Stories abound of African-Americans committed to going to the inauguration of Barack Obama, even though many of them are without tickets to the ceremonies or reservations for lodging.
David Evans (Andrew Phelps/WBUR)
To visit Washington without lodging seems irresponsible, if not reckless, given the millions expected for the inauguration, the almost non-existence of housing in the area, the typically cold January weather, and strict crowd-control measures in place since Sept. 11.
I hope, however, that persons of influence in Greater Washington will try to understand the history and emotional undergirding of what is essentially a “pilgrimage” for many of these committed travelers. This is especially the case for African-Americans who remember the Jim Crow laws. I am told that busloads are going from the Deep South for the spiritual fulfillment of being in the same space with the first African-American to take the oath of office as president of the United States.
It reminds me of a story told to me by my grandmother, a native of Tallahatchie County, Miss., who died in 1955 at age 94. She said that her mother, a former slave, described a similar black “pilgrimage” from 1864 or 1865 in a southern border state held by Union forces. News circulated among emancipated slaves that a train rumored to carry Abraham Lincoln would pass through the area in a few days. Many ex-slaves were so moved by that possibility that they walked 40 or 50 miles just to see the train on which they thought he was a passenger. That recollection captures the spirit of many African-Americans who will trek to Washington on January 20, 2009.
Thousands of these travelers are in the sunset of their days, with long shadows falling toward the east. They are what we used to call “they-were-there” people. They were there in Little Rock in 1957; they were there in Nashville in 1960; in Birmingham and on the National Mall with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963; at the bridge in Selma in 1965, and, in the case of the Tuskegee airmen, in the skies over North Africa and Europe in World War II.
Because they were there, we are here as a more principled nation that could elect Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States.
Commentator David Evans lives and writes in Cambridge, Mass. He is senior admissions officer at Harvard University, which offers five scholarships in his name for students who have overcome hardship. Evans is attending the presidential inauguration.
When Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address, he’ll take part in a long-standing tradition.
Every president since George Washington has delivered the speech. The speeches have ranged from the shortest — 133 words at Washington’s second inauguration in 1793 — to the longest — 8,445 words from William Henry Harrison in 1841.
We don’t know how long Obama’s speech will be Tuesday, but we turned to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin for some historical context. She starts by highlighting the significance of the tradition.
President-elect Barack Obama, followed by daughter Malia, waves as he arrives at Amtrak's Union Station in Washington, the last stop of an inaugural train trip that coursed through Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland en route to the nation's capital, Saturday evening, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President-elect Barack Obama and his family are back in Washington on Sunday after a train journey Saturday from Philadelphia, and inaugural week activities and parties are in full swing as the hours tick down to his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday.
Sunday’s big event is the official inaugural opening ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial, with performances and readings by Beyonce, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow and other artists. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the National Mall for the event — a possible harbinger for the even bigger crowds expected when Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday.
Sunday’s ceremony will be broadcast live on many public radio stations and will be streamed live at NPR.org.
Obama and his family arrived Saturday in Washington after boarding a train in Philadelphia and headed south on a 137-mile journey. The nine-car passenger train made stops for rallies in Wilmington, Del., and Baltimore.
The journey took some seven hours, but speed wasn’t the point. This was one final chance for Obama to thank those who helped elect him to the presidency, and a chance to ask Americans for their help and their patience and to look ahead to the task that awaits him.
There was no shortage of symbolism along the way, including the first stop in Philadelphia. At the place where America’s founding fathers gathered and where historic Independence Hall stands not far from the train station, Obama spoke before boarding the train.
“What’s required is a new declaration of independence,” he said. “Not just in our nation but in our own lives. Independence from ideology and small thinking. Independence from prejudice and bigotry. Independence from selfishness. An appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.”
Security was tight as the train rolled south. With the bright winter sun still low in the eastern sky, and temperatures outside just in the teens, people braved the cold as they gathered on bridges to watch the train pass beneath them. They’d stand behind yellow police tape stretched across intersections in groups of 5 or 20, or sometimes as many as 100 or more. The train rolled past back yards, where an occasional resident would stand on a back porch alone and wave as it went by.
