Wordle generates “word clouds” for blocks of text, such as President Obama’s inaugural address, seen here. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.
By Andrea Shea (WBUR)
Download “The Obama Mix” (zipped MP3, 84.7 MB, via djztrip.com)
Shepard Fairey's iconic poster.
It’s funny. I generally don’t blog. But I found something this past weekend that I thought some people might want to hear about, if they haven’t already. It’s a mix by DJ Z-Trip. I caught it on WBAI in New York while driving over the beautifully lit White Stone Bridge on my way to Long Island. A hip, thoughtful, announcer was reveling in Obama’s upcoming inauguration. She reflected on issues important to American artists, such as access to affordable health care and the proposed creation of the country’s first Secretary of the Arts. (See the “Rolling Stone” article.)
Then the announcer introduced, with much fanfare, “The Obama Mix.”
She lauded its ingenious blend of spoken word with a grab-bag of musical genres, old and new. “The Obama Mix” is lengthy, clocking in at nearly an hour long, and it’s quite a ride. In it DJ Z-Trip cuts up particularly moving sections from Obama’s speeches, then mashes them with excerpts from revolutionary musics. Hip hop, rock, reggae and soul are all represented. Samples come from songs by Gil Scott Heron, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Public Enemy, The Pointer Sisters, The Chemical Brothers, Arrested Development and about a dozen more.
Check it out for yourself at djztrip.com/obama.
DJ Z-Trip is widely regarded as the founder of the “mash-up” movement, which essentially fuses together existing pieces of music. The results are both nostalgic and completely new. Z-Trip is one of the most popular DJs on the planet. He opened for the Rolling Stones in Toronto. The audience was 500,000-plus. He has also played at alternative music festivals such as Bonaroo and Coachella.
As it turns out, Z-Trip is buddies with Shepard Fairey, the guerrilla street artist behind the now iconic image of President Obama. That red, white and blue rendering popped up at grassroots events on posters and T-shirts. Eventually, Fairey’s artwork ended up on the cover of “Time” magazine.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that underground artists such as Z-Trip and Fairey are now sharing thoughts and rubbing elbows with this country’s new leader. (Shepard Fairey is in Washington for this historic occasion.)
I think it might be.
Z-Trip is offering his “Obama Mix” to the public for free. He encourages people to share it any way they want. A cleaner broadcast version is also available.
The “Obama Mix” has proved so popular that its creator concocted a sequel: “Victory Lap: The Obama Mix Part 2.”
DJ Z-trip explains why on his Web site:
It’s my way of congratulating all of us for electing what I think is the right person for the job. We made history and I’m proud to be a part of that. Yes, my friends, it is time to celebrate, but please don’t lose sight of the mess we are still in, there is plenty of work that lies ahead.
Shepard Fairey has an upcoming show at the ICA. It opes Feb. 6.
By Christian Holland (WBUR Intern)
The election of Barack Obama has energized young Americans and heightened their interest in politics. In Boston recently, politics dominated a recent all-women poetry slam called “Poetically Speaking.” Members of the group, “Teen Voices,” seized the opportunity to have their opinions heard on issues from Obama’s election to life in the city. WBUR’s Christian Holland produced this audio portrait.
(Photo courtesy of Teen Voices)
(Christian Holland/WBUR)
Teen Voices is an intensive journalism mentoring and leadership development program for teen girls in Boston.
Now that the pomp and circumstance of inauguration has gone down in history, the work of governing begins. This is President Obama’s first full day in office. He plans to meet with his economic team Wednesday, as well his advisers on the War in Iraq.
For a look at what we could anticipate in his first 100 days,we turn to WBUR’s politics analysts. On the Democratic side, Dan Payne, and on the Republican side, Todd Domke.
By Curt Nickisch (WBUR)
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy is expected to be released from Washington Hospital Center on Wednesday morning.
He was held overnight for observation after having an apparent seizure at a congressional lunch yesterday.
Kennedy is recovering from a brain tumor, but his neurosurgeon says the seizure was brought on by simple fatigue, and that the senator is now feeling well and talking to family. Kevin Yao, a neurologist at Tufts Medical Center, agrees the high-stress Inauguration Day could easily have been a factor.
“This would definitely put him in a situation where he might be more likely to have a seizure if any of his other preexisting causes for a seizure were there,” Yao says.
Dr. Yao says Kennedy’s doctors will be looking at test results to find any underlying cause. It could be as simple as medication not working well. The worst case is that the senator’s brain tumor is getting bigger. It’s a common cause for such seizures in other patients.
