Colin Powell as secretary of state, Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense and Paul O’Neill as treasury secretary. Senators confirmed them quickly in a special Saturday session.
Bush also ordered a hiring freeze and a moratorium on federal regulations, intended to allow his administration to scrutinize new rules set in motion by Clinton in his last weeks in office. Bush also issued a set of ethical rules for his administration’s employees.
At the swearing-in ceremony, the presence onstage of the former presidents, including Jimmy Carter, highlighted and celebrated the peaceful transfer of power, which Bush noted is “rare in history, yet common in our country.”
Bush and his wife began the day with a half-hour prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Rector Luis Leon said his homily focused on “our higher nature” and cited President Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to heal a nation divided by Civil War.
Bush exited the church to applause and headed by limousine to the White House, where he was greeted by President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Laura Bush greeted Mrs. Clinton with, “Good morning, senator.”
The two presidents then rode together to the Capitol, which was dressed for the occasion with massive American flags hanging from its western facade. A stage was erected with the presidential seal, and enormous television screens displayed the scene for the many in the crowd who could not get a good glimpse of the stage.
Inaugurations are among the few occasions on which leaders of all parts of the national government come together. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, justices of the Supreme Court, and congressional leaders all occupied the stage Saturday, as did various governors and incoming Cabinet secretaries.
The mostly Republican crowd erupted in especially loud applause when members of the Supreme Court were introduced, in recognition of the justices’ controversial 5-4 decision ending the election recount in Florida and sealing Bush’s victory. Some in the crowd openly savored the change in regime, exchanging remarks like “just one more hour of Clinton.”
Some of the VIPs on the inaugural stand brought their own cameras for the occasion, including Powell and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president’s brother. Those on the platform also received a souvenir of the event, as hundreds of clear plastic ponchos were handed out because of the rain.
Rain began to fall in earnest just as the ceremonies started. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), who co-led the inaugural committee, introduced Rehnquist, who led Bush in reciting the presidential oath.
When Bush raised his right hand, it recalled the numerous times he had repeated that very gesture during the campaign as he promised to “restore dignity and integrity” to the Oval Office. Bush rested his hand on the same Bible that George Washington used in his inaugurations, which was also employed by Bush’s father.
Bush’s team regularly questioned the integrity of Clinton and Gore during the campaign, but any lingering animosity was set aside Saturday as Bush thanked both for their service, and the three treated each other graciously.
The presidential oath was followed by a 21-gun salute while a band played “Hail to the Chief” in Bush’s honor for the first time.
Following his speech, Bush met with lawmakers in the Capitol for the traditional lunch in Statuary Hall, and promised an era of bipartisanship and achievement.
“People say, `Well, gosh, the election was so close, nothing will happen except for finger pointing and name calling and bitterness,'” Bush said. “I’m here to tell the country that things will get done, that we’re going to rise above expectations, that both Republicans and Democrats will come together to do what’s right for America.”
Bush then entered his limousine for the ride to the reviewing stand from which he was to survey the inaugural parade. He unexpectedly got out of the car and walked the last block, echoing a gesture by Carter during his 1977 inaugural celebration.
The steady rain created difficulties during the parade for the Bush family, which was seated in the first two rows of an elaborate reviewing stand. Those seats ordinarily would have been the best perch in town, but they weren’t covered by the stand’s shelter, so the first couple and most everyone else huddled under hastily fetched umbrellas.
The rain reduced the parade crowd to low numbers, perhaps to fewer people than the 10,500 parade participants. The small turnout allowed police to relax crowd-control plans, and protesters and spectators alike had easy access to the floats, bands and marchers not seen since Carter’s inaugural.
Unlike past years, when processions sometimes bunched up and encountered delays, this year’s parade moved along smartly. Even the longest float,extending over two flatbed trailers and carrying the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, managed the route nimbly.
Despite a conspicuous lack of references to the disputed election in the official proceedings, thousands of demonstrators came to Washington to let it be known that they believe Bush’s victory was illegitimate.
They held signs with such slogans as “Bush lost” and “Hail to the thief,” and some lined the parade unleashing catcalls and yelling derisively as Bush’s motorcade glided by. The demonstration had little impact on the celebration, but was one of the biggest inaugural protests since the days of Richard Nixon.
A few protesters slashed tires after they were kept from the parade route. District of Columbia police had summoned reinforcements from around the region. They tussled with a few of the demonstrators and arrested a handful.
In the evening, the Bushes attended the usual whirlwind of inaugural balls.
As Bush was celebrating the dawning of his power, his successor left town with a series of bittersweet farewells.
Clinton took a last peek at all the White House rooms, and in the final moments before leaving the White House for the last time, Clinton and his wife Hillary reportedly were spotted through a window dancing together in the foyer.
Immediately after Bush’s speech at the Capitol, Clinton was taken to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington for a farewell ceremony with White House staffers before going on to New York. Clinton seemed to be trying to cheer himself up about having to leave.
“The whole nature of public service is, by definition, a reflection of the nature of life,” Clinton said. “It is passing. It has seasons. It is a process, not a destination. The work of this country will never be over, and no one will ever get to do it forever. And that’s not all bad.”
Upon landing in Westchester County, N.Y., Clinton and his wife were greeted by a welcome rally, where for the first time Hillary Clinton addressed the crowd as the office-holder and her husband as the political spouse. The couple, with their daughter, Chelsea, spent the night at their new home in Chappaqua.
Analysts generally praised Bush’s speech, saying it was it was impressive and well-delivered, if lacking in soaring eloquence. At first blush, his phrases are unlikely to live on in the same way as John Kennedy’s “The torch has been passed to a new generation” or Franklin Roosevelt’s “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
“I thought it got him off to a good start,” said Allan Lichtman, chairman of American University’s history department. “It was part Kennedy and part elder Bush. . . . “
Stephen Wayne, a presidential scholar at Georgetown University, said Bush’s message was “nicely stated” but added that its true significance would be measured by how he follows up on its promises while in office.
“For a speech to be one we remember, like Kennedy’s or Roosevelt’s, it has to be followed by something demonstrative that moves toward the goal or the idea in the speech,” Wayne said.
