Bush administration: Inaugural Message 2005

The Bush administration Inaugural Message 2005 was delivered by President George W. Bush, at the commencement of his second term in office, on Thursday, January 20, 2005.

According to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, "'A Vision of America' has been selected as the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Theme. The 2005 theme commemorates the anniversaries of two significant events in American history that helped shape our nation - the centennial of Theodore Roosevelt’s formal inauguration as president in 1905, and the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition reaching the Pacific in 1805."

Second Term Oath
Bush takes oath for second term, Christian Science Monitor, Thursday, January 20, 12:12pm EST:

"George W. Bush swore a presidential oath for a second term in turbulent times Thursday and issued a sweeping pledge to spread liberty and freedom 'to the darkest corners of the world.' "'Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill and would be dishonorable to abandon,' said the president, who led the nation to war in Iraq in a first term marked by terrorist attacks on the United States.

"Bush, the nation's 43rd president, raised one hand and placed the other on a family Bible as he vowed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution in a 35-word pledge as old as the Republic.

"In a speech delivered before a vast throng of fellow Americans spilling away from the steps of the Capitol, Bush said he would place the nation on the side of the world's oppressed people. 'All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppress[ion], or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.'

"Ailing Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist administered the oath of office.

"The weather was cold; the security extraordinarily tight for the nation's 55th inauguration, first since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Sharpshooters were perched on the rooftops of buildings near the Inaugural stands. Police stood shoulder to shoulder along the route of the Inaugural parade."