The train’s first official stop was Wilmington, Del., where Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill joined up. All four headed off to rally just outside the station where a crowd of nearly 8,000 waited.
Biden, who represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, was the sentimental favorite.
Biden’s remarks were mostly personal, but he, too, talked of the challenges the new Obama administration will face.
“Our economy is struggling. We’re a nation at war. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we’ll see the spring again. But I tell you spring is on the way with this new administration.”
The day’s speeches all dealt with the serious problems to be confronted, but there was also festive atmosphere at all the events. The train’s manifest included a group of about 50 people whom Obama met over the course of the campaign. Many had overcome hardship; some were community leaders. At one point they serenaded Michelle Obama, who celebrated her 45th birthday Saturday.
That was just before the train made its final stop of the day: a big, campaign-style rally with 40,000 shivering people at the war memorial in downtown Baltimore. Here, the president-elect again asked people of all backgrounds and all beliefs to work together for a larger cause.
“No matter what we look like, no matter where we come from, no matter what faith we practice; we are a people of common hopes, a people of common dreams, who ask only what was promised us as Americans,” Obama called out. “That we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did. That that promise is fulfilled.”
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama is promising that he and Vice President-elect Joe Biden “will fight for you every single day we’re in Washington” as the pair visited Delaware en route by train to the capital.
President-elect Barack Obama during a stop at War Memorial Plaza on his inaugural train tour in Baltimore, Md., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Chang W. Lee, New York Times, Pool)
Obama paid tribute to Biden, who has commuted by Amtrak from Delaware to Congress for several years. He told a cheering crowd that getting things right for the country is the reason he asked Biden “to take one more ride to Washington.”
At his Wilmington stop, Obama plunged into the crowd and greeted the people. He used his talk to voice the same refrain of recent days: the country should not get discouraged because of its dire economic straits.
At midafternoon, Obama’s train did a second “slow roll” through Edgewood in the Maryland countryside north of Baltimore. He was greeted by a sizable crowd numbering around a thousand. The temperature dipped even further as the day wore on as the train chugged along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, and onlookers were bundled up to their ears and beyond. But the crowds were boisterous, nevertheless. Even as the front of the long train rolled by, with Obama’s distinctive car yet to pass by, the people started a hearty cheer of “O-bama, O-bama!”
A buoyant Obama earlier had waved to cheering throngs of people standing, leaning and jumping along railroad tracks as his whistle stop train slowed to a crawl in Claymont, Del.
Standing on the last car’s flag-draped platform in front of a presidential insignia, he waved enthusiastically as he rode by. He and his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha got an enthusiastic send-off a short time earlier when the train pulled out of Philadelphia’s 30th St. station.
As the train lumbered out of Philadelphia, a conductor bellowed: “Welcome aboard the 2009 inaugural train to DC.”
The route — the same that Abraham Lincoln took nearly a century and a half ago — was 137 miles long, and Obama’s arrival in the nation’s capital was scheduled after the fall of dark Saturday. A couple such “slow-moving” visits were scheduled along the way.
The last car of the 10-car train was built by Pullman Standard in 1939. The train, which otherwise was comprised of Amtrak cars, moved at a fairly fast clip for the 45-minute ride to Wilmington, Del., passing knots of crowds gathered in the bitter cold so as not to miss their piece of the historic events. Commuter train platforms were filled, and smaller groups stood along the train tracks in between as well.
WASHINGTON (NPR.org) — If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ve got a ticket to President-elect Obama’s inauguration, and you’re so excited you can hardly stand it. But your pleasure in watching America’s first African-American president take the oath of office is going to be seriously diminished if you’re freezing your tushie off. (If you plan to view from the comfort of your couch, our winter-weather tips might provide a moment of schadenfreude.)
