The Athens News

The Mall Before the Storm

2009-01-21T22:33:00.008-05:00

Here's a few pictures I took on Sunday during the concert near the Washington Monument.

Ticket Fail

2009-01-21T20:15:00.005-05:00

So I guess we had it easy over at the Silver Gate - there were no problems getting in. But our photographer Johnny and his girlfriend Risa waited for hours at the Blue Gate (better tickets), only to be turned away. Because the generator to the walk-through metal detector broke down, police forces had no choice other than using wands to check people, and the space filled up before they could get through. Also, Johnny overheard an officer saying that part of the reason why the space filled up is because people were wearing big winter coats (duh) and the fact that more tickets were printed than were available.

Here's a video of Johnny's dad being interviewed on the local ABC station about the hassle of getting turned away. Apparently there were no police to be seen in the area.

Ticket Fail

From Tuesday

2009-01-21T18:45:00.004-05:00

The Moment

2009-01-21T18:04:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick video I captured right after Obama took the oath of office. Obviously, the crowds of people surrounding the Health and Human Services building, (which has a nice view of Capitol) were excited.

The Moment from Johnny Simon on Vimeo.

My View: Tuesday

2009-01-21T17:23:00.002-05:00

I echo everything Kristin said, for the most part. Yesterday was a beautiful day and across the city was a communal feeling of excitement and yes....hope. Washingtonians often see the President merely as the head honcho who happens to live within their borders. But just as Obama has embraced his new home, D.C. has embraced him back. It was memorable day, and I'm glad I was there.

But, all the hype for me was marred by what I can only call (without profanities) a complete breakdown of order. Security checkpoints broke down, people cut in line, thousands of people didn't even know where the line began, I was one of those thousands. Had the D.C. city government spent a little money on more signage, slightly better organziation this would not be an issue. What happened instead were thousands of people forming a slowly moving mass that simply had no where to go. Stuck in the blob of jacketed people with my brothers, dad and girlfriend and my brother's girlfriend, we were simply clueless about where line started, as were again, THOUSANDS of other people. Some people had been standing in their place since 7:30, we entered this line thinking it would be a place to start but there was no one to tell us other wise. No police officers, no volunteers no one. We all make mistakes in directions, but an event of this magnitude and importance to our nation's history shouldn't mess up this bad and literally leave thousands of people out in the cold. Not in America, and not in the District.

Inauguration Day: Democracy Hits the Streets

2009-01-21T12:30:00.005-05:00

Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. was like Christmas, only with thousands of people flying to the Washington Monument instead of a tree. Adults and children alike couldn’t contain their excitement for the word “elect” to be dropped from Barack Obama’s official title.

Getting There
We woke up at 5 a.m., after only about four hours of sleep. Everybody was out the door forty-five minutes later, and the city was already breathing and bustling with excited people. We started our journey up near the Columbia Heights neighborhood, and walked the 3.5 miles down Georgia Ave. to where the festivities were taking place at the Capitol building.
When we started walking, there were a few people also out and about, either walking to the celebration or selling newspapers. Despite how early it was, everyone we passed was smiling and laughing. The only people who weren’t sharing in our joy were those condemned to work, going north on the buses to Silver Spring with long faces. Stopping into a grocery store for breakfast, we noticed that the employees at the bakery had spent hours creating a selection of Inauguration Day cakes with “Obama: The 44th President” in blue and red icing.

