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Obamas, Bidens Attend National Prayer Service; Geithner's Treasury Confirmation Hearing Begins

Aired January 21, 2009 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And the new president, two conflicts, one military, one monetary. What he's doing about them today. It is Wednesday, January 21st. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Day two of the Obama presidency, and a full schedule unfolds. This hour on Capitol Hill, the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on Timothy Geithner, the nominee to head the Treasury Department, we'll have to explain his initial failure to pay payroll taxes. He could also face questions on how many will confront the banking crisis.

One confirmation process, just put on hold though, just a few minutes ago, we learned the Senate Judiciary Committee is delaying this hour's scheduled vote on Eric Holder. As you know, the next attorney general nominee. Lawmakers want to attend the prayer service that we've been talking about and we'll likely vote on that confirmation later today.

And right now, President Obama and Vice-President Biden are taking part in a national prayer service. For the first time, a woman will delivery the sermon at this traditional inaugural event.

COLLINS: President Obama on this first full day of his presidency. Crisis looms, and executive decisions await. Clearly, the inaugural party is over now. I want to check in with CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Good morning to you Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, we saw the lights on in the residence about 5:00 in the morning and then we saw that marine posted outside the West Wing. That is the office of the president obviously indicating that he was actually in his office this morning and working before he goes to the national prayer service. Now aides are - White House aides are actually in their offices, a few of them at least. And they were telling us he does have a very busy scheduled. We're going to see things move, perhaps as quickly as a couple of hours.

Now after this prayer service, Barack Obama is going to be with his top economic team, obviously to try to talk about the plan to push through the $825 billion economic stimulus package that he says he desperately needs to create some four million jobs. That is on his plate but then later he is going to be meeting with the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of Defense Gates as well as General David Petraeus, essentially give them a new mission saying that look I want U.S. troops out of Iraq in the next 16 months.

They are using some of those troops to go to Afghanistan where the situation ahs turned into quite a mess. It is not clear whether or not this conditions in six months of even a year things will change, that for today is his mission. We also expect, Heidi that within hours, aides as telling me to expect some of those executive orders that he'll be issuing, potentially closing down Guantanamo Bay detention Center, banning torture, White House ethics reform, fuel efficiency standards. These are the kinds of things that they can put on his desk immediately, have him sign and really change some of the policies that we've seen over the last eight years, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Obviously, a very busy day. Several days, in fact, that we can expect for President Obama. CNN's White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux. Thank you, Suzanne.

Now let's take a closer look at the cabinet nominees who are on Capitol Hill today. CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar joining us now, and setting the stage, and a complicated stage, Brianna, it has become.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're keeping our eye particularly on two events here on Capitol Hill. One that you just mentioned, Heidi, a short time ago. That of Barack Obama's pick for attorney general, Eric Holder. We have learned now that his vote by the Senate judiciary committee which would be the first step towards confirming here has been put off.

According to a spokeswoman for the committee, it's so that the members can go to this national prayer service. That said, it could be put off again later. They're trying to reschedule this again for later this afternoon. However, if a republican, presumably a republican, objects to the pick of Holder, it could further delay his confirmation process.

So why might there be an objection? Well, the major issue being Holder's role when he was deputy attorney general to President Clinton, his role in the pardon, the controversial last-minute pardon of Mark Rich. This is something that the ranking republican on the committee, Arlen Specter, has raised questions about. Because he's concerned that it shows that Holder cow-towed to President Clinton. And he says that the attorney general is someone who needs to be able to say no to the president, needs to be independent from the president.

And there were really some tough exchanges between the two during the confirmation hearings. We're waiting to see what Arlen Specter says.

COLLINS: Pardon me one second, Brianna, I just want to tell everybody what they're looking at, in case they don't already know. Because we have been talking about the national prayer service.

