Obama Xmas speech evokes ‘new chapter’

Washington, Dec. 26: President-elect Barack Obama has urged the American people in a holiday address to put their shoulder to the “wheel of history” to forge brighter days from the misery of economic crisis. Twenty-seven days before taking office, Mr Obama also spoke poignantly in the radio and online video message of the sacrifice of US servicemen and women deployed abroad while their young children marvel at Christmas gifts back home. Mr Obama said the “season of giving” should be a time for Americans to unite in a new sense of national common purpose. “We must all do our part to serve one another, to seek new ideas and new innovation and to start a new chapter for our great country,” he said on Wednesday.

“That is the spirit that will guide my administration in the New Year. If the American people come together and put their shoulder to the wheel of history, then I know that we can put our people back to work and point our country in a new direction. That is how we will see ourselves through this time of crisis, and reach the promise of a brighter day.” Mr Obama, who is spending Christmas in Hawaii where he grew up, also paid tribute to US sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines and coast guard forces. “In towns and cities across America, there is an empty seat at the dinner table; in distant bases and on ships at sea, our servicemen and women can only wonder at the look on their child’s face as they open a gift back home.”

Turning from foreign wars to another huge early challenge for his administration which takes office on January 20, the President-elect raised the plight of Americans feeling the lash of the economic crisis at home. Meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama and his family planned a Christmas day that includes opening presents in the morning and sharing a traditional turkey and ham dinner in the evening.
Mr Obama and his family were vacationing at a beachfront rental home in Kailua in his native Hawaii. Aides said the Obamas were to enjoy a traditional holiday meal at their home on Thur-sday and would have close family friends from Chicago visit throughout the day.

The Obamas have kept a low profile while vacationing in a quiet neighbourhood on Oahu. The family spent Christmas Eve offering an appreciation to the US military in a recorded message. “This holiday season, their families celebrate with a joy that is muted knowing that a loved one is absent, and sometimes in danger,” Mr Obama said in the message. He asked the country to look to George Washington’s improbable crossing of the Delaware river, as inspiration to get through current tough times. The President-elect said in a holiday message that Washington and his Army “faced impossible odds” as they fought.