By Monica Brady-Myerov (WBUR)
For many people who went to Washington for the inauguration, the trip was planned far in advance. They’d lined up tickets to the ceremonies, arranged where to stay, figured out which parties to attend and so forth.
But others were seized by the moment, including Ricardo Little of North Andover, Mass. He traveled down to Washington and back on one frenzied day Tuesday.
WBUR’s Monica Brady-Myerov caught up with him.
You didn’t have to be in Washington to experience Inauguration Day and night. From early morning yesterday into the wee hours of today — in homes and schools, at parties and balls across Massachusetts, people gathered for the historic occasion.
We sent our WBUR reporters to a variety of locations in the Boston area. Here’s their roundup of the celebrations.
DANIEL BURNS SENIOR HOUSING COMPLEX
This is Sacha Pfeiffer at the Daniel Burns apartment building in North Cambridge, which is a mixed-race, subsidized complex, mostly for the elderly.
One of the residents I spoke with is Cathy Mullane. She’s 62 and she says she got a lot of just plain joy out of watching Obama be sworn in.
“I think it’s wonderful. I really, really do. Not just because he’s black, but — it’s taken us so long to get here, you know?”
I also talked to Helen Spann, who’s 70. She says the sight of so many black and white faces on the Washington Mall warmed her heart.
“Darling, that made me feel like the world is coming to a change. This is history.”
She also says she knows Obama has a tough task in front of him.
“I know he can handle it but we, as people, have to be patient and give him time to solve the problem. The problem wasn’t done overnight, so it can’t be solved overnight.”
And I spoke with Phyllis Stern, who’s 77. She called Obama’s election, in her words, “wonderful and historic.” But she did mention that she voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary.
“I’m very happy for Obama. I am happy for the black community. However, we women are waiting for a woman president. And I do hope that this will occur in the future.”
But, just like everyone else I talked to here, she says she wishes Obama and the country the very best.
CHARLESTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
I’m Sarah Bush at Charlestown High School where students gathered to watch the speech.
Many students felt a sense of hope.
11th grader Yusra Shamsoddine is excited to have a black president:
“He probably thought he wouldn’t be president because of his skin color, but look he did, so he let everyone know that you can do what you put your mind to.”
But 12th grader Gerald Nwosu says Obama’s race is less important than what he accomplishes.
“I expect not only for him to not just bring hope, that’s too broad. i also expect him to bring financial reforms and also fix health care.
PLATFORM 2′S MANIFESTO SLAM
I’m Andrea Shea and I’m in a green, bio-diesel bus driving around Boston.
Nearly two dozen bundled up people are here, taking turns on a soap box: reading, singing, even screaming their thoughts in this “Manifesto Slam” to celebrate Obama’s inauguration.
SONG MANIFESTO: “Hey welcome to our new world Barack Obama, Barack Barack Obama…”
“I’m Andi Sutton, and I’m with the artist collective Platform2, and the reason we’re having a manifesto slam on a bus is that we’re interested in gathering people to read their manifestos or their favorite manifestos, but also for others on the street to have access to that same kind of energy and excitement and sense of possibility.”
MANIFESTO: “Power to the people…”
People outside can hear the manifestos too, through loud speakers rigged to the bus.
TEACHER MANIFESTO: “Value, trust, systems that work for all schools, for all kids. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the world.”
In the coming weeks the artists here will send hard copies of these words and thoughts to the White House.
Sen. Edward Kennedy’s office released a statement from Dr. Edward Aulisi, chairman of neurosurgery at Washington Hospital Center, where Kennedy is recovering from a seizure.
Sen. Edward Kennedy experienced a seizure today while attending a luncheon for President Barack Obama in the U.S. Capitol. After testing, we believe the incident was brought on by simple fatigue. Senator Kennedy is awake, talking with family and friends, and feeling well. He will remain at the Washington Hospital Center overnight for observation, and will be released in the morning.
By Liz Halloran (NPR)
President Barack Hussein Obama, the nation’s first African-American head of state, on Tuesday proclaimed himself humbled by the challenges he and the country face, and issued to citizens a call to reject the fear of decline and work to reaffirm the greatness of the union.
For a politician known for soaring rhetoric and the ability to transfix his audiences, Obama largely put content, not prose, in the starring role. And he characteristically made only brief mention of the history he embodied on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., laughs ahead of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America on the West Front of the Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Win McNamee, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, ill with a brain tumor, suffered an apparent seizure at a post-inauguration luncheon for President Barack Obama on Tuesday and was rushed by ambulance from the Capitol to a hospital.
There was no immediate word from medical personnel on his condition, although fellow senators said he remained conscious as he was taken for further evaluation and was upbeat and joking.