We are now seeing President Obama and the First Lady coming in along with Vice President Biden and his wife Jill, as well, coming into take their places there inside the cathedral right next to former President Clinton and now Hillary Clinton, nominee, of course, for secretary of state. As we continue to look at those pictures. So sorry, Brianna. I certainly didn't mean to cut you off. Because there is so much going on today, and only day two, it is a busy, busy place, that Washington, D.C.

KEILAR: Yes, no, and that's what is so great is we can take people to all of these different places. But, of course, and as they are here, at the national cathedral, still something that is going to be ever- present on the president's mind is the economy. And that's why this next - this next nominee, Timothy Geithner for treasury secretary is something that we're really keeping an eye on today.

You remember there was an issue last week about some information that the senate finance - the senate finance committee discovered while vetting him.

COLLINS: Yes.

KEILAR: And during his confirmation hearing, expected to take place, you can see it starting to get under way there, this hour. We're expecting him to be grilled about what came up. A couple of things. One, that he had only recently paid back taxes to the tune of more than $30,000. This from a few years here in the last several years when he worked for the International Monetary Fund.

And he basically short-changed the IRS. I guess an accident. It appears that came to his awareness recently as he was going through this vetting process. The other issue being that a housekeeper that was under his employ, their immigration status sort of went out the window, or sort of expired while under his employ. These are issues, Heidi, of course, that his scuttled other nominations in the past.

But the sense here is that in this time, where there is such an economic crisis and where people on both sides of the aisle really do feel that Geithner is someone who can navigate these unique and troubled waters. This will not scuttle his nomination, his confirmation, but certainly we're looking for some questions on it.

COLLINS: Well, certainly, because we've heard from many economists and many (inaudible) that cover, of course the economy and this running situation that we are in. And most of this is about trust. And we aren't in the business of convicting anybody before, you know, we have gone through the process, of course. But if, in fact, these things come to be true, and they are proven and certainly it does raise the issue of trust for a position like Treasury Secretary.

We will be following it very, very closely. You are now looking - Brianna Keilar, thanks so much for that.

And you are now looking again at the senate finance committee down below. And the gavel, I'm understanding has just now gone down. You see Senator Trent Lott there for that confirmation hearing for Timothy Geithner, the nominee for Treasury Secretary.

Above that, you see the national prayer service, where the President, First Lady, Vice President, and his wife, as well is now under way. For now, though, you see Timothy Geithner. Let's go ahead and just listen in for a moment to these proceedings.

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), FINANCE CHAIRMAN: And we must protect the principles of which our economic system is based. In these troubled times, it is also essential that the American people and the Congress have confidence in a nominee and his leadership. As a key member of President Obama's economic team, we must believe that he can help put our economy back on track.

This trust must be earned. And once earned, this trust must be maintained. Close scrutiny of Mr. Geithner's tax returns uncovered several errors, and the questions have arisen regarding his employment of household help. I expect him to answer questions regarding these issues honestly and completely. These are disappointing mistakes, but after discussing them with Mr. Geithner, I believe them to be innocent mistakes.

I believe that Mr. Geithner has officially corrected the errors. I know a man of Mr. Geithner's talent and dedication will be meticulous on these points in the future. More broadly, I also expect Mr. Geithner to give the American people and Congress the respect that they deserve.

The secretary of the Treasury cannot ask Congress to make middle of the night decisions that cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. The secretary cannot refuse to explain why immediate massive action must be taken without time for consultation or discussion. The secretary cannot ask Congress to commit massive funds on the basis of a three-page proposal.

If ever there was a time for those kinds of actions, that time has passed. Rather, we must have faith of the secretary's actions and those of the Treasury Department will be open, and they'll be transparent. We must know that the secretary will help enforce the laws passed by congress. The secretary must protect the fundamentals of our economy, and the secretary must unselfishly give up himself to successfully complete the task at hand.

