WASHINGTON: In a celebration that sent the words of presidents from Lincoln to Reagan echoing across the National Mall, President-elect Barack Obama assured an anxious nation on Sunday that “we will overcome what ails us now” with a faltering economy and two wars abroad.
He asked for patience for the tasks ahead. “There is no doubt that our road will be long, that our climb will be steep,” Obama told a crowd that stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument for a splashy pre-inaugural musical extravaganza. “But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard.”
Today will be the real test of words for Obama. For any incoming president, an inaugural address is a real challenge. But for Obama, it may be a stiffer challenge than for most of his predecessors.
Almost everyone on the planet knows that Obama is quite capable of giving a great speech. We learned that during his campaign. Now, because he has set the bar high, great expectations only add to his burden.
Anything less than an outstanding, inspiring speech today will be a disappointment. And — just to know to whom the credit goes — historians are hoping that Obama and his collaborators preserve their drafts, especially if it is a stunning speech.
Obama has also made a clear show of support to America’s Armed Forces. A day after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama began yesterday with an unscheduled stop at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, where he met with wounded soldiers and Marines.
And, as Monday was the federal holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Obama then spent a good chunk of the day volunteering at a community service center, where he asked the nation to honor King’s legacy by making a renewed commitment to service.
Behind the scenes, his aides were already preparing the nation for what to expect from the incoming Obama administration. Obama’s team intends to waste no time getting to work as soon as he is sworn in as president. About 20 senior officials already have had their paperwork cleared to enter the White House complex today, and they plan to get to work while the inaugural parade still is under way.
The quick start today was the result of months of planning that Obama’s transition team has put into preparing for his first days in office.
The incoming administration has also begun signaling what issues Obama will first tackle when the inaugural festivities are over. On his first full day in office, adviser David Axelrod said on ABC’s This week that he will order military leaders to begin planning the pullout of most combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, as promised during the campaign.
During Obama’s first full week as president, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Fox News Sunday that he also will issue executive orders to begin the process of closing the US prison at Guantanamo Bay and to tighten ethics rules for the new administration.
Obama has also sought the counsel of the Republican’s former presidential nominee Sen. John McCain about many of the new administration’s potential nominees to top national security jobs and about other issues.
McCain told colleagues “that many of these appointments he would have made himself,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a close McCain friend.
Fred I. Greenstein, emeritus professor of politics at Princeton, said: ‘I don’t think there is a precedent for this. Sometimes there is bad blood, sometimes there is so-so blood, but rarely is there good blood.’”
Finally, Washington residents are bracing for the estimated two million people flocking to the city to see Obama’s inauguration today.
Road closures, tourist-flooded streets and long lines for, well, everything, means everyone will have to be patient.
The crowd expected today would smash the current inaugural record, set in 1964 when 1.2 million people came to see Lyndon B. Johnson take the oath of office. About 300,000 showed up for George W. Bush’s first inauguration, and about 800,000 turned out to see Bill Clinton’s first swearing-in ceremony, according to various estimates.
Washington’s Metro rail is expanding its hours, starting service at 4 a.m. today. People will likely opt for the Metro, because two of the major routes coming into the city, I-395 and I-66, will be closed to inbound traffic for private vehicles.
And for those coming from Virginia, all of the bridges to Washington are going to be shut.
Amtrak, charter buses and taxis are other options for those planning to attend.
As stressful as the travel situation may be, people say they are enjoying the hustle while it lasts and taking solace in knowing that Wednesday may bring calm.
“It’s all worth it. It’s historic, it’s very busy and I’ll get to meet so many nice people,” one local resident told Arab News.
