“What we’ve said to the girls is, ‘If you guys ever decided you’re going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo in the same place," Obama said.

Sworn in Sunday, Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th president of the United States, will on Monday begin his second term with the usual inaugural festivities, but the tone is markedly different from last year's high of hopes and change.

“We may have started this as a long-shot presidential primary campaign in 2007, but it’s always been about more than just winning an election,” Obama wrote in an email to supporters.