Inauguration morning is predicted to be cold in Washington, with a small chance of light snow. And while you may be used to dressing for cold weather, this will be different. You’ll be out for hours. First, you’ll have to walk to The Mall or the parade route, go through several security checkpoints, wait around for everything to begin. Finally, the big moment, then the long slog home with 2 million other satisfied customers. Plenty of time to get chilled to the absolute bone.
NPR is here to help, and my co-pilot for this little bit of enlightenment will be Vermont snowboard instructor and outfitter Caitlin Kelly, who works at A J’s Ski and Sports in Stowe. We’ll start with the feet and move up, shall we?
Feet
Leave the dress shoes at home. You may have splurged on something fabulous, but save it for the inauguration party later. Fur boots are best. In lieu of that, lined hiking boots or sneakers will suffice. No open-toed Birkenstocks, and Kelly advises, “One pair of thick wool socks works best. And even though you think two pairs will keep your feet warmer, they won’t.”
Socks are porous, and all that trapped air eventually becomes ice cold. The heat from your feet can’t get through the first pair of socks to the second.
Wisconsin Democrats and Badger football fans are probably bringing battery-powered socks. For the rest of us, try to find some chemical toe warmers. They’re like the hand warmers you put in your pocket, only toe warmers have stickum on one side. Kelly says to stick them to the top of your socks near where your toes meet your feet. Ooh, that feels nice.
Legs
I know you’re thinking, “My legs will be fine; they don’t get cold.” But after an hour of sitting on those freezing metal bleachers, your bum is going to start communicating just what a mistake you made when you decided not to layer your bottom half. Not feeling like such a tough guy now, are we?
Kelly up in Vermont says start with thermal underwear. Polyester is better than cotton because it wicks away sweat more effectively. A pair of tights or close-fitting sweat pants works well as a second layer, and then top it off with lined windproof pants. Ski shops, sporting good stores, outdoor outfitters, even golf shops will have what you need. Wool pants or cotton jeans will suffice if you have nothing better, but try not to get them wet. And if there is a light snow shower (20 percent chance), a blanket will really help in the keeping dry department.
Finally, do you have something to put between the bleacher and your behind? If it’s light and easy to carry, bring it. Even newspaper is better than sitting on ice-cold aluminum.
Upper Torso
You probably don’t need much advice here. Begin with long-sleeve thermal underwear — again, high-tech polyester is best for the first layer, so wear it if you’ve got it. Then a nice, substantial, long-sleeve shirt. Want to put on another? Now that expensive new fleece you got as a present. Looking good, aren’t you? Finally, your thickest, warmest coat. Waterproof would be ideal, because then it would also be windproof. A big, puffy, down jacket is the No. 1 choice. Paradoxically, lots of trapped air is good in this layer (call Kelly, she’ll explain it). When it comes to coats, the general rule is that longer is better than shorter.
And our intrepid Vermont snowboarder says don’t forget what many people do forget: Bring a long wool scarf. Fully 113 percent of your body’s heat escapes from your neck and head (I made that up, but you know what I mean). Kelly says you do want to plug up that area around your neck. And if your face gets really cold, you’re going to want that scarf to be long enough to wrap around your poor, red, now-it’s-really-starting-to-hurt nose.
Hands
Mittens are best — then your fingers can keep each other warm. Gloves are a distant second: Sometimes they can make your fingers cold, because each finger is isolated. Be smart. Bring two pairs of those chemical hand warmers. They last about four hours each and you can find them at Target, Wal-Mart, drugstores and, of course, outfitters and sporting goods stores. You’ll be standing there with your hands in your pockets and a smile on your face as the president-elect glides by.
Head
Kelly (and your mom) know you’re not thinking about going out in this weather with no head covering at all. You’re not, are you? Even a baseball cap will go a long way. Best is a fur-lined cap with a bill and ear muffs. For some people, keeping their ears warm is a big part of the ballgame. Knit stocking caps are OK, but make sure they’re not the cheap, thin variety. Those are practically useless.