The global economic crisis required unprecedented action. The troubled asset relief program, the T.A.R.P., authorized $700 billion to stem the financial crisis. When congress authorized this money, we promised the American people that the U.S. government will be good stewards of their hard-earned tax dollars. The secretary must ensure that these dollars were not spent in vain.

COLLINS: There you have some of the opening statements, of course, for the Senate finance committee regarding the confirmation that will now begin. This was originally scheduled for Friday, and then was postponed until today. For Timothy Geithner, the nominee for attorney general. Of course, the chairman and Max Baucus made an incorrect statement a little bit earlier about Trent Lott. Pardon me on that.

Also, so much going on today. We will also continue to watch the beautiful pictures coming in from the national prayer service there. You see in Washington. And we have already seen the President and First Lady sitting down, as well as the Vice President and his wife. Sitting right next to the Clinton. There you see in the front.

(MUSIC PLAYING) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the Washington National Cathedral, it's my pleasure to welcome all of you to this national prayer service. And it's a special pleasure to welcome president Obama and Mrs. Obama, Vice President Biden, and Mrs. Biden. And all of the leaders who assumed to take office or resume office to care for our country.

In a way, I guess you could say not that we welcome you to this cathedral, but welcome to your cathedral. This cathedral was built to be a spiritual home for the nation, and it is services like this that we are able to give what we believe we can give so lovingly and generously and devotedly who serve our country.

40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached his last Sunday sermon here in this cathedral from that Canterbury pulpit, the week before he went to Memphis and was assassinated. It is no small thing that we not only welcome here today our distinguished and gifted new president, but our first African-American president.

It is an honor and joy to be able to celebrate such important moments in our life today. Now the administration goes to work. This is your first full day on the job, and the best way we can imagine to begin is by praying with them and for them. We have given them a great deal to do. And we have come together for many different faiths and perspectives to offer our hope and prayers to them for the work ahead.

And Dr. King's sermon, his last sermon here, he said this, "human progress comes through the tireless efforts of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God." Well, this morning, we are all co-workers. All of us here are to pray with and for our leaders, and all of us here are to dedicate ourselves to support them, in the vital work ahead. Welcome to this cathedral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you please join with me in the invocation? Let the people praise you, oh, God.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: Let all of the people praise you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Day by day, we bless you.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: Day by day, we bless you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blessed be the one holy and living God.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: Let there be the one, holy, and living God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, and forever and ever.

REV. OTIS MOSS, JR. OLIVETT INSTITUTIONAL BAPTIST CHURCH: Let us pray. Oh, god, in whom we live, move and have our belief, how excellent is thy name. We ask that your hand of wisdom, grace, courage and protection will be upon, underneath, and around our 44th president, President Barack Obama. Be with his wife, Michelle, and their lovely children. Day by day.

We thank you for this moment of answered prayers. As we face today, tomorrow, and tomorrow, in your name, guide our thoughts, order our steps. We lift up before you, oh, God, the well-being of Senator Kennedy. Be with his family. Be with every aspect of life, moving from strength to strength. All that needs to be done. Teach us each day that we live in a nation of neighbors on an island commissioned to glorify your name in a community that is global.

We have been taught through your servant that we are all connected, impacted by what we do and what we refuse to do. Oh, God, as our words go out, in all forms of communication, in writing, in speaking grant that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts will be acceptable in by sight. Oh, Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Be with every phase of this government that afflictions will be healed, oppression will forever be broken, day by day.

And give us strength in our wounded and broken places. And oh, God, keep us aware of the fact that this is a fleeting moment. Help us to use it in such way that we leave what we touch better than we found it. And, oh, God, we give you the glory, the praise, and offer ourselves, day and night to give our best to your glory. In the name of our Lord. Amen.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

REV. CYNTHIA HALE, RAY OF HOPE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: A reading from the prophet Isaiah.

Is not this the fact that I choose, to lose the bonds of injustice, to undo the bonds of the yolk, and to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yolk. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked, to cover them. And not to hide yourself from your own kin.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly. Your vindicators shall go before you, the glory of the lord shall be your rear guide. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, "here I am." If you remove the yolk from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom be like the noon day. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places.