A spokeswoman at the Washington Hospital Center said the Massachusetts Democrat was awake and answering questions when he arrived and was able to receive a phone call from Obama. Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, and son Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., were with him.
A few hours later, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., visited Kennedy, 76, whom he said had suffered “a mild seizure similar to what he’s had before. It’s part of the battle he’s fighting” since he was diagnosed with brain cancer and had surgery last year.
Kerry said Kennedy would remain overnight at the hospital. “He’s laughing and joking right now. He’s got all his Irish dander up,” he added.
There was no immediate word on what tests would be conducted on Kennedy. Standard procedure in cases like his often calls for a CT scan to search for any bleeding or any other abnormalities in the brain.
“It looked like a seizure,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who told reporters he was with Kennedy until they reached the ambulance.
Kerry said he and Mrs. Kennedy took hold of the senator as he became ill at the early afternoon lunch.
Added Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., “It took a lot out of him. Seizures are exhausting.”
Even so, Dodd quoted Kennedy as saying, “I’ll be OK, I’ll see you later” as he was put into the ambulance.
“The good news is he’s gonna be fine,” Dodd added.
Kennedy had appeared in good health and spirits a few hours earlier when he stepped out of the Capitol and onto the inauguration platform where Obama took the oath of office. His endorsement of the former Illinois senator had come at a pivotal point in the Democratic presidential race, and the older man campaigned energetically for the younger one.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., told reporters that Obama noticed when Kennedy became ill, and rushed over to his table.
“There was a call for silence throughout the room,” he said. “The president went over immediately. The lights went down, just to reduce the heat, I think.”
In his remarks, Obama said his prayers were with the stricken senator, his family and wife.
“He was there when the Voting Rights Act passed, along with John Lewis who was a warrior for justice,” the newly inaugurated president said.
“And so I would be lying to you if I did not say that right now a part of me is with him. And I think that’s true for all of us,” Obama said.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, 91, also left the luncheon early, but his office and others said his health was not the reason.
Byrd “is currently in his own office … and is doing fine, though he remains very concerned about his close friend, Ted Kennedy,” said Mark Ferrell, a spokesman for the West Virginia Democrat.
Kennedy was diagnosed last May with a particularly aggressive type of brain tumor, called a malignant glioma, after suffering a seizure at his Massachusetts home. He had what his doctor described as successful surgery to remove as much as possible of the tumor in his left parietal lobe. Kennedy then underwent radiation and chemotherapy, necessary because doctors know that even if they remove all of the visible tumor, stray cells almost certainly remain.
One doctor not connected with the senator’s care said it’s not unusual for patients recovering from brain tumors to suffer seizures.
If so, “it does not necessarily mean the tumor’s growing back,” said Dr. Matthew Ewend, neurosurgery chief at the University of North Carolina, noting that Kennedy already would have been receiving MRI scans of his brain every few months to check for that possibility.
Patients recovering from a brain tumor almost always are prescribed anti-seizure drugs, and something as common as a change in schedule could cause a dip in blood levels of that medication and produce a seizure, he said. Fatigue could also cause illness.
President Barack Obama waves alongside his wife, Michelle, and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, as former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, leave the U.S. Capitol by helicopter. (AP)
Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in Tuesday as the 44th president of the United States, writing a new chapter in American history as the first African-American to hold the nation’s highest office.
With his hand on the gilt-edged, burgundy Bible used by President Lincoln in 1861, Obama swore to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution in front of an ebullient, possibly record-breaking crowd gathered on the National Mall.
“Earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions,” he told the crowd in his inaugural address. “They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.”
Obama said he would begin to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in a responsible manner and would work to stabilize Afghanistan. Aides said Obama would order the military to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq on Wednesday during a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” said Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation in the world. But he also had a warning for those who would threaten the American way of life through terrorism.
“We say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you,” he said.
On the economy, Obama said his plan for rebuilding and expanding the country’s infrastructure will take the U.S. economy into a new age.
“The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth,” Obama said.
Chief Justice John Roberts, whose confirmation Obama opposed, administered the 35-word oath. Michelle Obama and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, joined Obama on the platform as he was sworn in.
Minutes before Obama took the oath, Vice President Joe Biden, 66, was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
Obama was sworn in on a platform on the West Front of the Capitol as a crowd estimated by The Associated Press at more than 1 million people looked on. The enthusiastic masses packed the Mall in the hours leading up to the ceremony, braving temperatures in the teens early Tuesday morning.
