Obama ouvre "une nouvelle ère de responsabilité"

Barack Obama est devenu, mardi 20 janvier, le 44e président des Etats-Unis d’Amérique. Devant deux millions de personnes rassemblées sur le Mall, l’esplanade qui fait face au Capitole, M. Obama a prêté serment sur la même Bible que son modèle en politique, Abraham Lincoln. Il a ensuite prononcé un discours d’investiture très attendu mais apportant peu d’éléments nouveaux par rapport à l’Obama qui s’était présenté au peuple américain pendant la campagne présidentielle. Un Barack Obama "fidèle aux idéaux de nos ancêtres", qui a insisté sur les valeurs morales qui ont fondé l’Amérique et doivent continuer de la guider.

Dans un environnement national et international trouble, M. Obama a insisté sur l’ampleur de la tâche qui l’attend, promettant de s’y atteler avec "humilité". Il a reconnu que l’Amérique se trouvait "au milieu d’une crise profonde", évoquant les "logements perdus, les emplois perdus, les entreprises qui ont échoué, le système de santé trop cher, les comportements irresponsables de certains". Face à cette "crainte du déclin", le président a rappelé "les sacrifices de nos ancêtres" et convoqué les valeurs morales qui les ont ont guidés : "foi et détermination, honnêteté et labeur, courage, tolérance, patriotisme, curiosité, et la conviction que Dieu nous appelle à façonner un destin encore incertain". Autant de vertus qui doivent assurer le "triomphe de l’espérance sur la crainte". "La volonté va triompher", a lancé le président démocrate dans un discours relativement austère, au vu des envolées auxquelles il avait habitué les Américains.

"PRAGMATISME" ET "RESPONSABILITÉ"

L’ancien sénateur de l’Illinois a promis de "créer des emplois", de "restaurer les conditions de la croissance" : "Nous construirons les routes et les ponts, les réseaux électriques et les lignes numériques qui alimenteront notre économie et nous rapprocheront les uns des autres. Nous restaurerons la place de la science, et les miracles de la technologie nous permettront d’améliorer notre système de soins tout en réduisant son coût. Nous maîtriserons le soleil et les vents pour alimenter nos voitures et faire tourner nos usines. Et nous ferons en sorte que nos écoles et nos universités soient dignes des exigences de cette nouvelle ère." Autant de mesures empreintes, selon M. Obama, de "pragmatisme". "Ce que l’on attend de nous, maintenant, c’est une nouvelle ère de responsabilité."

Autre thème central de ce discours d’investiture : la place dans le monde de l’Amérique, dont l’image s’est fortement dégradée pendant les huit années de présidence Bush . "Nous rejetons le choix entre la sécurité et nos idéaux", a-t-il dit, mettant une fois de plus en avant les valeurs morales et disant vouloir privilégier "les alliances et les convictions fortes" sur l’emploi de la violence. "Nous allons commencer à laisser la gestion de l’Irak à son peuple, et construire une paix durement gagnée en Afghanistan. Avec nos vieux amis et nos anciens ennemis, nous allons diminuer la menace nucléaire et repousser le spectre du réchauffement climatique." Il a assuré que son administration travaillerait avec le monde musulman avec l’ambition de favoriser "l’intérêt mutuel et le respect mutuel". Mais, a-t-il prévenu, "nous n’allons pas nous excuser pour notre mode de vie". Et aux terroristes, Barack Obama a lancé : "Nous vous vaincrons."

Consensuel en politique étrangère, consensuel en politique intérieure, Barack Obama a insisté sur la nécessaire fin des querelles partisanes et des "fausses promesses". Il a loué la force de l’Amérique, qui permet à "un homme dont le père, il y a moins de soixante ans, n’aurait pas été servi au restaurant", de devenir le premier président noir des Etats-Unis. "God Bless You, God Bless America !" Source : LEMONDE.FR, 20 janvier 2009

Discours intégral de Barack Obama (en anglais)

Placing his hand on the Bible once used by Lincoln, Barack Obama took the Oath of Office at 12:05 p.m. on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Immediately following, he delivered his Inaugural Address to a sea of flag-waving Americans, which stretched down the National Mall to the Lincoln Memorial and beyond. The full text of his address is below.

