Inauguration Blog

Washington – I realized today how much the election meant to people.

Not only because Barack Obama is black, not only because George W. Bush was an unpopular president, not only because Obama has promised to revive America’s downward spiraling economy.

For each person in the crowd today, Obama’s oath of office had a special meaning that transcended any one of those issues and brought together people who, ordinarily, would never cross paths.

I watched grandmothers slapping hands with young children, well-dressed individuals interacting with those clad in snow boots and sweats and people of all ethnicities coming together in one, shared celebration.

As Obama placed his hands on the Lincoln bible, my neighbor, a black man from Washington state, kissed two fingers and raised them to the sky.

“History is here,” he said, then repeated in a near-whisper. “History is here.”

It’s clear that Obama is popular — perhaps more popular than any newly elected president before him. The question is whether that popularity will hold now that Obama has to make the difficult decisions that come with the job he’s just taken.

But, for now, it’s time for celebration.

Washington – My prediction that the inauguration crowds were a little over-hyped was off — by a long shot.

As of 8:10 this morning, parking lots at most of the suburban Metro rail stations were full and the television news showed lines snaking around the subway station, just to get on the train.

Lines appear to be even longer to actually get on the National Mall.

Eric Morath is a 2004 graduate and a former State News editor and reporter. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Amy. Eric is a business reporter for Dow Jones Newswires.

Washington – Sunday morning, before heading out into the crazy crowds of Washington, D.C., we decided to head over to Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in northwestern D.C., to catch up with the Rev. Michael Murphy.

Murphy, the founding pastor of St. Stephen’s, in Lansing, will become the ninth pastor of the 118-year-old church in February.

One of his goals is to continue doing work in the community, he said, which is something he is known for at St. Stephen’s.

The church is also one of President-elect Barack Obama’s choices to worship at, according to the Nov. 14 issue of TIME magazine.

The Rev. Rubin Tendai, the interim minister at Peoples Church, said that the congregation is taking the announcement in stride, although there are a number of members who definitely hope that he will come.

Melanie Barnes, Obama’s domestic policy advisor, attends the church’s 8:30 a.m. service, Tendai said.

We watched Murphy socialize with the congregation, and with his easygoing demeanor and apparent passion for his work, it appears he will easily make the adjustment to the new church.

Visit statenews.com/multimedia for a video of Murphy.

Washington D.C. — Tomorrow’s the big day.

President-elect Barack Obama will assume the presidency in front of a crowd expected to be, by far, the largest gathering ever on the National Mall.

And while part of me is excited to hear what Obama will have to say (with all those people coming just to hear him speak, he better make it good), another part of me is just looking forward to watching the mayhem that will likely ensue when millions of people try to leave the mall after the ceremony.

We got a taste of it after Sunday’s opening celebration, when thousands of people were crowded outside a metro station waiting for trains. After waiting with them for a few minutes, we gave up and called a friend for a car ride back to our home base. But I’d be willing to bet people were waiting there for hours.

And the numbers on Sunday were fewer than half of what is expected for Tuesday.
Anticipating the likelihood of problems arising from the large crowds, the Obama team today issued an advisory for families to develop a planned meeting place in case they become separated.

The Red Cross is planning to have community outreach teams on hand to help reconnect lost children and others with their families. Law enforcement officers and volunteers will also be instructed to be ready to assist with lost individuals.

Hopefully, I won’t be one of them. This city’s confusing, and I don’t know if I could swallow my pride enough to ask for help.

Washington, D.C. – Sunday officially kicked off inauguration week. And although the crowds only accounted for a fraction of the numbers that are expected to pour into D.C. by Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony, the scene in downtown D.C. was something like an MSU tailgate, times 100.

The interesting thing about the crowd, which usually isn’t the case at Spartan tailgates, was the solidarity and peacefulness.

Typically, from my experience, crowds at positive events tend to be good-natured until the event is over. At that point, it’s every man for himself. Tempers flare and pushing, shoving and cursing ensue as people struggle to get the hell out of there.

Not today.

Following the Opening Ceremony, the massive swarm of people (which, by the way, must be a record for the largest number of people in the National Mall, and it’s not even the real Inauguration Day) were high-fiving, chanting, fist-pumping, elbow-bumping, hooting and hollering. There wasn’t a sad face in sight that didn’t belong to a two-year-old who was overdue for a nap.

Unlike the national conventions, election night, and every other important night prior to the election – there was no suspense. During the conventions, there was the uncertainty of nominating a candidate. On election night, America was holding its breath anticipating which candidate would win the election. But today, there is nothing but celebration, and it showed in the smiles on peoples’ faces.

On a side note, while waiting to meet up with a contact who I was supposed to accompany to the celebration, I met a friendly National Guard member who not only granted me access to the restricted bathroom of the Department of Interior building, but also allowed me to warm up in her military Jeep and munch on Sugar Babies while I waited for my contact to arrive.

I never envisioned myself sitting in the back of a military vehicle of my own free will. Not only did it happen, but I met some pretty interesting individuals in the process.

It turned out that the soldier who came to my rescue while I was shivering and “holding it” also was a full-time pharmacy student. She balanced her 12-hour work day directing traffic with a full college course-load. Because of her job with the National Guard, she had missed the final exam for some of her classes last semester. Now, she was working the inauguration, trying to catch up on the classes she would miss because of the inauguration, and studying for missed exams from last semester. All-the-while, she made time to stop a passing street vendor and buy a Barack Obama poster to commemorate the day.

“It’s the one thing I’m going to want to remember about today,” she told me with an exhausted look on her face, before digging out a textbook and proceeded to study during a moment of downtime.

