You're reading: Obama to take oath in a position of strength

WASHINGTON — Battered yet still popular after a bruising first term as president, Barack Obama raises his right hand Sunday to be sworn in for another four years as the leader of an America that is, perhaps, as divided politically and socially as at any time since the U.S. Civil War more than 150 years ago.

When Obama first took office as the 44th U.S.
president, many Americans hoped the symbolism of the first black man in
the White House was a turning point in the country’s deeply troubled
racial history. Obama vowed to moderate the animus that was engulfing
the country, but, four years later, the nation is only more divided.
While Obama convincingly won a second term, the jubilation that
surrounded him four years ago is subdued this time around.

Obama
guided the country through many crushing challenges after taking office
in 2009: ending the Iraq war, putting the Afghan war on a course toward
U.S. withdrawal and saving the collapsing economy. He won approval for a
sweeping health care overhaul. Yet onerous problems remain and his
success in resolving them will define his place in history.

He
faces fights with opposition Republicans over gun control, avoiding a
default on the nation’s debts, cutting the spiraling federal deficit and
preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

Obama begins his
second term at noon (1700 GMT) on Jan. 20, the date and time specified
by law. He will take his oath in a simple White House ceremony. On
Monday, he will repeat the oath and give his inaugural speech on the
steps of the U.S. Capitol before hundreds of thousands of people in a
ceremony laden with pomp. He then makes the traditional journey, part of
it on foot, down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Fancy dress
balls, fewer than in 2009, consume the evening hours. Monday is also the
holiday marking the birth of Martin Luther King, the revered civil
right leader who was assassinated in 1968.

Joe Biden was sworn in
for his second term as vice president shortly after 8 a.m. (1300GMT) on
Sunday, taking the oath from Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor at
his official residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Before
taking the oath, himself, Obama and his family were attending church
services at the historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal
Church. Earlier, Obama and Biden laid a wreath at Arlington National
Cemetery.

On the eve of his Sunday start of a new term, Obama and
First Lady Michelle Obama stained a bookcase as part of a national
service event organized by the inaugural committee. Speaking at the
elementary school where the event took place, Obama reminded the nation
of the coming remembrance of King’s birth and life.

“We think
about not so much the inauguration, but we think about this is Dr.
King’s birthday we’re going to be celebrating this weekend,” the
president said.

“He said everybody wants to be first, everybody
wants to be a drum major. But if you’re going to be a drum major, be a
drum major for service, be a drum major for justice, be a drum major for
looking out for other people,” Obama said of the civil rights leader
whose birthday is celebrated as a national holiday on Monday.

Americans
increasingly see Obama as a strong leader, someone who stands up for
his beliefs and is able to get things done, according to a survey by the
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The survey shows
him with a 52 percent job approval rating, among the highest rankings
since early in his presidency. His personal favorability, 59 percent,
has rebounded from a low of 50 percent in the 2012 campaign against
Republican Mitt Romney.

Domestic issues, notably the economy and
health care, dominated Obama’s first term, but there were also critical
international issues that could define his next four years. Obama may
have to decide whether to launch a strike against Iran’s nuclear
facilities, something he is loath to do. Washington and its allies
believe Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its program
is intended for producing electricity. Obama has vowed to keep Iran from
crossing the line to nuclear-armed status, but insists there is still
time for diplomacy. But Israel is pressuring him to take military action
sooner rather than later.

Obama will also have to deal with the civil war in Syria, Israel-Palestinian tensions, a chill in relations with Russia and a series of maritime disputes in Asia. The administration has long
talked of making a “pivot” toward Asia after the U.S. has directed much
of its energy to the Middle East in the past decade.

Yet, as Obama
has begun setting the course for his second term, the political battles
at home continue to dominate his attention. He faces tough opposition
from Republicans, especially from among its tea party wing — lawmakers
determined to shrink government and reduce the taxes. Republicans are
themselves divided between tea party loyalists adamantly opposed to
compromises on taxes and spending and mainstream Republicans more open
to negotiations.

A confrontation is brewing on the need for
Congress to raise the limit on U.S. borrowing. Republicans now plan to
avoid a fight in the short term but they will raise the issue again
before summer and will again demand steep spending cuts to reduce the
government’s debt. Obama has said he won’t allow them to hold the
nation’s economy hostage and will not negotiate, as he did in 2011. A
failure to reach an agreement could leave the government without money
to pay its debts and lead to the first-ever U.S. default or a government
shutdown.

Beyond the debt-ceiling debate are other big budget
fights. Looming are automatic cuts to defense and domestic programs,
originally scheduled for Jan. 1. Now they in late winter unless Congress
and the president act. And the U.S. budget runs dry in March, leading
again to a potential shutdown unless both sides agree on new
legislation.

Obama is also seeking new restrictions on guns and
ammunition, a move avidly opposed by most Republicans and the National
Rifle Association, a powerful lobbying group which believes they would
violate constitutional protections for gun owners. Obama was spurred to
action by the massacre last month of 20 children and six adults at their
school in Newtown, Connecticut. He has pledged to use “whatever weight
this office holds” to fight for his proposals.

Among the second
term’s other top-tier issues, immigration may be the one in which Obama
enjoys the most leverage. That’s a dramatic change from his first term,
when it was relegated to the background.

The White House is
hinting at a comprehensive bill this year that would include a path
toward citizenship for millions of immigrants now in the country
illegally. Republicans, stung by heavy losses among Hispanic voters in
the last two presidential elections, say they also want to revamp
immigration laws.