WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's first black president just after noon on Tuesday.
In his inaugural address, Obama said the United States is "in the midst of crisis," citing the weak economy, failing schools and costly health care.
"Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many," Obama said. "They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met."
Obama also highlighted plans to strengthen the economy, affirmed his intention to "responsibly leave Iraq," and emphasized that Americans should not fear the threat of terror.
In a recent Gallup survey, 62 percent of Americans said they anticipate Obama will be either an outstanding or above-average president, while 11 percent said that he would be a below-average or poor president.
"People seem ready for change -- they voted for change," government professor Deborah Brooks said. "We've got a situation in which people are very optimistic about the type of change that Obama can bring."
Brooks said the current level of support may not be a momentary phenomenon.
"Obama may have the classic honeymoon period, but it may be more than that," Brooks said. "People are ready for something different and really embracing the moment. They are even going across party lines to do that."
In another Gallup poll, 89 percent of surveyed Americans said they were confident that Obama will be able to work effectively with Congress to "get things done."
"Eighty-nine percent is really amazing," Brooks said. "You see a big difference for how hopeful people are now, as opposed to before Bush. But Bush's numbers were phenomenally high early on, and now he is leaving with record-low approval ratings. That is a reminder that things can change."
Obama's rise to the presidency will likely catapult two Dartmouth alumni to high-level positions in the federal government.
Timothy Geithner '83, Obama's Treasury secretary nominee, will attend confirmation hearings today. His confirmation has been complicated by reports that he failed to pay more than $34,000 in taxes between 2001 and 2004 and that he employed a housekeeper whose immigration papers had expired. Geithner has since paid his back taxes and Senate leaders have signalled his confirmation will not be met by significant opposition from either party.
Obama also nominated William Lynn '76 as deputy secretary of defense. Lynn's nomination has been criticized because he served as a registered defense lobbyist until July 2008. Obama had previously promised not to nominate candidates who had served as registered lobbyists within the past two years.
"I guess it's just an example that demonstrates how hard it is to make a rule like that to stick," government professor Linda Fowler said. "But I think that because the defense industry is such a specialized one, it poses a particular challenge to find people who have the experience and skills to fill the position who are not already affiliated."
More than one million people gathered on the National Mall to bear witness to Obama's inauguration.
"I think Americans went out of their way today to say [to Obama], 'We not only accept you as our president, we are enthusiastic about it,'" Fowler said.
Dartmouth students joined the crowd on the Mall and along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route to show their support for the new president.
"It was amazing -- today my breath was just taken away," Danielle Coleman '12 said. "After the inauguration, we were all trying to get out, but we were sort of caged in by these fences. But it was sort of nice because we met all these people around us and started chants. We turned it around and really made it positive."
While many Dartmouth students traveled individually to Washington, D.C., to attend the ceremony, several student organizations also made the trip to participate in various activities related to the inauguration.
Members of the Dartmouth Gospel Choir traveled to the capital to sing at the Inaugural Finance Committee Welcome Breakfast on Sunday at the National Building Museum.
"We served as a bit of a warm up act," Chiara Klein '10, a member of the choir, said. "They could have found a local gospel group, but they probably would have been 98-percent African American. We're very diverse. I think we're sort of what Obama stands for. All of us together make an amazing, beautiful sound."
The choir also sang with Grammy-award-winning singers Yolanda Adams, BeBe Winans and Carole King.
At the end of its performance, the choir performed an impromptu rendition of the song "Locomotion" with King, who wrote the song.
About 20 members of the Dartmouth College Democrats also traveled to Washington to attend the annual policy convention hosted by the College Democrats of America.
"We talked about the future of the College Democrats [nationwide] and the future of the party," David Imamura '10, president of the Dartmouth College Democrats, said. "They gave us a lot of ideas about what College Democrats should be doing on campuses."
The College Democrats made care packages on Monday for troops in Iraq at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, at an event sponsored by Target and the Washington, D.C., Mayor's Office.
The Obama transition press office did not return calls for comment by press time.
