Being There: The Presidential Inauguration of 2013

I got back home late Wednesday night from my trip back East for the Inauguration.  I am indebted to my friends Greg and Lorene Guernsey for hosting me at their home and providing helpful driving directions and a friendly welcome.  I also want to thank Rep. Devin Nunes and his D.C. office staff.  He graciously provided a viewing ticket to the event.  His legislative aides, Caitlin Shannon and Rocci DiCicco, kept me up to date on the deadlines and procedures and rendered most cordial and accommodating service the day before the Inauguration when I went to his office to pick up my ticket and materials.

I spent the rest of Sunday walking DC.  I reconnoitered the route from the Metro station I would need to use to follow to the viewing area so I wouldn't get lost.  The Washington Metro subway system is excellent and easy to negotiate, by the way.  I  particularly wanted to see the new monuments that had gone up since my last visit to the nation's capital.  That was back in 1996 when Joan and I took our  daughters Jeanette and Marie before Jeanette's eighth grade year.  The three new ones for me were World War II, Martin Luther King and Franklin D. Roosevelt.  I also spent some time at the Lincoln Memorial.  All were well worth seeing, tastefully and impressively done.  At the Martin Luther King Memorial I got to see Jesse Jackson, who was there for the King Holiday.  The FDR Memorial was expansive and evocative of the many challenges he faced during his presidency.

I came away with a number of impressions of the Inauguration itself.  First among these are the numbers.  There were an estimated 900,000 to 1,000,000 in attendance, the biggest second inauguration crowd ever, though about half the number who came to President Obama's First in 2009.  Despite the enormity of the crowd, the mood was cooperative and  patient.  The military and police presence was large and many streets were blocked off.  It took a long time to get through the lines and security searches, yet the folks took it with a positive attitude.  Everyone was bundled up; the temperature was in the twenties when we arrived, going up to a high of about 40.  As might be expected, the African-American proportion of the crowd was large, probably about one-third in my section.  Most everyone there was happy about the President's re-election, but there was a special pride among African-Americans.  Many came with their whole families to be part of the historic moment.

I wound up north of center about 200 yards out at the top of a set of steps at roughly two o'clock from the President's view from the lectern.  There were leafless trees partially obscuring a clear view, not to mention tall people.  But I could get a more direct view by shifting my feet and craning my neck.  Once at the viewing section people were crammed together very tightly.    That was helpful in resisting the cold and potentially could have led to frayed tempers, but did not from what I saw.  The prevailing spirit made for everyone to show consideration.  It was a celebration, after all.  For someone in attendance, much more than watching on television, the entertainment was important.  The Brooklyn choir, James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, and poet Richard Blanco were all sensationally good, as of course was the U.S. Marine Band.  When you are standing there for so long it's most helpful to break up the speeches and dead time with art that accentuates the theme.  They all came across as representative of the incredible talent of a great and vibrant nation.  See a collage of the day's activities here.

The crowd enjoyed greeting the various dignitaries as they filed in.  There were jumbo trons set up to get better views and even previews as they approached from within the Capitol Building's corridors.  Senator and Mrs. Kerry, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Joe and Jill Biden and Bill and Hillary Clinton evoked the greatest cheers from the crowd.  The reception for Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama was greater yet, and that for the President himself, accompanied by "Hail to the Chief," was loudest of all.  After the benediction things proceeded rapidly to the swearings in.  We heard the familiar voice of Vice President Biden repeating the oath administered by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.  The devout Catholic Veep especially emphasized the last four words, "so help me God!" I turned on my phone's video recorder as Chief Justice John Roberts stepped forward.  He then swore in President Obama, and as he finished the crowd roared.  The army punctuated the moment with a thunderous 21-gun salute from a battery of cannon set up just to our left on the northwest lawn of the Capitol. 

The Inaugural Address itself is harder to follow live than on television.  Caught up with the crowd in the excitement of the moment, I more got impressions of the speech than a lot of hard content.  It struck me as a rather forthright presentation of the President'' progressive values, centered on the pragmatic pursuit of justice and human service.  By mentioning topics like climate change and gay rights within the larger contexts of community, freedom and justice the President came across as someone who will be unafraid in his second term to pursue what he believes.  He called for action and stressed our mutual obligations to each other through programs such as Medicare and public education.  He used the word "together" several times.  He called for action, saying though there will always be disagreements about how best to meet our challenges, we must act now on them and make adjustments as required by developments.  I felt he showed he will be vigorous and less likely to vainly wait for his political opponents to voluntarily accept reasonable compromises.  I got the sense there will be more hardball with Congress in the second term.  The crowd heartily approved.  See President Obama's Inaugural Address as recorded by ABC News here.

Following the fine humanity and evocative imagery of Richrd Blanco's poem and Beyonce's tremendous rendition of the National Anthem the dignitaries recessed out and the throng slowly broke up and moved toward the transportation nubs.  Like many, I meandered about, eating some trail mix and soaking in the festivities.  I took some people's pictures in front of the Capitol and a nice young man took mine.  The sense of community remained strong.  Later on I was able to attend a reception put on by the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association, my alma mater.  There I enjoyed some stimulating conversation with alums working in Washington, such as Steve Dagadakis, a staffer with the House Democratic Caucus.  It was the cap of a magnificent day.

The next day I took a two-hour drive into central Virginia and visited Monticello, home of our third president, Thomas Jefferson, and Ash Lawn-Highland, home of his neighbor our fifth president, James Monroe.  It was a most fitting and satisfying end to my trip to see the way of life of two of our most important founders.  Enjoying our capital city, being present for a memorable Inauguration and getting in touch with some meaningful history was a wonderful experience.  I felt proud to be a citizen.