So with our warmest regards (sorry), that’s our contribution to your inauguration pleasure. Don’t forget your camera, and wave to the Obama family for us.
This week on The Bottom Line podcast: The tricky transition of financial power in Washington. We talk with Harvard economist Linda Bilmes about the kind of money crisis a President Obama will face.
And host Curt Nickisch looks at how Massachusetts is lining up the “shovel-ready” projects Obama’s calling for.
Plus, author Stephen Greenspan writes a book on gullibility — and then admits he got duped by Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
And WBUR’s David Boeri hooks up with newly laid off Bostonians trying to ease their worries with a “pink slip party,” which is apparently back in vogue these days.
In the eight years President George Bush has been in office, many scientists have lamented the way he and his administration have treated scientific research. Some of them say research was restricted for religious reasons, and at times study results were ignored or altered.
Now many local scientists say they’re optimistic that medical and scientific research will gain new respect under Barack Obama.
David Scadden, director of Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Regenerative Medicine, in front of identical DNA analysis machines at his lab. Under current federal restrictions, one can be used for government-funded work, and one can't. So the lab has had to purchase two machines.
At David Scadden’s laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, more than a hundred researchers are at work studying stem cells. They’re trying to use the regenerative powers of stem cells to find new ways to fight disease. As Scadden walks through his lab he points to a cluster of scientists.
SCADDEN: This is a group that works on zebrafish where the fish, if it has an injured heart, for example, can regrow that part of the heart that was injured.
The lab is longer than a football field and has lots of sun and lots of expensive equipment. It’s actually more equipment than Scadden wants. That’s because federal rules require him to buy more devices than the lab really needs. The reason? The Bush administration believes stem cell research is ethically wrong when it involves destroying human embryos. So the government won’t pay for research on certain stem cell lines.
SCADDEN: So we’ve had to duplicate equipment. We have a piece of equipment that’s somewhere around $700,000. We had to buy a second one because we need it. It’s an absolutely essential part of our analysis.
Scadden walks over to a pair of devices that look like oversized bread boxes and are used to analyze DNA. Identical pieces of equipment. Side by side. One has a green sticker. The other, a red one.
SCADDEN: These are about $45,000.
REPORTER: $45,000?
SCADDEN: Right.
REPORTER: You could have done everything on one if it weren’t for the restrictions?
SCADDEN: Correct. Right. But now we have to have that one, as well.
REPORTER: And it’s literally red for stop?
SCADDEN: Green for go.
Scientific research has encountered many red lights during the Bush years. That’s left some scientists frustrated and demoralized.
MARC KASTNER: There has just been a feeling that science has not been respected.
Marc Kastner is dean of science at MIT. He says the Bush administration’s lack of respect for science is well-documented. There are the NASA scientists who claim their research on global warming was suppressed. There was the controversy within the scientific community over a government report that found a link between abortion and breast cancer.
KASTNER: The administration didn’t listen to scientists when they didn’t say what they wanted to hear.
But Kastner says he’s encouraged that, even before officially taking office, Barack Obama has already chosen several high-profile scientists for government positions. A Nobel Laureate in physics is tapped to head the Department of Energy. A chemical engineer as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. A Harvard physicist who’s a leading authority on climate change as White House science advisor. Obama has also indicated he may lift the restrictions on stem cells. Again, Marc Kastner of MIT.
KASTNER: I am very hopeful. Very hopeful. We’ve never seen such a positive start to an administration.
KAREN ANTMAN: Hallelujah!
That’s Karen Antman, dean of the Boston University School of Medicine. She’s also optimistic that Obama will put science front and center — not only in the lab, but also in the federal budget.
ANTMAN: I see no indication that people will be messing with the science, and there’s a decent chance that at least modestly the funding will increase.
By “the funding,” she means the budget of the National Institutes of Health. The NIH budget has flatlined in recent years. That’s made it harder to get government funds for scientific research. But many science groups are recommending the NIH get more than a billion dollars in the new federal economic stimulus package. They’re also hoping it will get an increase in its overall budget. Still, Antman of the BU med school is keeping her expectations in check.
