President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, speak to supporters and donors at an inaugural reception for the 57th Presidential Inauguration at The National Building Museum in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, speak to supporters and donors at an inaugural reception for the 57th Presidential Inauguration at The National Building Museum in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama is officially sworn-in by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Next to Obama are first lady Michelle Obama, holding the Robinson Family Bible, and daughters Malia and Sasha. (AP Photo/Larry Downing, Pool)
The West Front of the U.S. Capitol is dressed in red, white and blue the day before President Obama's public inauguration ceremony, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. President Obama took the official oath of office at the White House at noon Jan. 20, as mandated by the Constitution. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A man rides a bicycle as others walk on the National Mall Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, with the U.S. Capitol prepared for the ceremonial swearing-in of President Barack Obama, the 57th Presidential Inaugural on Monday in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama has prepared a second inaugural address that broadly lays out his vision for the country's future, setting the stage for looming debates over taxes, guns, immigration and other issues while leaving the details for another day.
The speech, slated right after Obama takes an oath to "faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States" Monday on the Capitol's west front, includes no new policy, aides say. Rather, the president plans to use the moment as it traditionally has been in most of the 56 previous inaugurations ? to talk about founding American values and their importance to the country's success today.
But his words come on the precipice of a second term with no shortage of tough battles. Obama may in some way reference the Connecticut elementary school shooting that pushed gun control to the top of his agenda. He may also speak of a need to tackle comprehensive immigration reform, another second-term priority, and a need to bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan.
White House advisers see the inaugural speech as the opening opportunity for the president to discuss his second-term agenda, but in broad terms. The next major opportunity will be at the State of the Union address Feb. 12, when aides say Obama will discuss specific policy proposals.
Inaugural addresses are not typically partisan, and White House aides say Obama doesn't intend to call out his political opponents. But they say he will stand up for his values and vision that were supported by the majority of voters in the November election.
Obama's prepared text notes that spirited debate is a hallmark of a vibrant democracy, aides say, but that the country's leaders can't let disagreement prevent them from finding common ground to move the country forward. The president also plans to encourage Americans to continue making their voices heard to shape the debate as policy is made, aides said.
The inauguration gives Obama the chance to command global attention at a level that's rare even for the leader of the free world.
Aides say he has been working on the speech since early December, and he clearly has an eye toward his place in history. He invited presidential historians to the White House and chose to take his oath on Bibles owned by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.
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