On a day in which many marked the memory of a man made famous for when he told Americans &#8220I have a dream,” Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, in his second inaugural address, also encouraged Alabamians to dream big and to believe in themselves and their state.

&#8220It has been said that if you believe you can, you are probably right, and if you believe you can't, you most certainly are,” Riley said.

&#8220It was time to expect achievement and demand excellence with a collective and unshakeable confidence that it would happen,” Riley said of his first years as governor. &#8220 And then, it did.”

He said Alabama still has problems, but also has the courage to address them.

&#8220Courage is quite common in Alabama,” he said. &#8220Now, it is up to the elected leaders of this state to have the same type of extraordinary courage found in our citizens.”

He said Alabama's leaders must &#8220put aside politics and do what's right.”

&#8220 I believe we have the determination to provide educational excellence at every level so our children can compete and win the jobs of the future. And we must believe that we can summon the integrity to make all areas of government work to serve the people's interest and not the special interests.”

The governor and our other elected officials do face large challenges. We wish each of them the best as they face those in the next four years.