People had begun traveling to the Mall before 6 a.m., with some trains packed to capacity by the time they reached stops in Washington. More than 585,000 people had ridden the rails as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, said Angela Gates, a spokeswoman for Washington’s transit system. She said 52,000 people were shuttled to the Mall on 22 bus routes.
Despite the crowds and the cold, people were energized. Dozens of vendors hawked everything from Obama T-shirts to Obama hand puppets as groups of people trekked down Massachusetts Avenue toward the Mall.
Sachiko Minowa was glowing as she walked toward the Mall in 20-degree weather. A Japanese immigrant who now lives in San Francisco, Minowa said she has eagerly awaited the change in administrations. “I came to the United States five years ago,” she said. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for.”
“I’ve felt under siege the last eight years,” said South Bend, Ind., resident Willow Wetherall. “I can breathe easier knowing I have a partner in Washington who represents my values.” Wetherall said the inauguration was a double treat for her — Tuesday was her 33rd birthday.
The new first family began Tuesday with a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. The Obamas traveled to the White House for a traditional coffee with Bush, then to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremonies.
After the transfer of power, former President and Mrs. Bush boarded a helicopter at the Capitol and flew to Andrews Air Force Base, where they boarded a military jet for the trip to their new home in Texas.
There will be a parade in Obama’s honor Tuesday afternoon through the streets of Washington. Tuesday night, there are 10 official balls. The Obamas plan to stop by each one.
President Barack Obama has become the first African-American leader of the United States. People around the nation are finding their own ways to be involved with the celebration. From New York City to Obama’s hometown of Chicago to Seattle, NPR reporters are providing updates:
A small group of marchers move across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., today. Civil Rights marchers were beaten by Alabama State Troopers when they tried to cross the bridge in 1963. (AP)
12:55 p.m. ET — Robert Smith in Harlem, New York City:
The inauguration of President Obama is the culmination of a dream by the students of Democracy Prep, a charter school in Harlem. The 300 kids here have been studying the election all year, and they wanted to travel to D.C. for the inauguration. But the school couldn’t swing it. So they decided to find the largest space in Harlem and fill it with students from 40 different schools.
As people in New York City met in churches, theaters and even City Hall to watch the inauguration on TV, the largest event was in the Harlem Armory. School buses lined up outside, bringing an expected 5,000 middle and high school kids.
Inside, the concrete walls amped up the volume of the already-loud teenagers. The event was more of a pep-rally than quiet reflection.
The kids, mostly wearing school uniforms, waved flags and danced in the aisles to Stevie Wonder in the moments before the ceremony began.
9:30 a.m. PT — Martin Kaste in Seattle:
The Inauguration Breakfast here at Central Cinema in Seattle’s Central District was sold out last week. This hipster movie theater offers mimosas and strata (Italian for quiche, apparently) to an adoring crowd of Obamamaniacs to watch the Inauguration on the big screen (tuned to PBS, of course.)
It’s a mainly white crowd, wearing fleece and narrow eyeglasses. Many here hiss at every sight of Dick Cheney, and issued audible sighs of exasperation when Pastor Rick Warren approached the lectern. His invocation was followed by silence.
While the mood here is celebratory, there is also an abiding concern that Obama may prove to be too centrist. One woman has already promised that, if Obama proves too accomodating to the right on issues such as gay rights, she will march against him. But for now, she says she accepts his rapprochement with the right — in the name of national unity. The question here is, how much of Obama’s centrism is symbolic, and how much will be backed up by policy.
10:57 a.m. CT — Russell Lewis and Tanya Ott, in Birmingham, Ala.:
A crowd of more than 5,000 is packed into Boutwell Auditorium, chanting, screaming and singing “O-BAMA, O-BAMA, O-BAMA”. Some tears are flowing and smiles are plenty in this almost revival-like setting.
Virtually everyone here in this historic civil rights auditorium is African-American. People, young and old, are clutching and waving tiny American flags. They’re standing in the aisles, off to the sides and are applauding as they await Barack Obama’s swearing-in and speech.
10:56 a.m. CT — Howard Berkes, in Coalgate, Okla.:
The early lunch crowd is now watching the TV intently at Esther’s Kountry Grill.
Co-owner Barbara Elkins has tears in her eyes. She admits she didn’t vote for Obama.
“I don’t agree with him politically,” she says. “But this is an historic day for our nation. There was a time when I wouldn’t have been allowed to serve blacks in my restaurant. Now we have a black president.”
Braddock acknowledges that some people here in the “Little Dixie” region of Oklahoma may not have supported Obama due to his race. But he also notes that Democrats here are very conservative, especially on abortion, gun rights and gay marriage.
Coalgate Postmaster Ken Braddock stopped in earlier for breakfast.
