Full Coverage Barack Obama sworn in as 44th US President

Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday(20th Jan 09), and called on Americans to join him in confronting what he described as an economic crisis caused by greed but also “our collective failure to make hard choices.”Mr. Obama, the first African American to serve as president, spoke to a sea of cheering people — hundreds of thousands of Americans packed on the National Mall from the Capitol to beyond the Washington monument. The multitude was filled with black Americans and Mr. Obama’s triumph was a special and emotional moment for them. With his wife, Michelle, holding the Bible, Mr. Obama, the 47-year-old son of a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Africa, was sworn in just after noon, a little later than planned, and spoke immediately thereafter. Mr. Obama promised to take “bold and swift” action to restore the economy by creating jobs through public works projects, improving education, promoting alternative energy and relying on new technology.