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: ush takes oath as 43rd President
By Mike Allen and Edward Walsh
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON _ George Walker Bush was
sworn in as the nation's 43rd president Satur
day and, with a call for compassion and civility
in public life, pledged to "work to build a single
nation of justice and opportunity."
The solemn, tradition-bound ceremony trans
ferring power unfolded beneath gray skies on a
raw January day as the 54-year-old former Texas
governor, his eyes misty with tears, took the oath
of office that had been administered 12 years
earlier to his father, former president George
Bush, who looked on proudly.
Weaving some of the themes and issues that
he invoked during his campaign through his 14-
minute inaugural address, Bush called on
Americans to be "citizens, not spectators" and
promised "to bring the values of our history to
the care of our times."
The day was filled with emotion for the Bush
family and its supporters, and Bush struggled
not to reveal the deep feelings of the moment.
A tear rolled from his eyes after the oath was
administered by Chief Justice William
Rehnquist and, a second time, at the conclu
sion of his speech, when he hugged his father.
On the nearby rain-soaked streets of Wash
ington, there were also vivid reminders of the
raw emotions that were stirred by the heated
campaign and the marathon count of votes in
Florida that finally gave Bush the presidency.
Thousands of sign-waving protesters, some
chanting "Hail to the Thief," roamed the streets,
which were patroled by about 7,000 officers
from more than a dozen law enforcement agen
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at White,House
bY Jura Kondus
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON Like certain
m embers of his Cabinet, the rug that
President George W. Bush chose for
the makeover of his Oval Office has
previous White House experience.
The $49,625 terra-cotta and wal
lah-gray oval wool rug;originally
was commissioned in 1988 for Presi
dent at by Los Angeles deco-
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"Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves,
but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves.
When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it.
When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it."
But at the Capitol, the ceremony proceeded
smoothly as first Dick Cheney took the oath of
office as vice president, and Bush, his voice
firm, recited the hallowed words promising to
"preserve, protect and defend the Constitution
of the United States."
Vice President Al Gore, defeated by Bush in
a bitter contest decided by the Supreme Court,
glumly faced Bush on the West Portico of the
Capitol. Outgoing President Bill Clinton, the
man who ousted the new president's father from
the White House in 1992, and the outgoing first
lady and new Democratic senator from New
York, Hillary Rodham Clinton, sat near the el
der Bush and his wife, Barbara.
Bush was accompanied by his wife, Laura,
and their twin, 19-year-old daughters, Barbara
and Jenna, and Cheney by his wife, Lynne, and
their daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. In addi
tion to Bush's parents, the ceremony was at
tended by former president Jimmy Carter rind
his wife. Rosalynn.
Bush's daughters held back when their par
ents went up for the oath-taking. Clinton and
Gore motioned to them to go up to the podium,
and Clinton helped position them behind their
mother.
Before Bush had even left the Capitol, he
signed papers formally nominating his Cabinet
members, and the Senate quickly confirmed
seven of them with a single voice vote during
an unusual Saturday session. Bush, following a
tactic of former president Ronald Reagan,
sought to undo many of Clinton's 1 1 th-hour
regulations and executive orders by suspend
ing their publication in the Federal Register,
The Reagan rug reportedly took
Stark Carpet Co. two years to design
and produce, and was used for just
over a year. It was mothballed by the
current president's father soon after
he moved into the Oval Office in
1989. (Historical footnote: Dubya
passed over Papa's own $28,500
"Bush blue" Oval Office carpet by
designer Mark Hampton.) The
Reagan rug measures 23 by 31 feet
and has a four-foot center medallion
of the presidential seal and an 18-
inch border. Both the Reagan and
Bush rugs were paid for by private
donors.
No word on whether Bush plans
to commission his own rug. The
Oval Office decor is still a work-in
, •
tk s- Progress. According to a White
Ironic press spokesman, more
changes Were being made this week.
We'll keep you posted.
which is required for them to take effect.
The soon to be president and vice president
and their wives began the day at a prayer ser
vice at St. John's Church, across Lafayette Park
from the White House. They then went to the
White House, where they were greeted by
Clinton, Gore and their wives.
"Good morning, senator," Laura Bush said
to her predecessor as first lady.
Throughout the morning and into the early
afternoon, Clinton appeared to be almost buoy
ant. Before the arrival of the Bushes at the White
House, the outgoing president and first lady
were spotted dancing in the foyer of the execu
tive mansion.
On his way to the Clintons' new residence in
New York, Clinton made a final stop and speech
to his aides and supporters at Andrews Air Force
Base. "I left the White House," he said, "but
I'm still here."
But the day belonged to Bush, who began his
speech by thanking Clinton "for his service to
our country" and Gore "for a contest conducted
with spirit and ended with grace."
After Bush took the oath, three officials
briskly removed rain covers from the
TelePrompTer equipment, as if unwrapping a
fresh new oratory. Bush spoke with a confidence
and precision that had so often eluded him on
the campaign trail and in his occasional public
appearances since Election Day.
In the short, thematic address, Bush men
tioned a number of issues that he stressed dur
ing the campaign. He pledged to "reclaim
America's schools, before ignorance and apa
thy claim more lives," to reform Social Secu
lime to accept Bush's legitimacy?