Washington, D.C. – Is it just me, or is Pepsi’s new logo oddly similar to Barack Obama’s campaign logo of a blue “O” with red and white stripes through the middle, reminiscent of the American heartland?

I don’t think it’s just me.

Ever since I saw the new Pepsi logo while my aunt was sipping from a can at a summer family function, I suspected that Pepsi was riding the presidential election wave. But upon arriving in D.C., my suspicions have been confirmed.

Check out one of the many Pepsi signs we’ve seen in the D.C. subways and see for yourself.

And Pepsi’s not alone. It’s amazing how quickly marketers have jumped onto the presidential election bandwagon.

IKEA also is pretty blatantly riding the Obama wave with their recent advertising campaign, “Embrace Change ’09,” which uses parodies of Obama’s campaign slogans to sell home furnishings.

The campaign is centered around a mock-oval office in Union Station in Washington, D.C., which is furnished with IKEA components. Fans of the brand can also visit www.embracechange09.com to design their own Oval Office.

To top things off, Ben & Jerry’s has created a new addition to its ice cream repertoire: “Yes, Pecan!” The newest flavor, celebrates the defining slogan of Obama’s campaign (“Yes, We Can”). Call me crazy, but the mixture of buttery ice cream with pecan bits sounds oddly similar to the traditional pecan praline flavor. What’s up with that?

Another common slogan of Obama’s was “Change has come.” Couldn’t Ben & Jerry’s even think of an original flavor to bandwagon off Obama’s campaign success?

Washington, D.C. – There’s definitely something to be said for the term “safety in numbers.”

We arrived in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, and by Sunday at noon, I was crossing the street, looking at the first Metro station that I would ever enter.

It really doesn’t sound that hard, does it?

But the mobs of people, seemingly walking purposefully and confidently toward the station, made me feel just a little out of place.

That is, until I actually got in the station.

My feeling of ease almost entirely returned once I reached the ticket station, where there were at least 20 people either just staring at the machines, looking around in the hopes someone would save them, or laughing awkwardly as they fumbled with their bills.

It only got better after we all jammed ourselves into the train with less personal space than anyone should ever have to experience, and I saw about seven cameras shoot into the air as people laughed with their friends about this just being part of the “historic experience.”

The feeling continued throughout the day as I’d stop and ask people for directions and they’d respond with a laugh and something along the lines of “No clue!” or “You’re guess is as good as mine!”

It’s kind of fun to be part of a huge group of people – none of whom are that familiar with the place, experiencing it all the same way.

Washington, D.C. — Considering hotels for the inauguration are booked as far away as Philadelphia, I thought it would be impossible at this late date to find a ticket to an inaugural ball – but then I turned on the TV.

Advertisements are airing on local television pushing tickets for Virginia’s Inaugural Black Tie & Blue Dominion Ball.

For just $250, you could attend the party on Monday night at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Annex in the Virginia suburbs.

Here’s the catch: It’s not a “real” inaugural ball.

Official inaugural balls are held by state societies, and typically feature the governor, senators, and members of congress from that state. But the Virginia State Society is not holding a ball.

For the Black Tie & Blue Dominion event, Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine is only an “invited guest,” which most likely means the close confidant of President-elect Barack Obama isn’t coming.

But some decent celebrities are on the list as hosts, including former Spartan hoops star Steve Smith, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and TV actress Jenna Elfman.

Eric Morath is a 2004 graduate and a former State News editor and reporter. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Amy. Eric is a business reporter for Dow Jones Newswires.

Washington, D.C. — I walked over to the White House on my lunch break to see how parade preparations were coming along. Before the familiar landmark came into view I was met with barriers, gates and police tape.

Bulldozers and construction crews were busy Thursday setting up a security perimeter on the north side of Lafayette Square, about two blocks from the White House.

Around the corner, pedestrians could peer down the now-closed Pennsylvania Avenue to see the beginning of the parade route. Bleaches rise up on either side of the street. Above the stands directly in front of the White House is a giant luxury box emblazoned with the presidential seal.

Apparently among President Bush’s last acts in office, he made sure he’d get good seats for this sold-out parade.

Eric Morath is a 2004 graduate and a former State News editor and reporter. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Amy. Eric is a business reporter for Dow Jones Newswires.

The Presidential Inauguration Committee may have cut back on expenditures for this inauguration to avoid the risk of seeming overindulgent in a tight economy — but that’s not changing the tone of what is expected to be the most widely attended and televised inaugural ceremony in history.

And rightly so.

Barack Obama’s team has promised to open the inauguration to all Americans, and has come through on that promise by opening up the National Mall for millions to attend the event and encouraging supporters to host their own inaugural balls and volunteer in their communities.

And today, the campaign announced the names of 10 Americans who received a “ticket to history” and will receive special seats at the inauguration.

On one side, it seems that Obama’s team is going a little too far with all the hype — Obama hasn’t even taken office yet, and he’s already drawing comparisons to former presidential greats Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. But on the other hand, the high anticipation fits the occasion.

All economic crises, international distress and partisan politics aside — this is an historic event.

For the first time, an African-American will hold the nation’s highest office. For many Americans, it’s a moment they’ve been waiting their entire lives to witness. It’s only fitting that special attention is paid to commemorate the event and make it accessible to all.

Moves to expand the scope of this inauguration and symbolic gestures like Obama’s oath using the historic Lincoln Bible are more than just publicity stunts.

They’re justified moves to commemorate America’s public shift to a more equal, color–blind society.