Barack Obama's inaugural speech lasted just 20 minutes, but it could leave a permanent stamp on the shape of his second term, experts claim.
“Inaugurations are events that can shape history,” says Presidential Biographer Robert Caro in an official White House video.
“Kennedy's 'Ask not what your country can do for you,' that was an inauguration,” he adds. “Lincoln saying 'Malice towards none, charity for all,' that was an inauguration.”
The US President laid a clearly progressive agenda on the table with a speech that highlighted equality, climate change and gay rights as key areas for change, after being publicly sworn in for another four years in the White House on Monday.
Obama also underscored his prior achievements and challenges, noting the end of “a decade of war,” and the beginning of economic recovery in the United States.
Dr Nick Sharman from the University of Melbourne, who calls the speech “hopeful”, says the President's attention to climate change was surprising and significant.
“There's quite a long section on climate change and that hasn't been something he has focused on much to date,” he says.
“It's very noticeable -- it was given not just a little mention but significant prominence.”
Obama emphasised a need to move towards sustainable energy sources. “America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it,” he declared.
The President also reinforced a commitment to promoting gay rights within America, an issue he notably tackled during his first term with the repeal of the controversial 'don't ask, don't tell' military policy.
“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” he said.
The President's speech carried “a great sense of rhetoric, and that can be powerful,” says Sharman.
But he warned Obama may have a tough time converting all of his promises to policy, given his limited power in congress.
“It's all very well to make a speech, but he's still got the Republicans controlling congress, so it's going to be difficult to get legislation through.”
Political analyst Luke Freedman from the US Studies Centre says Obama's declarations could have value in steering thought and opinion even if they are not immediately drafted into law.
“I think it influences how we think about the budget proposals going forward.”
“Getting [climate change policy] through congress would be extremely difficult,” says Freedman “But I think [Obama] will try, and who knows? The attitude might change.”
BY TOPIC: KEY POINTS FROM OBAMA'S 2013 INAUGURATION SPEECH
OBAMA ON CLIMATE CHANGE
“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.
“Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.
“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it.
“We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise.
“That's how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure -- our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks.
“That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That's what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”
OBAMA ON GAY RIGHTS
“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
OBAMA ON EQUALITY
“For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.
“We believe that America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.
“We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.”
OBAMA ON HEALTHCARE
“We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.
"But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.
"For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.”