Chicago Tribune Editorial
January 18, 2001
Sane Americans may be occu
pied this week debating how the
Super Bowl will turn out, but a
small group of vocal political par
tisans is obsessed with the outcome
of a different contest: last year's
presidential race.
They claim George W. Bush
stole the election and that his presi
dency is irredeemably tainted.
Mass e-mails sent out by attack
teams portray this election as "the
worst political fraud" in American
history.
Last week, President Clinton
poured fuel on the flames by com
menting that campaign manager
Bill Daley "did a brilliant job in
leading Vice President Gore to vic
tory." According to the incumbent,
Bush is ascending to the Oval Of-
President George W. Bush, Inaugural Address
fice only because he got the Su
preme Court "to stop the vote in
order to change the outcome."
Even before he takes the oath,
Bush finds himself subject to the
kind of poisonous vilification that
has afflicted Clinton for more than
eight years. Most people didn't
think issues like Clinton's youth
ful draft record and his relationship
with Gennifer Flowers were rel
evant to his performance, but a few
right-wingers raised them repeat
edly, with little effect except to sour
Americans on political discourse.
Some advice for those Ameri
cans who feel bitter about the fact
that Bush will become the 43rd
president on Saturday: Put it be
hind you.
Maybe if we were to count some
of the Florida ballots according to
rules tailor-made to help the vice
president, as the Gore team pro
country's military capability and "confront
weapons of mass destruction," a reference to
his plan to deploy a ballistic missile defense
system.
"The enemies of liberty and our country
should make no mistake, America remains en
gaged in the world, by history and by choice,
shaping a balance of power that favors free
dom," Bush said in the only section of the
speech that dealt with foreign policy. "We will
defend our allies and our interests. We will show
purpose without arrogance. We will meet ag
gression and bad faith with resolve and strength.
And to all nations, we will speak for the values
that gave our nation birth."
But Bush's main theme centered on his pledge
to conduct himself with "civility, courage, com
passion and character," each word an echo from
his campaign and its aftermath, as he explicitly
appealed to those who did not support him, in
cluding the 90 percent of African American vot
ers who backed Gore.
"While many of our citizens prosper, others
doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own
country," said Bush, who wore a dark overcoat
against the day's chill. "The ambitions of some
Americans are limited by failing schools, and
hidden prejudice, and the circumstances of their
birth. And sometimes our differences run so
deep it seems we share a continent but not a
country."
"We do not accept this and will not allow it."
Since Election Day, Bush, who lost the popu
lar vote to Gore and won a narrow electoral col
lege majority only after a bitter series of legal
disputes that was finally settled by the Supreme
Court, has often spoken of civility and his de-
posed, you'd find him with the
most votes in that state, which
would have put him on top in the
Electoral College. Maybe if there
were no snafus involving minority
voters, Gore would have done bet
ter. This election exposed voting
problems that need to be addressed.
But the electoral and legal sys
tem, imperfections and all, pro
duced an outcome that is clear and
Is that outcome entitled to re
spect? Of course it is _ as Bush's
opponents would be the first to
agree if the courts and election of
ficials had ruled in their favor.
Neither this nor any other coun
try has a flawless method for elect
ing leaders. What the United States
has, though, is the rule of law. It
functioned reasonably well in the
trying circumstances of this elec
tion, and it produced a victor whom
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2001
termination to unite the country
"Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment," he
said Saturday. "It is the determined choice of
trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.
And this commitment, if we keep it, is a way to
shared accomplishment."
Bush said courage was necessary even ►n a
time of peace and prosperity. "We must show
courage in a time of blessing," he said, "by con
fronting problems instead of passing them on
to future generations."
Bush portrayed himself during the campaign
as a "compassionate conservative" and he in
voked that theme again Saturday, including his
call to make more use of "faith based" private
efforts to improve social conditions. "Compas
sion is the work of a nation, not just a govern
ment," he said.
He also raised the theme of "character,"
which during the campaign Bush used implic
itly to contrast himself with Clinton's personal
scandals. "America, at its best, is a place where
personal responsibility is valued and expected,"
he said.
Bush added: "What you do is as important as
anything government does. I ask you to seek a
common good beyond your comfort, to defend
needed reforms against easy attacks, to serve
your nation beginning with your neighbor. I ask
you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators."
In taking the oath of office, Bush joined John
Quincy Adams as only the second man to fol
low his father into the presidency. His father
was the first man to see his son sworn in as
president since Joseph Kennedy witnessed the
inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in
1961.
all Americans should accept. At a
Martin Luther King Jr. Day event,
former King aide and U.N. am
bassador Andrew Young urged an
end to fighting over the election:
"It's time for us to realize that
George Walker Bush is our presi
dent."
Those who question Bush's ap
proach are entitled to lobby
against his proposals and mobi
lize against his Cabinet nominees.
But the fights ought to be about
issues that affect real people.
The only thing likely to be
achieved by questioning Bush's
right to hold office is to convince
ordinary citizens that today's poli
tics is just a cynical game of
search and destroy. Both sides
ought to see that if we keep going
in that direction, everyone will
lose.