“I don’t have any problem with his color,” Braddock says. “I probably would have problems with his policies.”
“Regardless of how we voted, he’s still our president,” says Wanda Utterback, editor of the Coalgate Record Register. “I think we all have that sense of hope. Like a new beginning, a turnaround in the country. Hopefully.”
9:55 a.m. MT — Jeff Brady in Denver:
About two dozen students have crowded the basement of Condoleza Rice’s former sorority house on the campus of the University of Denver. The room is silent except for occasional whispers and “ahhhs” as CNN’s cameras pan the crowd on the mall in Washington, DC.
Poa Lim is from Korea and is studying English at DU, “It’s very surprising for me—it’s the first time to watch the inauguration ceremony.”
Glenn Summers is the community outreach coordinator at the Department of Internationalization at DU. He says there are two things key to a good inauguration party—Tootsie Rolls and tissues.
10:45 a.m. CT — Cheryl Corley, in Chicago:
A rowdy crowd at the DuSable Museum of African-American History erupted with cheers and applause as Barack Obama appeared on the screen of the huge TV in the museum auditorium.
With about 450 people, the hall is packed to capacity, and people are still flowing in. In one of the back rows, a group of six young white teenagers with their mothers say Barack Obama inspired them so much they worked on his campaign and wrote letters to them asking for them to help their school.
10:20 a.m. CT — Russell Lewis and Tanya Ott, in Birmingham, Ala.:
Birmingham police now say 4,200 people have squeezed into Boutwell Auditorium. By far, the biggest, loudest and most sustained applause came when the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was wheeled into the auditorium.
Shuttlesworth is one of the pioneer leaders of the Civil Rights movement. He marched arm-in-arm with Martin Luther King, Jr. Police arrested him dozens of times. The Ku Klux Klan used 16 sticks of dynamite to blow up his house while he was inside. He escaped unscathed.
Shuttlesworth was beaten up when he tried to enroll his daughters in an all-white school. Last year, the Birmingham City Council renamed the airport “Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport”.
Shuttlesworth suffered a stroke a few years ago, and it’s difficult for him to speak. When organizers played a tribute DVD chronicling his life and his efforts, he nodded his head. One of the speakers says, “Without Rev. Shuttlesworth, there would be no President Obama.”
8:55 a.m. CT — Russell Lewis and Tanya Ott, in Birmingham, Ala.:
About 2,000 people have already streamed into Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium. As many as 6,000 people are expected here to listen to a two-hour-long program leading up to a live broadcast of the Obama inauguration. Like a lot of Birmingham, Boutwell Auditorium has a long, rich civil rights heritage. It’s named after Albert Boutwell, a former Birmingham mayor who was a segregationist.
In 1938, the auditorium hosted the Southern Conference for Human Welfare. When Birmingham City Commissioner Bull Connor ordered the 3,000 black and white delegates to segregate themselves, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt pulled her chair into the center aisle in defiance.
In 1948, the auditorium hosted the States Rights Democratic Convention (better known as the Dixiecrats), where Strom Thurmond was nominated to run for president against Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey. In 1956, singer Nat King Cole was assaulted by three white assailants during a segregated performance.
Boutwell Auditorium is a few blocks from Kelly Ingram Park. It was there, in 1963, police turned fire hoses and dogs on student marchers. The images from that day captured international attention and are considered a major factor in the national push towards the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The crowd of people who are here today in the venue are well aware of this region’s civil rights past, and are enthusiastic about Barack Obama’s inauguration. People are smiling, chanting and singing.
8:46 a.m. CT. — Cheryl Corley, in Chicago:
There’s a light snow falling in Chicago and people are beginning to flow into the DuSable Museum of African American History, where more than 450 people will witness the inauguration on a big screen TV in the auditorium. The group is mostly older. The perfume is heavy, and the mink coats abundant and people like Pamela Johnson, who is a bookseller, say they’re happy to be alive to see an African American — as well as a Chicagoan — make history.
8:30 a.m. CT. — Howard Berkes, in Coalgate, Okla.:
TV coverage of the inauguration now graces the big flat-screen TV hanging in Esther’s Kountry Grill. But in a state where every county voted for Republican John McCain, the breakfast crowd isn’t paying much attention. Coalgate is in Coal County, which is 84 percent Democratic.
Still, 74 percent of the voters chose McCain.
The owners here at Esther’s say they plan to leave the inauguration coverage on all day. “It’s an historic day,” agreed owner Barbara Elkins. “It’s just a little bit sad it’s not John McCain.”
