1136 ★ CHAPTER 28 A New Century and New Crises
Obama’s victory seemed to mark the end of a political era that began with
Richard Nixon and his “southern strategy.” In the wake of the Iraq War, the eco-
nomic meltdown, and the enthusiasm aroused by Obama’s candidacy, Republi-
can appeals to patriotism, low taxes, and resentment against the social changes
sparked by the 1960s seemed oddly out of date. Democrats not only regained
the presidency but also ended up with 60 of the 100 seats in the Senate and a
large majority in the House. In an increasingly multiethnic, multiracial nation,
winning a majority of the white vote no longer translated into national vic-
tory. Republicans would have to find a way to appeal to the voters of the new
America.
Obama’s First Inauguration
Few presidents have come into office facing as serious a set of problems as
Barack Obama. The economy was in crisis and the country involved in two
wars. But Americans, including many who had not voted for him, viewed
Obama’s election as a cause for optimism. Two days after his victory, a poll
found two- thirds of Americans describing themselves as proud of the result,
and 60 percent excited at the prospect of an Obama administration.
On January 20, 2009, a day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and more
than forty- five years after King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Obama was inaugu-
rated as president. More than 1 million people traveled to Washington to view
the historic event. In his inaugural address (see the full text in the Appendix),
Obama offered a stark rebuke to eight years of Bush policies and, more broadly,
to the premises that had shaped government policy since the election of Reagan.
He promised a foreign policy based on diplomacy rather than unilateral force,
pledged to protect the environment, spoke of the need to combat income inequal-
ity and lack of access to health care, and blamed a culture of “greed and irresponsi-
bility” for helping to bring on the economic crisis. He promised to renew respect
for the Constitution. Unlike Bush, Obama said little about freedom in his speech,
other than to note that the country could enjoy liberty and security at the same
time rather than having to choose between them. Instead of freedom, he spoke of
community and responsibility. His address harked back to the revolutionary- era
ideal of putting the common good before individual self- interest.
OBAMA IN OFFICE
In many ways, Obama’s first policy initiatives lived up to the promise of
change. In his first three months, he announced plans to close the prison at
Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, barred the use of torture, launched a diplomatic
initiative to repair relations with the Muslim world, reversed the previous