useful

Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday and promised to “begin again the work of remaking America” on a day of celebration that climaxed a once-inconceivable journey for the man and his country. Mr. Obama, the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, inherited a White House built partly by slaves and a nation in crisis at home and abroad. The moment captured the imagination of much of the world as more than a million flag-waving people bore witness while Mr. Obama recited the oath with his hand on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration 148 years ago.5:23 PM 1/21/2009
Beyond the politics of the occasion, the sight of a black man climbing the highest peak electrified people across racial, generational and partisan lines. Mr. Obama largely left it to others to mark the history explicitly, making only passing reference to his own barrier-breaking role in his 18-minute Inaugural Address, noting how improbable it might seem that “a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” (more…)

Leaving the White House for the last time on Tuesday, President George W. Bush blew a kiss out the window of his presidential limousine, a gesture that capped an eight-year administration marked by two wars, recession and the biggest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Bush’s exit was bittersweet. He left office with low approval ratings, but he remained upbeat, smiling and joining in the celebration of President Barack Obama’s ascent to rock-star status, even as he faces daunting challenges, especially a depressed economy.
This Inauguration Day was about more than the traditional transfer of presidential power. When Bush clasped Obama’s hand before beginning his journey home to Texas, their handshake marked the first time that the executive branch of government has been handed off to a black president. (more…)

President Barack Obama will begin to put his imprint on the nation’s war strategy in his first full day in office, gathering his top military and national security advisers at the White House for what is expected to be the start of the new commander in chief’s shift in emphasis from Iraq to Afghanistan.
According to officials, Obama will conduct a videoteleconference late Wednesday afternoon with members of the National Security Council as well as the U.S. military commanders in the two war zones. Obama has said he wants combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months and a greater effort made in Afghanistan. In his inauguration speech Tuesday he offered a glimpse of what was to come. “We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan,” he said.
At the same time, he added a warning to America’s enemies: “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.” (more…)

President Barack Obama is turning from the star-studded, crowd-pleasing pomp of his inauguration to the workaday task of governing a hurting nation of 304 million and meeting the soaring expectations that he and others have put on his shoulders. Twin crises of the economy and Iraq figured to take center stage Wednesday, Day One for the new administration.
“Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, the work begins,” Obama declared Tuesday night at the Commander in Chief Ball, one of 10 official black-tie celebrations that kept him up late into the night. The first full day of the Obama presidency promised to be packed, at the White House and on Capitol Hill. It also promised to reveal much about how Obama intends to govern for the next four years, in style and substance.
Both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue now are controlled by Democrats, providing a chance for the Obama administration to succeed if he and fellow lawmakers of the same party can work in concert effectively and if divergent Democratic interest groups don’t pull the new president in too many directions.
The capstone to four days of inaugural festivities takes place at the Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday morning, with a national prayer service that is a tradition dating to George Washington’s time. (more…)

First lady Michelle Obama celebrated her husband’s inauguration Tuesday night wearing a white chiffon, one-shoulder gown covered in fluffy appliques and beading that will now become part of fashion history. Designed by 26-year-old Jason Wu, much loved in the fashion world but otherwise not well known, the gathered-skirt gown was surprising for its reserve given Michelle Obama’s love of jewel tones and sleek silhouettes. Yet it was unconventional, too, exposing her much-remarked-upon, well-toned arms.
The gown’s slight train swirled pleasingly and her shoulder-sweeping earrings picked up the gown’s sparkle as she and President Barack Obama danced the evening’s first dance at the Neighborhood Ball at Washington’s Convention Center.
“First of all, how good-looking is my wife?” the president asked a cheering crowd. The gown will be donated to the Smithsonian, according to tradition, the first lady’s spokeswoman said. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, wore a red strapless gown. Obama wore a white bow tie with a single-vent, notch-collar tuxedo and an American flag pinned to its lapel.
The fashion industry has anxiously looked to the election of Obama for months, embracing his wife as an emblem and ambassador of modern style, who wears clothes from young designers as well as mainstream American retailers. (more…)

We’ve all talked about now-President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration for months. From momentous moments to little flubs, there was a lot to see on Inauguration Day. Here’s our list of hits and misses from today:
Hit: The Speech
The jury (aka, pundit spin) is still out, but the initial reaction is that Obama’s speech was both pragmatic and hopeful. He acknowledged the nation’s grim economic problems, but assured the crowd he would quickly get to work. As the New York Times reports:
Mr. Obama promised to take “bold and swift” action to restore the economy by creating jobs through public works projects, improving education, promoting alternative energy and relying on new technology…. “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
Miss: First-timers
As first-timers on the inaugural stage, no one can blame President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts for being nervous. Debate initially swirled around who actually messed up the oath, but MSNBC’s play-by-play clears it up. (more…)

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. (more…)

More than 1 million people crammed onto the National Mall and along the inauguration parade route Tuesday to celebrate the swearing-in of the nation’s first black president in what was one of the largest-ever gatherings in the nation’s capital.
The Associated Press estimate is based on crowd photographs and comparisons with past events. On the National Mall, the crowd stretched nearly two miles — from the Capitol to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Most of the crowd was jammed into the area between the west front of the Capitol and the Washington Monument, where people stood shoulder-to-shoulder as Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s 44th president. Some people complained they felt claustrophobic.
Farther away at the Lincoln Memorial, people surrounded the Reflecting Pool, and like many on the Mall they watched the inauguration on large TV screens. Meanwhile, spectators were lined 10 deep in some places along the 1.5-mile inaugural parade route, which began on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Capitol and ended in front of the White House. Most were dressed in heavy parkas and mittens. Hundreds also gathered on rooftops and balconies. Garth Baylor, 54, a carpenter from Washington, D.C., said no inaugural celebration could compare to this one.
Crowds were so thick that medical personnel had trouble getting to people quickly around the Mall, District of Columbia fire and EMS department spokesman Alan Etter said. Still, he said everyone who has needed help eventually received treatment. “Obviously the crush of people downtown is making it very challenging,” Etter said. “We’re doing the best we can.” (more…)

Before a jubilant crowd of more than a million, Barack Hussein Obama claimed his place in history as America’s first black president, summoning a dispirited nation to unite in hope against the “gathering clouds and raging storms” of war and economic woe. On an extraordinary day in the life of America, people of all colors and ages waited for hours Tuesday in frigid temperatures to witness a young black man with a foreign-sounding name take command of a nation founded by slaveholders. It was a scene watched in fascination by many millions — perhaps billions — around the world.
“We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord,” the nation’s 44th president said. The presidency passed to Democrat Obama from Republican George W. Bush at the stroke of noon, marking one of democracy’s greatest gifts: the peaceful transfer of power.
But a stark transfer all the same. In one of the new administration’s first acts, Obama ordered federal agencies to halt all pending regulations until further review — this after Bush’s final weeks raised heated debate over rushing new rules into effect on the way out the door. (more…)