A child with Barack Obama's name painted on her face attends a mock inauguration party in the southwestern Kenyan city of Kisumu. (AP)
For many people around the globe, Barack Obama’s election brought a sense of hope and possibility. Now, the world is watching to see whether that promise is fulfilled. NPR reporters offer updates on the mood in Kenya, Iraq and elsewhere on Inauguration Day:
From NPR’s Stringer in Basra, Iraq:
The black Basrawis are celebrating Obama’s inauguration at their headquarters in Basra in southern Iraq. They are overjoyed at seeing the first African-American U.S. president.
“We are happy today. We were waiting for this moment, and we are here to express our feeling on this occasion,” says engineer Salam Shaaban. “Obama is great man and he deserves this position; he will help poor and tired people.”
“Today announces the birth of a new era,” says Jalal Thugeel, also of the Movement of Iraqi Supporters of Freedom and Peace. “It is time for the oppression to end and to start a new era of ambition. … The world will live in a new era. Yes to justice of the human race. … The time is over when the blacks suffered — now is the time of justice and fairness … It was not a victory for blacks, but a victory for all other races.”
From Ofeibea Quist-Arcton in Accra, Ghana:
Africans all over the continent are hailing the United States’ first African-American president. That includes Liberia’s Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf — Africa’s first female president.
“I’m as excited as people the world over. This represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream. It represents a sea change in American politics, and I think the fact that he has African roots excites us all. And it tells everyone that they can reach their full potential if they are willing to work at it,” she said.
The Liberian president outlined some of Obama’s challenges.
“The blessing is that everyone wants you to succeed, because you are a first, so that means you can open doors for others to follow. But it also comes with the responsibility to succeed,” she said.
Liberia was founded by freed American slaves in the 1800s.
In West Africa, Adam Thiam helped organize a celebration in Mali, with American and Malian flags fluttering over a portrait of Obama.
“We in Africa are in desperate need of hope. We just think that Obama’s action would really help Africa. The United States has proved that someone can come from that far and be elected. It’s a real message of hope for all of us,” he said.
Thiam said Obama was the embodiment of Africa’s dream of a better future for all.
From Lourdes Garcia-Navarro in Baghdad, Iraq:
Most believe Obama will usher in a better relationship with Iraq and many hope he will correct the mistakes — a word they used — of the Bush administration in Iraq. That means different things to different people. The general impression of Obama, like in many places across the Middle East, is positive and hopeful. People use the words diplomat and statesman; people think he will be flexible and invested in solving Iraq’s problems.
Everyone is waiting to see what Obama does, and if he fulfills his campaign promise to remove U.S. troops from Iraq.
The fear is that all the money and the interest is headed east to Afghanistan. People are afraid this will become the forgotten war.
From Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson in Kabul, Afghanistan:
Afghans are talking a lot about this inauguration especially because President Karzai is not attending while Gul Agha Shirzai, the governor of Nangarhar province, is. Obama had visited the governor in July. There are a lot of questions about what this means and what the new relationship between the U.S. administration and the Afghanistan government will be.
Karzai had to open the parliamentary session and give a speech, but some people are saying he wasn’t invited. We haven’t been able to confirm whether this rumor is true.
The people of Afghanistan want suicide bombings and attacks to end, but they are worried that Obama will continue the strategy of the Bush administration.
From Eric Westervelt in Gaza City:
A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas fighters is in effect — partially because neither side wants to be fighting during Obama’s inauguration.
Palestinians are hoping to see a change in policy, but many voice skepticism that U.S. policy will really change: “U.S. presidents have been so pro-Israeli for so long, we don’t think Barack Obama will change that,” they say.
On the Israeli side, there was some skepticism during the campaign that Obama would be as pro-Israeli as President Bush was during his eight years. Israelis are cautiously optimistic that Obama will continue Washington’s strong relationship with Israel.
And more broadly, the Arab world is also cautiously optimistic — and hopeful that Obama brings a fresh perspective and new policies.
From Gwen Thompkins in Kobama, Kenya:
Kobama, in southwestern Kenya near Lake Victoria, is the ancestral home of Obama’s father, and people here are extremely proud, practically bursting at the seams.
Residents have been writing songs in honor of the president-elect, celebrating his inauguration and wishing him well — but also cautioning him that “it’s time to make good on his campaign promises.”
Across the country, Kenyans will be watching Obama’s inauguration, which will take place in the evening, local time. Jumbo-screen televisions will be set up in the capital of Nairobi; in Kisumu, the regional capital of southwestern Kenya; as well as in Kobama, where Obama’s step-grandmother still lives.
There are few televisions in Kobama — in fact, there is not much electricity. As a result, crowds are expected to gather around these large-screen TVs.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.
