President Barack Obama 

quotes from his Inauguration Speech ~ January 20, 2009

America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding document.

The time has come to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

What is required of us is responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves and our nation. This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence— the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.