New deal for new term

US President Barack Obama urged Americans yesterday to reject political "absolutism" and partisan rancour. He kicked off his second term with a call for national unity, setting a pragmatic tone for the daunting challenges he faces in the next four years.

Obama's ceremonial swearing-in at the US Capitol was a scaled-back inauguration compared with the historic start of his presidency in 2009, when he swept into office on a mantle of hope and change as the first black president of the US.

With second-term expectations tempered by lingering economic weakness and the political realities of a divided Washington, Obama acknowledged the difficult road ahead even as he sought to build momentum from his decisive November re-election victory.

"We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate," Obama told a crowd of as many as 700000 people, less than half the record 1.8million who assembled four years ago.

Obama arrived at his second inauguration on a solid footing, with his poll numbers up, Republicans on the defensive and his first-term record boasting accomplishments such as an overhaul of US healthcare, an end to the war in Iraq and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

But battles are looming over budgets, gun control and immigration, with Republicans ready to oppose him at almost every turn and Obama still seemingly at a loss over how to engage them in deal-making.

Obama was formally sworn in on Sunday at the White House because of a constitutional requirement that the president take the oath on January 20. Rather than stage the full inauguration on a Sunday, the main public events were put off until yesterday.

Obama, 51, his hair visibly greyed over the past four years, sought to reassure Americans at the mid-point of his presidency and encourage them to help him take care of unfinished business.

His wide-ranging speech touched on a variety of issues, including climate change and Middle East democracy uprisings.

Obama, who won a second term by defeating Republican Mitt Romney after a bitter campaign, opened round two facing many of the same problems that dogged his first term: persistently high unemployment, crushing government debt and a deep partisan divide.

The war in Afghanistan, which Obama is winding down, has dragged on for more than a decade.