At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it).”
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president. (AP)
The new First Family of the United States. (AP)
Barack Obama arrives for his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP)
Aretha Franklin performs at the swearing-in ceremony. (AP)
The Rev. Rick Warren gives the invocation during swearing-in ceremonies. (AP)
By Frannie Carr (WBUR)
Thousands of Massachusetts residents are in Washington today to mark the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation’s 44th president.
Among them is Kevin Peterson, who heads Dorchester’s Ella J. Baker House and is the director of the New Democracy Coalition in Boston.
Peterson says Barack Obama represents a new black leadership style.
“I think he represents a new style that moves beyond the civil rights movement, in fact he is post civil rights. A leadership style which is about solutions and goes beyond the ideological contest, which we’ve had over the last 40 years.”
Peterson says, for him, today marks the culmination of generations of struggle within the African American community.
By Monica Brady-Myerov (WBUR)
Massachusetts Democrats are in Washington gearing up for the inauguration of Barack Obama.
Although the early speculation about Patrick and other prominent politicians joining Obama’s cabinet did not come to fruition, Massachusetts as a state is well positioned to influence legislation — and the new president. WBUR’s Monica Brady-Myerov reports from Washington.
By Fred Thys (WBUR)
President-elect Barack Obama, left, is introduced by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick at a dinner for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in Washington, Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Today is a day of ceremony. But that’s not to say Inauguration Day is devoid of politics.
Gov. Deval Patrick has been at the forefront of the nation’s governors in asking for aid from Congress for the states. And, as WBUR’s Fred Thys reports, Patrick hopes to use some of his time in Washington today to move that aid along.
There are only a few thousand of these inaugural invitations, which resemble wedding invitations — with raised lettering, gold tassels, an embossed seal and a photograph of President-elect Barack Obama.
(Monica Brady-Myerov/WBUR)
A Massachusetts National Guard unit has a prestigious place in Tuesday’s inauguration parade. The 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Regiment will be among those invited to march down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Originally the first African-American unit to fight in the North during the Civil War, the 54th was reactivated in 2008 to provide military honors at state functions and veterans funerals.
WBUR’s Sarah Bush visited the regiment as its members were rehearsing for today’s big ceremony.
The crowd filled the space alongside the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, then stretched for hundreds of yards down the National Mall toward the Capitol. (Christopher Toothman/NPR)
President elect Barack Obama pauses while painting during a renovation project at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a shelter for homeless or runaway teens, in Washington , Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama is continuing his appeal for Americans to get involved in public service projects, telling a community service group that government “can’t do it alone.”
Obama was accompanied by his wife, Michelle, during the appearance Monday at a high school in the nation’s capital.
He said Americans can’t simply wait for “somebody else” to clean up a vacant lot or tutor a child — because it would “never get done.” Instead, he says, everyone has to take responsibility.
At the same time, Obama promised to “make government work” — and to see to it that people are able to stay in their homes, make a living wage, and get health care.
Later he visited Sasha Bruce House, a shelter for homeless teens in the District of Columbia, chatting with volunteers who were helping to repaint rooms and then pitching in himself.
“We can’t allow any idle hands. Everybody’s got to be involved,” Obama said. “I think the American people are ready to do that.”
Ever-growing crowds thronged to the capital city on the eve of Obama’s elevation to the presidency. “Tomorrow, we will come together as one people on the same Mall where Dr. King’s dream echoes still,” Obama said.
A day away from becoming the nation’s 44th president, Obama visited 14 injured vets from Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
As Barack Obama takes the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol building Tuesday, he’ll be standing, literally, on the labor of hundreds of African-American slaves. Here & Now host Robin Young speaks to Jesse J. Holland, the author of “Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History in and Around Washington D.C.” (Amazon)
Listen to the story » (Real Audio)
Since the Kennedy administration, Helen Thomas has been covering the White House. She was often the first to ask a question at presidential press conferences. Last week, though, during his last conference as president, President Bush failed to call on her. Here & Now host Robin Young talks with the veteran journalist and columnist about the Bush years and questions she intends to ask the new president.
Listen to the story (Real Audio)
From our sister site, On Point:
Martin Luther King said “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial, where Obama’s inauguration kicks off Tuesday. On Point, we’ll look at the speech that moved the world.
Guests: Mike Allen, chief political correspondent for Politico.com
Eric Sundquist, professor of literature, UCLA. He is author of “To Wake the Nations: Race in the Making of American Literature.” His new book is “King’s Dream.” (You can read the introduction.)
Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, pastor of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. He is a fourth-generation Baptist preacher.
Read the text of King’s speech.
