- Reuters George W. Bush takes the oath as the 43rd President of the United States yesterday.
WASHINGTON (AP) -
GEORGE Walker Bush was inaugurated 43rd president of the United States yesterday, his eyes glistening with emotion as he became only the second son in American history to follow his father to the White House.
At a cold, drizzly noon (1700GMT), Mr. Bush raised his right hand and swore the oath of the office and promised to bring "civility, courage, compassion and character" to the White House.
In the pageantry of the transfer of power, George Herbert Walker Bush brushed back a tear as he stood proud witness to his son's inauguration 12 years after his own. The elder Bush served one term; Bill Clinton defeated him for re-election in 1992.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist administered the oath of office, first to Vice President Dick Cheney, then to Mr. Bush, whose hairbreadth election was cemented by a Supreme Court decision five weeks after the ballots were cast.
Mr. Bush's wife, Laura, and 19-year-old twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, stood with him as he took the oath, hand on the same historic Bible his father used in 1989.