NANCY TARBELL: I worry because there is a sense of euphoria out there and I think that with the constraints on the economy and on the federal budget that it’s not going to change dramatically.
Nancy Tarbell is also cautiously optimistic. She’s dean of faculty at Harvard Medical School, and she worries that promising scientists have left the field in recent years — or never bothered to enter it — due to the cloud that’s been hanging over the scientific community.
TARBELL: The worry there is: Have we already had some loss of brilliant young people, the impact of which we couldn’t know for years?
Tarbell also wonders how the ones who’ve stuck it out will find jobs. Still, she says the scientific community’s sense of excitement about the new president is widespread.
TARBELL: The mood now, with Obama, is clearly one of high hopes.
And after eight rough years, scientists are clinging to those hopes despite the economic obstacles in their way.
Pepsi's new logo strongly resembles Obama's logo, but the soda company says the similarity was not deliberate. (Alyson Hurt/NPR)
WASHINGTON (NPR) — More than any other presidential candidate in recent memory, President-elect Barack Obama was a master of branding. And now some companies appear to be riding the Obama wave by selling their own brand of change.
Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s is known for its topical flavors, so perhaps it isn’t a surprise that the company’s latest treat is called Yes Pecan! — as in “Yes We Can,” an Obama campaign motto, except with nuts. Ben & Jerry’s describes the flavor as “roasted non-partisan pecans” surrounded by “amber waves of buttery ice cream.”
‘Change Starts At Home’
At Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, furniture store IKEA set up its own version of the Oval Office for a campaign it’s calling “Embrace Change ‘09.” There are even campaign buttons.
“We’ve created a replica of the Oval Office, using IKEA furnishings,” says Marty Marston, public relations manager for IKEA in the United States.
The Swedish company made its name with sleek designs and cheap bookcases, and there are quite a few of those in this Oval Office. Marston says IKEA advertisements around Washington include slogans like “It’s time for fiscal responsibility” and “Change begins at home.”
Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor "Yes Pecan!" was inspired by a blog comment on my.barackobama.com. (Courtesy of Ben & Jerry's)
“We really believe that change starts at home,” Marston says. “If we think about what’s going to happen in the White House — I mean that certainly is the most iconic home in the world, and change is about to occur there.”
Commuter Vanessa Porter grabs a catalog as she runs off to work. The not-so-subtle tie-in to the inauguration and President-elect Obama doesn’t bother her a bit.
“I think it’s a great idea … over a million people are going to be here this weekend,” says Porter. “Why not?”
Tapping Into Hope And Optimism
Porter says many other companies are adopting similar marketing campaigns.
Take the new Pepsi logo, for example.
“I think whether Pepsi meant it or not or whether they’d like it to or not, there is sort of a blatant visual symbolism there,” says Ken Wheaton, an editor at Advertising Age. “Their new logo looks quite similar to Obama’s logo.”
Pepsi officials deny the connection. But there’s no denying the bubbly drink maker has picked up on some of the themes of Obama’s campaign.
In a recent television ad, the Pepsi logo flashes on a brightly colored screen. It includes the phrase, “It’s time for optimism.” And there are outdoor signs, too, declaring “Yes You Can” and “All for One.” The O’s are replaced with Pepsi logos.
“There’s this hunger, this need for hope and optimism, and it aligns well with our brand,” says Frank Cooper, vice president of portfolio brands at Pepsi Cola.
An IKEA Oval Office replica sits in Union Station in Washington, D.C. The Swedish furniture company is now using slogans such as "Change begins at home." (Tamara Keith/NPR)
“We didn’t set out to kind of align ourselves and say let’s deconstruct Barack Obama’s campaign and see if we can understand how he developed that as a brand. It just so happens that as we looked at the underlying trends in culture today, we saw the same thing.”
Coincidence or not, Adonis Hoffman, senior vice president at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, isn’t surprised that this is happening. He says something similar happened with some of President Reagan’s campaign themes.
