"The ceremony, which lasted less than two minutes, satisfied the Constitutional requirement that the president’s swearing-in take place by noon on the Jan. 20 after an election.
"The oath was administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in the White House Blue Room, an elegant, gilded space with a sweeping view of the South Lawn.
"The chief justice administered the oath faithfully and Mr. Obama repeated it accurately, unlike the situation four years earlier, when Mr. Roberts inverted a few words during the public swearing-in, Mr. Obama echoed the errors, and the oath had to be repeated in private later.
"With that, President Obama shook the hand of Justice Roberts, turned to the crowd and said: “Thank you, everybody,” before leaving the room.
"In sharp contrast to the ceremonies planned for Monday, with their blaring patriotic music, pealing of bells, and parade of thousands of human and equine participants, the ceremony on Sunday was small and understated.
"Witnessing the Blue Room ceremony were family members of the president, including his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia.
"Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in earlier at his residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, using the same 19th-century family Bible he has used in every swearing-in ceremony since he entered the Senate in 1973.
"At Mr. Biden’s request, the oath was delivered by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor who read from a printed text to avoid any chance of mistake. He was surrounded by family members, including his wife, Jill.
"Afterward, Mr. Biden shook the justice’s hand, turned to a large audience of family, friends and close political associates, and expressed his warm thanks. Justice Sotomayor, he noted, was due in New York and had a car waiting to take her to Union Station. “Madame Justice, it’s been an honor, a great honor,” he said.
"Mr. Biden then left for Arlington National Cemetery, where he joined President Obama in laying a wreath before the Tomb of the Unknowns.
"The president and his family later traveled to Washington to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, an historic church with a long record of anti-racism activism — it once harbored runaway slaves -- to worship and to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The federal holiday honoring Dr. King coincides this year with Inauguration Day.
"The congregation was enthusiastic, according to pool reports, and the sermon ended with a boisterous call and response of “Forward” – the president’s one-word campaign slogan.
"These events mostly took place out of view of the hundreds of thousands of Americans, foreign visitors and dignitaries who have poured into Washington to be a part of the second inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president, a more restrained affair than four years ago but still a resonant marker in the nation’s history.
"The oaths mark not only the official start of the second Obama-Biden term but also a certain demarcation between the challenges of the first term — winding down two wars, dealing with an economic recession, passage of landmark health care legislation amid fierce partisan wrangling — and the typically more modest agenda of a second-term president....
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