Chief Justice Roberts, Madam Speaker, Vice President Joe Biden, Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton and George W. Bush, fellow citizens,

However long the night, morning will come. Morning has come upon the United States of America. This is surely a morning for the ages.

There must be joy in heaven for this peaceful handing over of government from one administration to another. It is something we have done so many times, yet it has refused to lose its special feel. It is more special today because as Martin Luther King Jr. and many other Americans, dead or alive, will attest, America today fulfills the promise it made two centuries ago – that all men are created equal. Today, the perpetual match to a more perfect union gets a quantum boost.

As the world watches us affirm our idealism, America sets a strong example to all of humanity: all men count, America says loud and clear.

Please say it with me: all men count.

All men count in this land of Abraham Lincoln for that is the only way to explain my American journey. A son of a Kenyan father and Kansas mother has just taken the oath of office George Washington took. No where in this wide world is that possible but the United States of America.

Reagan’s shinning city on the hill is glowing. The new rays of its optimism will brighten the rest of the world. To our friends, we return with open arms. Our embrace shall be warm again. Together, we shall work for a new world where suffering is less, justice is supreme and respect is mutual.

To those who see the world differently from the way we see it, we shall in our words, thoughts and actions, show that we mean no harm. We aspire not to change anyone’s ways and means. Ancient heritages must not die for 21st century to come. Neither should children of this century be crippled by heritages that are due for an update. As long as citizens of this world, children, men and women, are living a life of dignity, we shall be contented.

We shall not sit back and watch our fellow sojourners anywhere on this earth trapped in misery in this era where there is plenty of love, wealth and freedom for us all. We shall not let borders, flags, anthems, races, colors, shut in any of mankind’s children in agony. The wailing of one child makes small the roar of us all.

Let us begin anew today. Let the old lines fade away as we draw bold new lines. Let the enemies of yesterday who want to belong to humanity be given a place on the table for what should be enduring is not label but progress. Let us unleash progress instead of stalemate. With ration as our guide, we are strong enough to listen. We are confident enough that our viewpoint can withstand the difference others bring. In the end, we shall move humankind forward together. And when we fail, it would not be for lack of trying. Posterity will not blame us for being closed to the business of our generation.

For the first time since the men left Africa, for the first time since the intercontinental drift drew pieces of our world apart, we are all connected more than ever. It means we have to find new ways of doing old things. We are not as far from each other as we used to think. The wound on the leg now causes the eyes to shed tears. There are no remote parts of the world anymore. There are only parts of the world we chose to ignore at our peril.

These are no ordinary times. But Americans are no ordinary people. All through history, our mettle has been tested. Again and again, we have pulled together and prevailed over the challenge. America will overcome the challenges of this time.

There is the temptation to believe in these hard times that what has failed is the very system of trade that has moved million of people across every continent out of poverty into decent life. What failed is not capitalism. It is not even those who run capitalism. What failed are people who run people who run capitalism. The answer could be found in a return to those tested core values like responsibility, honor, and respect for social contracts.

We have to end all bad wars – including the one America is wedging in Iraq so that we can finish up all good wars, like the one America is fighting in Afghanistan. A bad peace that grants freedom, secures life and property, is better than a good war that imposes a peculiar order.

The theme of my government will be work hard, accept responsibility and succeed. Once again, I will make America functional. In place of cynicism, I will return America to the union we all used to be proud of. Rather than spend valuable time politicking, we shall spend time seeking ways to prosper.

I will pursue the simple but yet radical idea that all Americans count, are created equal and each deserves a fair share of opportunity, responsibility and justice. This is not just another empty promise from yet another politician. This is a vision of a man who spent a lifetime committed to the belief that when we unleash the abundant energy in our people we achieve goodness, create wealth and uplift society.

I pledge to you health, wealth and security. We will remake America. This spectacle of corruption and unnecessary destruction of lives and property that past leaders bequeathed us must end forthwith. We must return to an era when public servants abide by basic ethics of honesty, integrity and hard work. Going forward, public service will no longer be confused with personal opportunity for people who broke no sweat to acquire wealth and great power.

I will therefore call to duty only those individuals with integrity who will serve American people with honesty and devote all their time to the protection of the welfare of our people.

We will end the season when a few become rich by making many poor. America cannot afford to keep degenerating to that society where “many are too poor to care and few are too rich to notice.” On November 4, 2008, American people changed the drum beat. We must change our dance.

This is the age of possibilities. Those willing to work must be provided the opportunity to do so. That, I believe is one of the fundamental functions of government. But beyond that, I want our people to go beyond working for someone to starting their own businesses. I will lessen the challenges by making the road to entrepreneurship less burdensome.

No government has the solution to all problems. But working in conjunction with the private sector and believing in the latent potential of our people, this government will fulfill its duty to Americans.

I will ask more of you, provide greater accountability to you and include everyone as we face our challenges and celebrate our successes. The burdens of today are heavy but the promises of tomorrow are infinite.

I will work for ethnic and religious unity among all Americans and those who have come into our midst and have called America home. It will begin with respect for each others’ religion, concerted effort at understanding and treating everyone with dignity, knowing that we all count. We will no longer allow sheer ignorance and unfounded fear to destroy our harmony and cripple our advancement. For when we succumb to our fear and our ignorance, we hold ourselves back.

America has no time to waste. We have fallen far behind other countries that started this century with us. To catch up, we have to move faster than our competitors.

The task ahead is enormous and requires more than one man and one government. But working together, both the people and the government, we are going to achieve it. I know that there is in America every tool we need to get the job done. I say, yes, we can.

We have to mount our thatched roof. My father’s people say one hand alone cannot mount a thatched roof. Will you please join me?

Thank you all and may God bless the United States of America.