By Fred Thys (WBUR)
Thousands of people from New England joined the revelers Sunday for the Lincoln Memorial concert in Washington. Some of them took the train there this weekend. WBUR’s Fred Thys rode along.
The train is sold out. People jam the aisles in search of seats. Those headed for Washington are full of expectation. Some have volunteered for Barack Obama. Others are just curious.
ROBERT NASH: My name is Robert Nash. I’m a freshman at Harvard College. … I’m from Houston. … I doubt whether I’ll be this excited about the president again, the inauguration. … I’ll be keeping an eye on the first hundred or so days, and, hopefully, he can bring us out of this really nasty recession that we’re going through. … Hopefully I will stay warm and relatively dry, but I’m also hoping I will have an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.
By the exits, the snow is blown in and tucked against the bulkheads. Some doors are covered with snow on the inside, giving the train a frosty look. In some places, a cold mist blows through from outside. Birds huddle in the openings of pond ice, sipping the frigid water, oblivious to the expectations carried by the train speeding by, expectations like those of Jonathan Abraham.
ABRAHAM: I am from Queens, New York.
Abraham is in his third year at the Harvard Medical School.
ABRAHAM: I just want to be in D.C. at the time, just tell my grandchildren one day that I was there.
KAREN SACHS: I’m Karen Sachs. … I live in Hudson. … I hope that he changes our economy. I hope he changes everything, because the last eight years have really been a huge disappointment. … I’m one of these people that got laid off. … I feel like I owe it to him to go, because I feel he’s going to do something for me in the future, at least I hope so. I really hope so.
Sachs was working on feature films in Los Angeles until she was laid off in September. On a lark, she moved to Massachusetts.
SACHS: Just kind of moved here at the worst time, of course, but it’s going to be so exciting down there, and just to be in the rush of everything, I’m hoping it’ll make me forget for a second that I don’t have a job.
Ting Hoephner doesn’t have a job, either. She used to be an archaelogist in Virginia. When the National Park Service laid her off, she moved to Cambridge.
HOEPHNER: I used to feel bad about being unemployed. Now I just feel like I’m part of the crowd.
Hoephner is already thinking about another crowd she’ll be joining soon.
HOEPHNER: I’m picturing it like … the movies at the end of World War II, where people are jumping up and hugging.
There is no jumping and hugging on the train, just quiet conversation and much anticipation.
Rhonda Berthiaume (left) and Sue Pierce met a year ago campaigning for Obama. Neither had volunteered for anything before, and now they both say they are committed to continuning their community service with local projects. (Monica Brady-Myerov/WBUR)
By Monica Brady-Myerov (WBUR)
Many Massachusetts residents, already in Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama, will be volunteering for Martin Luther King Day. Gov. Deval Patrick helps kick off a national volunteer mobilization effort called “Renewing America Together.”
The grassroots campaign network of Barack Obama has inspired many people who had never been involved in politics to get involved. Now, some Bay Staters say they are forever changed and have found a new calling as volunteer organizers. WBUR’s Monica Brady-Myerov reports from Washington.
A year ago, Sue Pierce, of the Jefferson neighborhood of Holden, Mass., and Rhonda Berthiaume of Worcester, Mass., didn’t know each other. And they certainly never dreamed their Congressman Jim McGovern would know them.
But at last night’s Massachusetts pre-inaugural party in Washington, the two women chatted with Congressman McGovern about the energy in the nation’s capital.
Pierce is 36 and a stay-at-home mom. She threw an Obama house party because her sister pressured her into it.
Berthiaume is 51 and was also never involved in politics or volunteering. But within weeks of meeting Sue Pierce at her house party, they were organizing more house parties, rallies and get-out-the-vote efforts in eight other states. Berthiaume says her trip to Washington is energizing her to stay involved in community service back in Worcester.
This weekend they drove down together to Washington, along with two other Massachsuetts women who are also passionate volunteers. They are all crammed in one hotel room, a small inconvenience, they say, to witness what they helped to make happen — the swearing-in of Barack Obama.
But their involvement doesn’t end with the ceremony, Pierce says.
Now, they are focusing on service projects in their local communities, like collecting food and coats for people affected by the ice storm. Arthur Powell, a field organizer for the Massachusetts Democratic party, says he has seen a new sense of commitment.
Powell says many inaugural events in Massachusetts this week are raising money for charity, another indication there may be lasting effects from Obama’s community organizing.
Many volunteers expect to continue their community involvement, expecically Sue Pierce and Rhonda Berthiaume.
Pierce and Berthiaume will spend Monday, Martin Luther King Day, making care packages to send to the military.
