Ron Edmonds/AP
Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th president on Capitol Hill this morning. "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," he said in his inaugural address in front of a crowd of nearly 2 million on the National Mall. After a busy day of festivites, the Obamas will spend their first night in the White House as George and Laura Bush make their return to civilian life in Texas. The Times has posted the full text of Obama's speech.