Not so this time.  This time we see the normal transition under our democratic system.  One President, at the conclusion of his term, steps back to private life; his successor, chosen by the people, begins his tenure of the office.  And the Presidency of the United States continues to function without a moment’s break.

Since the election, I have done my best to assure that the transfer from one Administration to another shall be smooth and orderly.  From General Eisenhower and his associates, I have had friendly and understanding collaboration in this endeavor.  I have not sought to thrust upon him—­nor has he sought to take—­the responsibility which must be mine until twelve o’clock noon on January twentieth.  But together, I hope and believe we have found means whereby the incoming President can obtain the full and detailed information he will need to assume the responsibility the moment he takes the oath of office.

The President-elect is about to take up the greatest burdens, the most compelling responsibilities, given to any man.  And I, with you and all Americans, wish for him all possible success in undertaking the tasks that will so soon be his.

What are these tasks?  The President is Chief of State, elected representative of all the people, national spokesman for them and to them.  He is Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces.  He is charged with the conduct of our foreign relations.  He is Chief Executive of the Nation’s largest civilian organization.  He must select and nominate all top officials of the Executive Branch and all Federal judges.  And on the legislative side, he has the obligation and the opportunity to recommend, and to approve or veto legislation.  Besides all this, it is to him that a great political party turns naturally for leadership, and that, too, he must provide as President.

This bundle of burdens is unique; there is nothing else like it on the face of the earth.  Each task could be a full-time job.  Together, they would be a tremendous undertaking in the easiest of times.

But our times are not easy; they are hard-as hard and complex, perhaps as any in our history.  Now, the President not only has to carry on these tasks in such a way that our democracy may grow and flourish and our people prosper, but he also has to lead the whole free world in overcoming the communist menace—­and all this under the shadow of the atomic bomb.

This is a huge challenge to the human being who occupies the Presidential office.  But it is not a challenge to him alone, for in reality he cannot meet it alone.  The challenge runs not just to him but to his whole Administration, to the Congress, to the country.

Ultimately, no President can master his responsibilities, save as his fellow citizens-indeed, the whole people—­comprehend the challenge of our times and move, with him, to meet it.