And make your bones strong. And you shall be like a water garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach. The restorer of streets to live in.

The word of the Lord.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: Thanks be to God.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

COLLINS: You are listening to beautiful music coming out of the Washington National Cathedral. Of course, this is the national prayer service taking place on the very first - actually, second day, I should say, for you see him there, President Obama, alongside the Bidens, and alongside the Clinton's, as well.

A quick break here. We want to come back to this because we want you to be able to hear the sermon which will be delivered, as we have been saying all morning by Reverend Sharon Watkins, the first female to have such an important role in this prayer service. So a quick break here. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly. Happening right now, I want to take you back to the national prayer service taking place at the Washington National Cathedral. Let's go ahead and listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you bow with me in prayer? Gracious god, his glory is in all the world. We commend this nation to your merciful care. That being guided by your promise, we may dwell secure in your peace. Grant to Barack Obama, president of the United States, and to all in authority, your grace, and goodwill.

Bless them with your heavenly gifts. Give them wisdom and strength to know and to do your will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve the people of this land in honor of you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

(SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come?

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The holy one will not let your foot slip. Your guardian will not slumber.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God is your guard. God is your shade in your right hand.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God guards you from all harm, God guards your life.

(INAUDIBLE)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans. Let love be (INAUDIBLE). Avoid what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with mutual affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack in zeal. Be ardent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering. Persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of God's people. Extend hospitality to strangers. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live this way with all. The word of the Lord.

CROWD: Thanks be to God.

(MUSIC)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew. Someone among them asked him, Teacher, which is great commandment in the law, and Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all of the law and the prophets.

The word of the Lord.

CROWD: Thanks be to God.

(MUSIC)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Once again, we have been watching and listening to some of the beautiful music and some of the prayers and speakers at the National Prayer Service today at Washington National Cathedral. And of course, President Obama is there with his wife, the vice president and his wife, as well, sitting in the first pew, enjoying all that is going on there.

Also want to get to something else that is happening. We've been talking all morning long about several confirmation hearings and votes that are taking place today. This now -- we want to take you to Timothy Geithner. He is speaking, as you can see there. This is his confirmation hearing for attorney general.

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY APPOINTEE (in progress): ... about a confusion about the goals of the program and a deep skepticism about whether we are using the taxpayers' money wisely.

We have to reshape and redesign this program to ensure there is credit available to support recovery. We will do this with conditions to protect the taxpayer and the necessary transparency to allow the American people to see how and where their money is being spent. This program, this financial program, is absolutely essential to recovery, and we need to make it work.

Second, as we move quickly to get our economy back on track and to repair the financial system, we must make investments to lay the foundation for a stronger economic future. The strength of the recovery will depend critically on the investments and reforms we initiate now to make our economy more productive in the future.

The reforms to expand access to health care, and reduce its cost. To move towards energy independence, to sharpen and deepen the skills of American workers, and to modernize our infrastructure. These investments will make our economy more productive and more competitive in the future.

Third, our program to restore economic growth has to be accompanied -- and I want to emphasize this, has to be accompanied -- by a clear strategy to get us back as quickly as possible to a sustainable fiscal position and to unwind the extraordinary interventions taken to stabilize the financial system. We need to demonstrate with clear and compelling commitments now that when we have effectively resolved this crisis and when recovery is firmly established, that we as a nation will return to living within our means.

Finally, we must move ahead with comprehensive financial reform so that the U.S. economy and the global economy never again face a crisis of this severity. Senators, in this crisis, our financial system failed to meet its most basic obligations. The system was too fragile and unstable, and because of this, the system was unfair and unjust. Individuals, families and businesses that were careful and responsible were damaged by the actions of those who were not.

