Welcoming Remarks by Ambassador Janet Garvey On the Occasion of the Inauguration of President Barack Obama

January 20, 2009

Dear friends, welcome!

Thank you for joining us to mark this auspicious occasion.  Today’s inauguration is special for many reasons.  When Barack Obama takes the oath of office in just a few minutes, he will become the first African American President of the United States.  As you know, President Obama has special ties to the continent of Africa, and it is clear his election has had a profound impact on many here. 

For many people around the world, President Obama has come to symbolize hope, change, and the social mobility inherent in the American dream.    We have good reason to be excited about his personal story and the spirit of can-do energy which a new Administration almost always brings.  But Barack Obama’s inauguration is only the most recent chapter in a national journey that stretches back more than two hundred years.  The first presidential inauguration took place in 1789, two hundred and twenty years ago, when George Washington, America’s first President, took the oath of office in New York City, which was then the capital of our young nation.

As George Washington came to the close of his second term in office, many people across the country called for him to remain in office, to guide the young nation through its early challenges.  At this crucial time, many argued, America needed the constancy of Washington’s leadership.  But Washington’s gaze was fixed beyond the issues of the day, and his commitment to democratic principles was rooted in his experience with the unchecked power of the monarchy.  He stepped aside in testimony to his conviction that the principles of democracy are more important than any individual.

Much has changed since that time, and America’s journey has at times been fraught with tests of the nation’s character.  Throughout it all, however, the fundamental principle of leadership change through democratic means has remained constant.  As I said on Super Tuesday, at the start of this presidential campaign, we believe that alternance and institutional leadership change is fundamental to the strength of our democracy.

Barrack Obama has insisted, in word and deed, that he will serve as President for all Americans, not just Democrats, not just African-Americans, not just those who voted for him.  He has asked both Dr. Rick Warren and Gene Robinson, preachers at opposite ends of America’s political spectrum, to deliver prayers at his inaugural events.  In forming his new team, he has kept on important officials from George Bush’s administration, like Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and invited his former political opponent, Hilary Clinton, to lead his foreign policy as the Secretary of State.  His inauguration, like his early decisions to open his administration to competent leaders from all political backgrounds, embodies the fundamental principle that the democratic process is more important than any individuals or any one party. 

We see this principle embodied as well in the efforts that outgoing President George W. Bush has made to assist Obama and his transition team.  While Presidents Bush and Obama have disagreed on many issues, and at times they have been critical of each other, both men have shown their desire to put political differences aside in deference to a higher principle, that the well-being of the nation must take precedence over political or personal considerations.

Today’s celebrations will, for many people, be a celebration of Barack Obama’s personal journey and what it means for America.  As we watch him take the oath of office, however, we should not forget that this ceremony is greater than any individual.  It commemorates America’s electoral process, our spirit of hope and inclusiveness, and core democratic principles and institutions that go back to the very founding of our nation.

The ceremony is about to begin, and if I do not stop here, I run the risk of competing with our new president.  Thank you again for joining us tonight to commemorate this exciting moment in our history.