The kiss that says we did it again: First Lady Michelle embraces Barack as President thanks donors at glittering reception to celebrate start of his second term

The kiss that says we did it again: First Lady Michelle embraces Barack as President thanks donors at glittering reception to celebrate start of his second term

President Obama and First Lady Michelle attended an inaugural reception in Washington D.C. tonight along with Vice-President Joe Biden and wife Jill. 

They arrived at the National Building Museum for an event to celebrate those who supported the campaign and benefactors of the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Michelle looked glamorous in a sequined, black cocktail dress and statement earrings while Dr Biden wore a navy blue dress with a bold necklace.

Four more years: Michelle Obama kisses Barack as the couple attend a celebration for their supporters in D.C. on Sunday night 

Glittering event: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle arrive to speak to supporters and donors at a reception for the 57th Presidential Inauguration at The National Building Museum in Washington tonight

Obama thanked his many donors for their support at the event and said his second inauguration is a celebration of the country and its citizens, not the election results.

He reminded the crowd that 'what we're doing is celebrating each other and celebrating this incredible nation that we call home'.

He encouraged the crowd to enjoy the inauguration and said he needs them to work as hard as they can on issues important to them.

Obama said the inauguration is a reminder that 'there is something bigger than ourselves'.

He kept his comments brief and quipped that he has to save some of his lines for his speech Monday. He also gave his opinion on a much-debated matter his week - his wife's new haircut.

He said: 'I love her bangs. She looks good. She always looks good.'

First lady Michelle Obama unveiled her new haircut in a White House photo released last Thursday for her 49th birthday.

 

Obama was sworn in for four more years earlier today in a simple ceremony at the White House, embarking on a second-term quest to restore a still-shaky economy and combat terrorists overseas while swearing an age-old oath to 'preserve, protect and defend' the Constitution.

First lady of fashion: Michelle Obama wore a flattering and glamorous black sequined dress to the even with a collection of bracelets and statement earrings

 
Glamor: The First Lady shows off her new bangs which she debuted on her 49th birthday last week... and the President gave his wife's haircut his seal of approval

'I did it,' a smiling president said to his daughter Sasha seconds after following Chief Justice John Roberts in reciting the oath of office. First Lady Michelle and the couple's other daughter, Malia, were among relatives who bore witness.

The quiet moments were prelude to Monday's public inaugural events when Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol before a crowd expected to reach into the hundreds of thousands and a television audience counted in the millions.

The trappings were in place - the flag-draped stands ready outside the Capitol and the tables set inside for a traditional lunch with lawmakers. Across town, a specially made reviewing stand rested outside the White House gates for the president and guests to watch the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.

All smiles: The President and VP greet each other warmly on the stage with their wives in front of hundreds of donors and campaigners

First couples: Obama speaks to his supporters on Sunday night as wife Michelle and VP Joe Biden and wife Jill look on

A crowd of perhaps 800,000 was forecast, less than the million-plus that thronged to the nation's capital four years ago to witness the inauguration of the first black president in American history.

The weather forecast was encouraging, to a point. High temperatures were predicted for the lower 40s during the day, with scattered snow showers during the evening, when two inaugural balls closed out the official proceedings.

The 44th chief executive is only the 17th to win re-election, and his second-term goals are ambitious for a country where sharp political differences have produced gridlocked government in recent years.

Shake on it: Obama and Biden on stage in front of hundreds of supporters on Sunday night as First Lady Michelle leads the applause

Pride: The First Lady kisses her husband hours after she watched him being sworn in for a second term as President

Restoration of the economy to full strength and pressing the worldwide campaign against terrorists sit atop the agenda. He also wants to reduce federal deficits and win immigration and gun control legislation from Congress, where Republicans control the House.

If he needed a reminder of the challenges he faces, he got one from half-way around the globe. An Algerian security official disclosed the discovery of 25 additional bodies at a gas plant where radical Islamists last week took dozens of foreign workers hostage.

In Washington, tourists strolled leisurely on an unseasonably warm day.

Thanks all round: Obama speaks to supporters and donors at the event at the National Building Museum in the capital

Contemplative: President Obama pauses while speaking to his supporters at the event after he was sworn in for his second term today

'I'm very proud of him and what he's trying to do for immigration, women's rights, what they call Obamacare and concerns for the middle class,' said Patricia Merritt, a retired educator from San Antonio, in town with her daughter and granddaughter to see the inauguration and parade as well as historic sites. 'I think he's more disrespected than any other president,' she added, referring to his critics.

Sean Payton, an operations analyst from Highland Ranch, Colorado, said he hoped to hear 'a nice eloquent speech that makes people feel good about being an American'.

Republicans lent a touch of bipartisanship to the weekend.

'We always want any president to succeed, to do well, that means America does well and Americans do well,' Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming said on CNN's State of the Union.

Obama took the oath in the White House Blue Room where portraits of Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Tyler grace the walls. He placed a hand on a Bible held by his wife. His daughters stood nearby.

It's official: Obama is sworn in on Sunday as Michelle, Sasha and Malia look on at the White House

The nation's political divisions seemed scarcely to intrude as Obama, a Democrat, shook hands with Roberts, a Republican appointee, in a rite that renews American democracy every four years. Unlike four years ago, when Roberts stumbled verbally, the chief justice recited the oath without error.

Before the swearing-in, the president listened from a second-row pew at the 175-year-old Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church as the Rev. Jonathan V. Newman asked God's blessing for the him and his family. 'But also prepare him for battle ... because sometimes enemies insist on doing it the hard way,' he said.

Like Obama, Biden began his day early. He attended Catholic Mass at his official residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory a few miles from the White House. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice and an Obama appointee, administered the oath of office.

Biden then joined Obama at the cemetery, where the two men placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and observed a moment of silence as a bugler sounded Taps. ( dailymail.co.uk )