“We saw a little bit of that creep into some commercial marketing and commercial messaging,” says Hoffman, “but my recollection — and I was around during those days — not anything as widespread as what we’ve seen with President-elect Obama’s brand and messaging and the resonance that it has had … with commercial marketers.”
Using Obama’s themes in advertising does carry some risk: it could upset the millions of people who voted for other candidates.
If you could tell the president anything, and someone would deliver your message directly to him, what would you say?
You might want to get your thoughts together. For the last year, Cambridge, Mass., resident BJ Hill has been traversing the country collecting messages for the next president of the United States.
Reporter Sean Hurley gave Hill a handheld recorder at the outset of his trip and, asked him to document his experience.
BJ Hill in Connecticut at the end of December 2008. (Photo by Dave Makar)
I read about BJ Hill back in 2006. He’d walked across Massachusetts collecting handwritten messages for the governor in a notebook. And then he brought the notebook back to Boston.
HILL: And later on I did get to meet with the new governor, Gov. Deval Patrick, and got 10 to 15 minutes to hand the books over.
On March 1, BJ set out to do the same thing on a much larger scale. He flew to San Francisco and began to walk east. It’s kind of an old fashioned idea — even a little strange. Collecting messages for the president? Isn’t that what the Internet’s for? How would a book of scrawled notes help the President more than, say, the latest approval poll?
HILL: I think it would keep him grounded as to what the rest of us Americans really are thinking and doing and what we’re going through.
BJ has travelled the world teaching English in China, Japan and Afghanistan. He manned the phones for the Red Cross after 9/11. He likes to try new things. But he had a lot of trouble with the handheld recorder I sent him.
HILL: Alright, I’m BJ Hill, it’s May 16, 2008…
But it wasn’t long before he was sending back good recordings. As he traversed the country, he began to ask people to read their messages into his recorder.
KATE SHOCK: Number one priority in my opinion is stop the occupation in Iraq. And instead of killing people, talk to them and feed them. And talk peace instead of war. Love and hope to you, Kate Shock, Rock Springs, Wyoming.
RHONDA MORSON: We need better health care and I can’t say enough about the gas prices.
BILL KOBEL: They gotta do something about these oil prices, cause for some people it’s eat or you need heat.
HILL: Today is August 21, and I’m sitting in Ana, Ill., with Fran Jaffee. And Fran can you read your message to the president?
JAFFEE: Dear Mr. Obama. I am hopeful for the future, however this nation needs a representative who can put power and ego behind and truly try to do what is best for the people.
Did you notice that Fran addressed her message “Dear Mr. Obama” back in August?
HILL: Even when Hillary Clinton was still in the race, I found that a lot more messages were addressed to Barack Obama than anyone else. So it really wasn’t a surprise to me when Barack Obama actually won.
BJ’s been on the road now for 11 months. He’s walked more the 4,000 miles. He’s gone through eight pairs of shoes. He’s pitched his tent behind churches, in open fields. In the woods.
HILL: I’ve been to a rodeo in Nebraska. I’ve been to the library in Salt Lake City. I’ve been to Senior Citizen Centers in Nevada. Powwows, again in Nebraska. Anywhere where I was going to be, where there was going to be a group of people, I’d try to get in there and introduce myself.
This week, BJ finally comes home. But not for long. On January 20, he’ll enter the U.S. Capitol for the inauguration of President Obama. He’s got a ticket. And he’ll bring his three well-travelled leather-bound books with him to Washington.
HILL: You know, I started this project and it’s not gonna finish until I see it through, until they’re actually in his possession. Then I’ll know that my walk is done.
I’ve gotten to know BJ pretty well over the last year. I don’t think he’ll give up until the books are in the presidents’ hands. He’s nothing if not persistent.
And if I might just put down my own note here: Dear President Obama, please see BJ Hill about an important matter involving the people of the United States.
