Moments later, Obama delivered his inaugural address. The speech contained what appeared to be several subtle criticisms of the Bush administration. In an apparent reference to torture and civil liberties violations in the so-called war on terror, Obama spoke of ending what he called a “false choice between our safety and our ideals.” And he also said, “Our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.” Speaking one day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Obama noted the historical significance of his becoming the nation’s first black president.

President Obama: “This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”

An estimated two million people braved freezing temperatures to witness the historic ceremony.