Bush era opens with a flurry

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has moved swiftly to assert his authority over the machinery of Government.

Within two hours of his inauguration as 43rd President of the United States, he had issued a series of orders to block last-minute Clinton initiatives and let officials know who was boss.

First came an order to block new Clinton regulations dealing with healthcare and the environment. Signed by new White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, it went to heads of executive departments and agencies.

Bush spokesman Art Fleischer said the intention was "to ensure that the President's appointees have the opportunity to review any new or pending regulations."

The order means no new rules can be gazetted in the Federal Register, effectively blocking them.

Next, Mr Bush issued a 60-day stay on regulations already printed in the register but not yet in effect.

Some of the blizzard of rules issued by Bill Clinton in his last days as President angered Republicans, particularly his decision to declare nearly 24 million hectares of federal land, mostly in western states, off limits to logging.

That order, however, came after a long federal review and may be extremely hard to withdraw.

Mr Fleischer said the new Administration had a variety of options on how to deal with Mr Clinton's orders - "I expect some will be repealed, some will be amended, some will be kept."

Finally, in a memorandum to the heads of Government departments, the new President called for "the highest standards of integrity."

He said employees should not use public office for private gain. They should disclose waste, fraud, abuse and corruption.

"Everyone who enters into public service for the United States has a duty to the American people to maintain the highest standards of integrity in Government."

The memo followed Mr Bush's campaign pledge to "restore honour and dignity" to the White House after the ethical lapses and scandals of the Clinton Administration.

"It is a living and breathing reminder to our staff and to the nation of the importance that the President himself attaches to high ethical standards and Government service," Mr Fleischer said.

Reflecting his deep religious convictions, Mr Bush also signed a proclamation declaring Sunday a "national day of prayer and thanksgiving" to celebrate the peaceful transfer of power.

He took the oath as light drizzle fell on the Capitol.

In his first address to the nation as President, he did not specifically mention his bitter battle with Democrat Al Gore that ended after the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in his favour. But he clearly had healing national wounds in mind.

He said that some so doubted America's promise that sometimes "it seems we share a continent, but not a country."

"We do not accept this and will not allow it. Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation.

"And this is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity."

Mr Bush got a warm hug from his father, George, after becoming only the second son of a President to follow his parent to the White House.

With his swearing-in, Republicans control the White House and both Houses of Congress for the first time in 48 years.

Some of those angry about the outcome mingled in the celebrating crowd to protest, holding up signs like "Hail to the thief" to support their belief the election was stopped before all votes were counted.

Security was the tightest of any inauguration because groups protesting over a wide range of issues were trying to muster the largest such demonstration since the Vietnam War-era swearing-in of Richard Nixon in 1973.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Election aftermath

Map: final results across the USA

Bush-Cheney transition website