Lolita Walker shops for an inauguration party dress at Macy's. (Bianca Vasquez Toness/WBUR)
Every four years, Washington, D.C., turns into a party town, with countless balls and dinners to mark the presidential inauguration. There will be a lot of celebrations beyond the nation’s capital, as well.
Many Massachusetts residents — who overwhelmingly supported President-elect Barack Obama — are in the throes of party planning right now. WBUR’s Bianca Vazquez Toness caught up with a few.
In this Jan. 5, 2009 file photo, Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner looks on at left as President-elect Barack Obama meets with members of his economic team at his transition office in Washington. Geithner, President-elect Barack Obama's choice to run the Treasury Department and lead the economic rescue effort disclosed to senators Tuesday that he failed to pay $34,000 in taxes from 2001 to 2004, a last-minute complication in an otherwise smooth path to confirmation. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
First it was the banks and Wall Street in crisis. Then, the whole economy. Now it’s the bailout itself in the hot seat.
Never mind the nail-biter over TARP funds, and the billions that seemed to disappear into the gullet of the banking world. In the high-wire economic handoff from Bush to Obama, the near trillion-dollar stimulus package itself is being buffeted from all sides. It’s too big. It’s too small. Too fast. Too slow.
In this photograph released by the Department of Defense, U.S. service members prepare for the 56th Presidential inauguration rehearsal in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. More than 5,000 men and women in uniform are providing military ceremonial support to the presidential inauguration, a tradition dating back to George Washington's 1789 inauguration. (AP Photo, U.S. Air force Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo)
Up to two million people are expected to attend next week’s presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. That would make it the largest inaugural day crowd since Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president in 1965.
David Nakamura of the Washington Post tells Here & Now what the city is doing to prepare — and what you can expect if you’re attending. We also speak with Sgt. First Class Leroy Williams, who’s stationed in Fort Riley, Kan., and will be making the 19-hour drive to Washington, D.C. His wife will be meet him there after arriving from Baghdad, where she’s stationed as an Army medic.
She wanted to be on her way to the Oval Office as the next U.S. president. Fate and Barack Obama had it otherwise.
Hillary Clinton, today, is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in her confirmation hearing for Secretary of State. As a fellow senator, her reception is expected to be warm. But the issues she and the country are facing couldn’t be tougher.
Gaza. Iraq. Iran. Afghanistan. New powers. Old foes. And then there’s Bill Clinton and his web of ties.
This hour, On Point: We’re talking about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and listening in on her confirmation hearing.
You can join the conversation. What would your question be for Senator Hillary Clinton — soon to be, it appears, Madame Secretary? On Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Gaza, China, Pakistan?
Washington D.C. native Charlie Brotman is 81 years old, and next Tuesday he will stand high above Pennsylvania Avenue and announce his 14th consecutive inaugural parade.
In 1956, Charlie was the stadium announcer for the Washington Senators baseball team. Less than a year after President Eisenhower attended and threw out the first pitch of the ‘56 season, Charlie got a call from the White House asking if he’d announce the parade for Eisenhower’s second inauguration. He has never received a dime for what he calls “the honor” of calling the parade for the new president.
Here & Now’s Anthony Brooks talked with Brotman about the experience. Listen (Real Audio) »
The inaugural speech of President Kennedy in 1961. Click any image to enlarge it.
Almost half-a-century after President John F. Kennedy delivered his enduring inauguration speech, Americans are waiting for what could be the next great presidential oration, this time from Barack Obama.
Careful thought goes into every word of an inaugural address, as a new exhibit at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum makes evident. The display contains original documents, including a handwritten draft of the speech and notes from Kennedy’s confidant and speechwriter, Ted Sorensen.
We spoke with Ted Sorensen about the drafting of Kennedy’s 1961 speech.
President Kennedy and Special Counsel Theodore C. Sorensen on March 12, 1963. (Photo courtesy of Robert Knudsen, White House/John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library)
When Barack Obama assumes the presidency next week, his first task will be to usher in a massive spending plan to stimulate the economy.
