obama is new hope

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WASHINGTON — Barack Hussein Obama, 47, became the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday afternoon, banishing forever more than 200 years of history during which the office passed from white hands to white hands and promising a new era of “hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

Under the Constitution, Obama became president at noon ET, even though he had not formally been sworn in with the inaugural ceremonies running behind schedule. Using his full name, the new president took the oath of office at 12:05 p.m. from Chief Justice John Roberts, whose nomination to the court he opposed as the junior Democratic senator from Illinois.

Roberts, who used no notes, stumbled at one point, appearing to forget the opening words. Obama, a former constitutional law professor, made sure to insert the crucial phrase “that I will faithfully execute the office of president to the United States.”