Now the newly-inaugurated will escort outgoing President Bush to a helicopter taking him back to his native Texas and then President Obama will attend a luncheon inside the Capitol. Later he’ll make his way down Pennsylvania Avenue to his parade review stand in front of the White House where he’ll watch more than 90 parade groups march by.

My fellow citizens :

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost ; jobs shed ; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly ; our schools fail too many ; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit ; to choose our better history ; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation : the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West ; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg ; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions ; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done ; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity ; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born : know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use ; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken ; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth ; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass ; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve ; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself ; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history ; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow ; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders ; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service ; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people :

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].“

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter ; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. Source : Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009 - Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 12:25pm

Réactions dans le monde

 Canada Le premier ministre Harper, les chefs libéral et bloquiste, de même que la gouverneure générale rendent hommage au 44e président des États-Unis.

 Mandela Nelson Mandela, icône du combat anti-apartheid en Afrique du Sud, fait l’éloge du nouveau président américain,

 France Sarkozy pressé de "changer le monde" avec Obama En déplacement en Seine-et-Marne mardi, Nicolas Sarkozy a fait savoir qu’il avait "hâte" que Barack Obama se mette au travail après son investiture pour "changer le monde avec lui". europe1

Lula a invité Bush à venir pêcher au Brésil

Le président brésilien Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a invité lundi son homologue américain George W. Bush, qui cède le pouvoir mardi à Barack Obama, à venir au Brésil pour une partie de pêche, a rapporté la présidence brésilienne.

A la veille de son départ de la Maison Blanche, George Bush a appelé nombre de dirigeants étrangers, dont Lula, un ancien syndicaliste arrivé au pouvoir en 2003. En dépit de leurs divergences politiques, les deux hommes ont construit une solide relation personnelle, au point que plusieurs fois Lula a fait référence au "camarade Bush". 7sur7

Barack Obama inaugure un premier bal de voisinage

Après la parade jusqu’à la Maison Blanche, le couple Obama a inauguré un premier bal de voisinage, où la chanteuse Beyoncé a interprété "At last" (ndlr : enfin) pendant qu’ils dansaient au milieu d’invités en robe du soir, smokings et cravates noires.

Barack Obama, qui portait lui une cravate blanche a demandé aux invités : "Pour commencer, comment trouvez-vous ma femme ?". Elle portait une robe blanche signé Jason Wu, laissant voir l’une de ses épaules.

La scène de ce bal de voisins affichait le rapper Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Stevie Wonder et Sting, avec des tickets vendus de 75 à un millier de dollars.

Dans Washington, une dizaine d’autres bals moins prestigieux se tenaient mardi soir, et les participants ont célébré l’investiture du jour sans attendre les principaux intéressés. Le couple présidentiel devait inaugurer dix bals dans la soirée. Source : AP

Dans les coulisses

 Légère erreur dans le serment Barack Obama a un peu égratigné son serment d’investiture, induit en erreur par le président de la Cour suprême qui a lu dans le désordre le texte solennel prévu par la Constitution américaine. Il a déclaré "je jure solennellement de remplir les fonctions de président des Etats-Unis fidèlement" au lieu de "je jure solennellement de remplir fidèlement les fonctions de président des Etats-Unis". Cette petite erreur n’entachera en rien la validité de l’investiture d’Obama.

 Ted Kennedy victime d’un malaise Le sénateur du Massachusetts, Edward Kennedy, âgé de 76 ans et souffrant d’une tumeur au cerveau, a été victime d’un malaise durant le déjeuner officiel. Barack Obama a pris la parole et a déclaré qu’il s’inquiétait pour lui. M. Kennedy a été emmené en ambulance.

 Un autre sénateur victime d’un malaise Robert Byrd, 91 ans, sénateur de la Virginie-Occidentale, aurait également été victime d’un malaise, selon CNN.

