Justin Cann's view of the swearing in ceremony.
The mall was filled to the maximum. I had such a good view and was able to experience history. It was so cold out and I was on my feet for so many hours. I really enjoyed this event, especially his speech. I took me three hours to walk back to my hotel because off street closures. I am still frozen solid, but am excited about the awsome historic event that i witnessed.
This just came in from Justin Cann who’s posting via his cell phone. He posted it eight hours ago, but due to the network overload it just came in now:
This is Justin Cann from the National mall. My friends an I have been standing here since 9pm last night. Yah over 12 hours. This is so fun. There are what looks like millions of people behin me in the rest of the Mall. Its har to type because its so col my fingers are numb and the fact that there are so many people. The fun is just starting.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Mark Brockmeier of Windham just sent this in to us from D.C. He wrote it this morning just before the inauguration:
The atmosphere on the train to DC is electric … lots of folks from all over the US here to witness history. People are using that word…’.witness.’…rather than ‘attend’. The implication is that somehow this event unites the hopes and dreams of humanity for living together in a more gentle manner, renewing the dream that it is our inter-connectedness with one another, without regard to economic status, skin color, religion, or sexual orientation that makes us American and a unique place to live in equality. The noise of the wealthy who complain of tax rates and those who still don’t see that there is enough for all, if we all give of ourselves to one another, does not resonate today. The dreams of MLK and the Great Society seem within reach with this president … the question is: Will we share the pie more equally or continue to argue for larger slices for ourselves and not consider our neighbors? Is selfishness the American virtue, or is it freedom from want thatmakes us great in being satisfied with what we have? It is the second of these maxims which Obama embodies and which shall see us through. Mr. Obama, our hopes ride large on your shoulders.
The number of people here is incredible. Wall to wall from the Capitol all the way down the mall to the WW2 memorial….and still 30 min til the oaths start! It is cold here but very energetic…everyone is smiling and high-fiving strangers. Very cool.
You gotta love Hulu. A few other notable inaugural addresses from history in addition to the Kennedy address posted earlier.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address:
John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address:
Ronald Regan’s first inaugural address:
Bill Clinton’s first inaugural address:
George W. Bush’s first inaugural address:
When Mark Brockmeier of Windham got in line for his grandstand seat to the inauguration at 9:30 this morning the line was already a mile long and moving slowly as each person was being checked by security.
Like all Obama events, this one was bigger than expected, the Windham School Board member said.
Rather than risk missing the ceremony while waiting in line, Brockmeier hiked to a jumbo-tron location by the Washington Monument.
He could see and hear well from this vantage point and was guaranteed not to miss the historical event.
The crowd was excited. They cheered. They high-fived each other.
Brockmeier, a computer software sales consultant, said the president’s message was serious and insipring.
“This was a somber message, but it was consistent with Obama, part hope and part sermon.”
Virginia may be for lovers, but it’s not for drivers.
At least not today.
Northern Virginia roads were ghostly quiet this morning, as school was out and major highways to Washington, D.C. were all closed. The George Washington Memorial Parkway, one of the key access roads into the city and which winds along the Potomac River, is shut down. Police cars and public works trucks are stationed at every entrance and exit of the road, prohibiting access for all but official vehicles.
The result is that all roads today lead to the Metro, Washington’s version of the subway. Early TV news reports showed huge crowds trying to get into some of the main stops. Word was that people were crowding into the trains at the start of each line, so that by the time they got to the first or second stop, there was no more room left for people at stations closer in.
At the Vienna, Virginia station, the parking lots were completely filled at mid-morning, but there were no lines.
This ramp to the George Washington Parkway was blocked with Jersey barriers, as were all of the other access ramps onto the major thoroughfare.
Our 44th president has been sworn in, but The Eagle-Tribune still has people in D.C. who will continue to post later today. Stay tuned for more. Justin Cann will be attending one of the inaugural balls this evening and will have photos and his observations from that, too.
Click on the Live Video tab above to watch the inauguration live through Hulu. Our AP feed has had some difficulties, but seems to be working for some.
We’re experiencing difficulties with the live AP video feed. We’re hoping to have it live shortly.
Sure enough, predictions of a crowd of up to two million people converging on the capitol is having an impact on wireless networks. Justin Cann, who’s blogging to us from D.C. was able to send the photo on the previous post through, but was having difficulty sending any more.
Cell carrier companies have rolled in mobile cell antennae to help boost capacity, but with nearly everyone with a cell phone and the ability to send photos and text these days, this is quite possibly the largest wireless network event in history.
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