Obama: 'We Are Ready to Lead'

Barack Obama wowed crowds in Washington today with a moving inaugural address calling the US to a new sense of shared responsibility and service, CNN reports. “We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America,” Obama said. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real … they will not be met easily. But know this, America, they will be met.”

The speech mixed sober realism with hope and inspiration. Obama called for a return to America’s most basic values, and a recognition of its citizens’ duties. “This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed—why men and women and children of every race and faith can join in celebration,” he said, “and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” (More Barack Obama stories.)