Les nominations : Nom, prénom, Fonction, Date

Vilsack Tom, Agriculture Secretary, December 17

Gensler Gary, CFTC Chairman, December 18

Panetta Leon, CIA Director, January 9

Lubchenco Jane, Commerce-NOAA NOAA, December 20

Napolitano Janet, DHS Secretary, December 1

Blair Dennis, DNI Director, January 9

Flournoy Michele, DoD Under Secretary - Policy, January 8

Hale Bob, DoD Under Secretary - Comptroller, January 8

Johnson Jeh, DoD General Counsel, January 8

Lynn Bill, DoD Deputy Secretary, January 8

Duncan Arne, Education Secretary, December 16

Chu Steven, Energy Secretary, December 15

Jackson Lisa ,EPA Administrator, December 15

Tarullo Daniel, Federal Reserve, December 18

Daschle Thomas, HHS Secretary, December 11

Donovan Shaun, HUD Secretary, December 13

Salazar Ken, Interior Secretary, December 17

Holder Eric, Justice Attorney General, December 1

Johnsen Dawn, Justice Assistant A.G. - OLC, January 5

Kagan Elena, Justice Solicitor General, January 5

Ogden David, Justice Deputy Secretary, January 5

Perelli Tom, Justice Associate A.G., January 5

Solis Hilda, Labor Secretary, December 19

Orszag Peter, OMB Director, November 25

Nabors Robert, OMB Deputy Director - Budget, November 25

Killefer Nancy, OMB Deputy Director - Management / Chief Performance Officer, January 7

Mills Karen, SBA Administrator, December 19

Schapiro Mary, SEC Chairperson, December 18

Clinton Hillary, State Secretary, December 1

Lew Jacob, State Deputy Secretary, December 23

Steinberg Jim, State Deputy Secretary, December 23

LaHood Ray, Transportation Secretary, December 19

Geithner Tim, Treasury Secretary, November 24

Rice Susan, United Nations Ambassador, December 1

Kirk Ron, USTR Trade Representative, December 19

Shinseki Eric, Veterans Affairs Secretary, December 7

American Presidents

Since George Washington’s election in 1789, 43 men have served as President of the United States. They have led in times of peace and war, hardship and plenty, and served in tenures as short as one month and as long as 12 years.

1. George Washington (1789-1797)

2. John Adams

3. Thomas Jefferson

4. James Madison

5. James Monroe

6. John Quincy Adams

7. Andrew Jackson

8. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

9. William Henry Harrison (1841)*

10. John Tyler (1841-1845)

11. James Knox Polk

12. Zachary Taylor

13. Millard Fillmore

14. Franklin Pierce

15. James Buchanan

16. Abraham Lincoln

17. Andrew Johnson

18. Ulysses S. Grant

19. Rutherford B. Hayes

20. James Garfield

21. Chester Arthur

22. Grover Cleveland

23. Benjamin Harrison

24. Grover Cleveland

25. William McKinley

26. Theodore Roosevelt

27. William Howard Taft

28. Woodrow Wilson

29. Warren Harding

30. Calvin Coolidge

31. Herbert Hoover

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt

33. Harry S Truman

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower

35. John F. Kennedy

36. Lyndon Johnson

37. Richard Nixon

38. Gerald Ford

39. James Carter

40. Ronald Reagan

41. George H. W. Bush

42. William J. Clinton (1993-2001)

43. George W. Bush (2001-2009)

44. Barack H. Obama (depuis le 20 janvier 2009). Source :

 * Important :

Thereafter Harrison returned to civilian life ; the Whigs, in need of a national hero, nominated him for President in 1840. He won by a majority of less than 150,000, but swept the Electoral College, 234 to 60.

When he arrived in Washington in February 1841, Harrison let Daniel Webster edit his Inaugural Address, ornate with classical allusions. Webster obtained some deletions, boasting in a jolly fashion that he had killed "seventeen Roman proconsuls as dead as smelts, every one of them."

Webster had reason to be pleased, for while Harrison was nationalistic in his outlook, he emphasized in his Inaugural that he would be obedient to the will of the people as expressed through Congress.

But before he had been in office a month, he caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. On April 4, 1841, he died—the first President to die in office—and with him died the Whig program.

Source : Biography, White House : http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamhenryharrison/

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