Statement From Senate Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith Re: Obama Inauguration

 
Our country's greatest strength, its most prized asset has always been the potential of its people to rise up and achieve heights that were incomprehensible by those who lived only a generation before. It is our ability to change with the times that makes us great and as the first African American President of the New York State Senate I understand the significance of change and the motivation that can be drawn from people banding together to do what hasn't been done before.
 
For people of all races, genders and religions, President Obama's journey is an inspiration, a testament to our ability to break down barriers and meet whatever challenges come before us. Whether it's reviving a faltering economy, restoring America's standing on the international stage, improving access to quality and affordable health care, rebuilding our educational system or making our planet cleaner and safer, we can take solace in the fact that in President Obama we have a leader who believes there is no goal beyond our reach and no limit to our capacity to change the world.
 
As a husband, father and elected representative of the people of New York I pray for President Obama to succeed in leading our nation in a new direction. I am confident that President Obama will cast aside the issues that divide us and harness the full potential of the American spirit to accomplish that which government is sworn to do- make tomorrow better than today."