So, we need to move quickly to build a stronger, more resilient system with much greater protections for consumers and for investors, with much stronger tools to prevent and respond to future crises. We've experienced a great loss of faith in our economy, but we have not lost the most fundamental of American abilities, the ability to adapt to change and to reform.

This will take time. It will require action on a scale we have not seen in generations. And we will have to keep at it until we restore the confidence of Americans and of the world, in America's economic leadership. This is my commitment to you, and this is President Obama's promise to the American people.

We are a strong nation, with great resources. We can meet these challenges. Our shared goal is a healthy, more stable and more competitive free-market economic system that can once again do what it does best: to encourage people to invest and invent, to innovate, and create jobs and to build stronger communities and better lives.

COLLINS: Just a few of the comments from Tim Geithner. As you know, he is President Obama's nominee for treasury secretary. I mentioned earlier Eric Holder for A.G. That is a vote that is going on today. This, however, the very first day, first few moments, in fact, of Timothy Geithner's confirmation hearing.

A lot of questions surrounding him. We will stay on top of that story for you and monitor those hearings very closely. Now, I want to take you directly back to what we had promised earlier so you can get a taste of Sharon Watkins. As you know, she is giving the sermon, the first woman, in fact, to do so at the National Prayer Service. Let's listen.

REV. DR. SHARON E. WATKINS, GENERAL MINISTER AND PRESIDENT, CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) (in progress): Amen. Mr. President, yes, it has kind of a nice ring to it, doesn't it? (APPLAUSE)

WATKINS: Well, OK, let's try another one. Madam first lady.

(APPLAUSE)

WATKINS: Mr. Vice President and Dr. Biden and your families. What an inaugural celebration you have hosted.

(APPLAUSE)

WATKINS: Train ride, opening concerts, service to neighbor, dancing till dawn. What were you thinking? And yesterday, with your swearing-in, Mr. President, the flame of America's promise burns just a little brighter for every child in this land. Praise God.

(APPLAUSE)

WATKINS: There is still a lot of work to do, as you pointed out so clearly yesterday. And today, the nation turns its full attention to that work. As we do, it's good that we pause to take a deep, spiritual breath. It's good that we center for a moment. What you are entering now, Mr. President, and Mr. Vice President, will tend to draw you away from your ethical center.

But we, the nation that you serve, need you to hold the ground of your deepest values, of our deepest values. Beyond this moment of high hopes, we need you to stay focused on our shared hopes, so that we can continue to hope, too. We will follow your lead.

There is a story attributed to Cherokee wisdom. One evening, a grandfather was teaching his young grandson about the internal battle that each person faces. There are two wolves struggling inside of us, the old man said. One wolf is vengefulness, anger, resentment, self- pity, fear. The other wolf is compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth and love. The grandson sat, thinking, and then asked, which wolf wins, Grandfather? His grandfather replied, the one you feed.

There are crises banging on the door right now, pawing at us, trying to draw us off our ethical center, crises that tempt us to feed the wolf of vengefulness and fear. We need you, Mr. President, to hold your ground. We need you, leaders of this nation, to stay centered on the values that have guided us in the past, values that have empowered us to move through the perils of the present, of earlier times, and can guide us now into a future of renewed promise.

We need you to feed the good wolf within you, to listen to the better angels of your nature, and by your example, encourage us to do the same. Now, this is not a new word for a pastor to bring at such a moment. In the later chapters of Isaiah, as far back as the 500 BCE, the prophet speaks to the people. They are back in the capital city after long years of exile. Their joy should be great.

But things aren't working out just right. Their homecoming is more complicated than they expected. Nsot everyone is watching their parade or dancing all night at their arrival. They turn to God, what's going on here? We pray and we fast, but you do not bless us. We're confused.

Through the prophet, God answers, what fast? You fast only to quarrel and fight and strike with the fist. Is not this the fast that I choose to loose the bonds of injustice, to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into a house? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.

