Travelling Hopefully

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama called on Americans to revive the spirit and courage of the patriots who founded the nation to confront historic challenges ahead.

Three days before he will be sworn in as the 44th U.S. president, Obama and his family boarded a train at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station for a “whistle-stopâ€

“Only a handful of times in our history has a generation been confronted with challenges so vast,” Obama said. “What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed.”

Obama will pick up Vice-President elect Joe Biden and his family in the former Delaware senator’s home state. The two- families will continue on to an event in Baltimore before arriving in Washington this evening.

While the train trip harkens back to the ride that President Abraham Lincoln took to his 1861 inauguration, it also is intended to echo Obama’s inaugural theme: “Renewing America’s Promise” -- with celebrations held in cities central to that premise, aides say.

‘Better Angels’

Noting that he is beginning the trip in the city where the first Continental Congress met in 1774 and where theDeclaration of Independence was signed in 1776, Obama said Americans must take up the work they began.

“What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives -- from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry -- an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels,” said Obama, 47, who will be the nation’s first black president.

Obama recalled some of the themes he campaigned on and touched on the issues that have grown bigger since the election, particularly the faltering economy.

He mentioned the war in Iraq, which he said “needs to be ended responsibly,” and the conflict in Afghanistan, as well as global warming and “our unsustainable dependence on oil.”

The American revolution, he said, is an “ongoing struggle.â€

“Let’s build a government that is responsible to the people, and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable,” he said.

Guests at Station

Obama was joined by Pennsylvania elected officials from both parties, including Governor Ed Rendell andSenator Bob Casey, both Democrats, as well as Republican senator Arlen Specter.

He appeared on stage with his wife, Michelle, who is celebrating her 45th birthday today, and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. While Obama spoke, Malia took photographs.

From Philadelphia, Obama is heading to Delaware, the first state in the union, and then on to Baltimore, which has been immortalized in the national anthem, before arriving in Washington, the nation’s capital.

The celebration continues in Washington, where Obama will attend a public concert tomorrow with music legends including Bruce Springsteen and Bono. On Jan. 19, he will also take part in a day devoted to community service.

The swearing-in takes place at noon on Jan. 20.