At our time of new beginnings, focused on renewing America's promise, yet at a time of great crisis, which fast will we choose? Which wolf do we feed? What of America's promise do we honor? Recently, Muslim scholars from around the world released a document known as "A Common Word between Us." It proposes a common basis for building a world at peace. That common basis? Love of God and love of neighbor.

It's what we just read in the Gospel according to Matthew. And how do we love God? Well, according to Isaiah, summed up by Jesus, affirmed by a worldwide community of Muslim scholars and many others, it is by facing hard times with a generous spirit, reaching out toward each other, rather than turning our backs on each other.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, people can be so poor that the only way they see God is in a piece of bread. In the days immediately before us, there will be much to draw us away from the grand work of loving God and the hard work of loving neighbor. In crisis times, a basic instinct seeks to take us over. A fight-flight instinct, we call it, and it leans us toward the fearful wolf, orients us towards the self- interested fast.

In international hard times, our instinct is to fight, to pick up the sword, to seek out enemies, to build walls against each other. And why not? They just might be out to get us. We've got plenty of evidence to that effect. Someone has to stand watch and be ready to defend.

And, Mr. President, tag. You're it. But on the way to those tough decisions, which American promises will frame those decisions? In the complex swirl of international interest, will you reason from your ethical center, from the bedrock of our best hopes? Which wolf will you feed?

In financial hard times, our instinct is flight. To hunker down, to turn inward, to hoard what little we can get our hands on. To be fearful of others who may take the resources we need. In hard financial times, which fast do we choose? The fast that placates our hunkered-down soul, or the fast that reaches out to our brother and our sister?

In times such as these, we need you, the leaders of this nation, all of you. We need you to be guided by the counsel that Isaiah gave so long ago to work for the common good, for the public happiness, the well-being of the nation, and the world, knowing that our individual well-being depends on a world in which liberty and justice prevail. This is the biblical way.

It is also the American way. To look beyond ourselves, to reach out to neighbors, to build communities of possibility and hope, of liberty and justice for all. This is the center we can find again whenever we are pulled at and pawed at by the vengeful wolf, when we are tempted by the self-interested fast.

America's true character, the source of our national wisdom and strength, is rooted in a generous and hopeful spirit. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me."

Emma Lazarus's poetry is spelled out further by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: As long as there is poverty in the world, I can never be rich, even if I have a billion dollars. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people in this world cannot expect to live more than 28 or 30 years, I can never be totally healthy. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. That's the way the world is made.

You yourself, Mr. President, have already added to this cause. If there is a child on the South Side of Chicago who cannot read, even if it's not my child, it matters to me. It's that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper -- that makes this country work.

It's right that college classes on political oratory already study your words. You as our president will set the tone for us. You will help us as a nation choose again and again which wolf to feed, which fast to choose, to love God by loving our neighbor. Lead us there, Mr. President. That is a journey worth pursuing.

At times like these, hard times, we find out what we're made of. Is that blazing torch of liberty just for me, or do we seek harmonies of liberty? Many voices join together, many hands offering care for neighbors, far and near. Though tempted to withdraw the offer, surely Lady Liberty can still raise that golden torch of generosity to the world.

Even in these financial hard times, these times of international challenge, the words of Katharine Lee Bates describe a nation with more than enough to share: "Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. For purple mountains' majesties above the fruited plains."

A land of abundance, guided by a God of abundance, generosity and hope. This is our heritage. This is America's promise, which we fulfill when we reach out to each other, when we love God by loving our neighbor. Even in these hard times, rich or poor, let us reach out to our neighbor, including our global neighbor in generous hospitality, building together communities of possibility and of hope.

Even in these difficult times, let us feed the good wolf. Listen to the better angels of all our nature. Let us choose the fast of God's desiring. Even now, in these hard times, let us lift every voice and sing, with harmonies of liberty. Even now, let us sing a song full of possibility and of hope.