Downtown, Everything's Waiting for You
As we got closer to the center of the city, we noticed more and more people joining us to go downtown. Our caravan full of strangers, bundled up wool coats and hats to brave the 20-degree temperatures, merged with all the others from different directions to turn the first few numbered streets into a sea of humanity. It was barely 7 in the morning, and it seemed like the whole country abolished any responsibilities they had to come out and party.
But despite the throng of people that had joined us, the sense of urgency for people to find places to watch the swearing-in did not overshadow the joy of the day’s events, and most people in the crowd were living in the moment instead of trying to push each other out of the way for prime seats. Most seemed excited just to be a part of the biggest party that most of us had ever seen, and even people like ourselves who weren’t sure of where to go didn’t seem to be too worried.
The expansive crowd seemed intimidating at first, but everybody knew that it was more important to be cordial and grateful for the chance to participate in the event than to start pushing and shoving. In fact, the most unpleasant people we came across in the crowd were the policeman and other various authority figures that thought they could execute the task of parting hundreds of thousands of people to squeeze a line of police cars and black SUVs through the crowd. We watched a police car almost hit a little kid after forcing everyone to squeeze together. And the police forces at work must have been out of state, because none of them knew where any of the streets in D.C. were, or wanted to help ticket holders find their appropriate entry gates. For any other event, the poor planning may have caused a disaster, but few let it discourage them. After all, most had been waiting for this day for a very long time.

Notes from the Underground
We figured out that we had to go under the 3rd Street tunnel to reach our gate for tickets, and crammed in with thousands of other people making the pilgrimage across The Mall underground. It sounds corny, but the sense of togetherness was unrivaled with anything I had ever felt before, with strangers joining in on their own renditions of “Let it Shine” and “This Land is Your Land”, along with chants of “Yes We Can!” at various intervals across the route. After the past few years, it was really strange to feel such a positive atmosphere, when people mostly got together to complain about politics rather than rejoice. You heard people saying things like “Look, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel! Where’s Obama?” as we got closer to the end, and we emerged to the exit ramp just as the sun was coming up. Watching so many people walking on the highway reminded me of the magnitude of this event, and was a reminder that we were all making this journey to witness history together.

The Pearly Gates
The ticket gates were supposed to open at 8 a.m., but they didn’t until almost 9. But again, the people waiting were too excited about being in D.C. and having tickets than to complain, so most just chatted and waited patiently for the floodgates to open. I heard strangers striking up conversation and things like “Where are you guys from?” and “Let me get your e-mail”, something that doesn’t usually seem to happen too much anymore.
When the gates opened, the police asked that everyone hold up their tickets, but didn’t check individually – there were simply too many people. And the security going inside was pretty sparse, with guards barely checking people. One lady in line said that the guard actually just patted her on the back in place of patting her down, and didn’t look into her purse at all. “What if I’m a terrorist?” she exclaimed, afraid that other people could have been up to no good. But in reality there was virtually no opposition to Obama in D.C. throughout the whole weekend, and most people were too excited to be afraid of something bad happening.

If You Build it, They Will Come (Tear it Down)
We got through the gate and realized that we were still pretty far away, and our tickets let us go across the 3rd Street. We finally and ran to the other side, noticing that some people had trampled some barriers to move up. We followed them like we were running a marathon to the Capitol Building, and as I was running I noticed a policeman who was eating a donut (no joke) look up, with sheer terror on his face. He knew that Obama mania was causing people to destroy any barriers between them and the Capitol building, and realized there was nothing he could do about it. We ended up finding a place in front of the reflecting pool (which was still too far away to see much) and waited for two more hours for the festivities to start.

Damn, It's Cold
We watched footage of who was coming into the building as it happened, and the crowd went wild when they saw stars like Oprah and Beyoncé joining all of us normal people watch the ceremony. Eventually the Clintons came out, receiving applause, and so did the Bushes, who were greeted with boos that echoed all over town. It wasn’t the first of them. Eventually the Obama family rolled up to the Capitol in one of many black cars in the motorcade that we could see speeding past the trees across the street, and, when the screen showed Michelle, Sasha and Malia, the crowd started going nuts. “Those are the flyest little girls in the country!” one person shouted. Ladies started talking about how much they loved Michelle’s sparkly, gold coat, and “Where’s Barack?” echoed until the screen showed him coming in a few minutes later. A few minutes later he came out of the second floor of the Capitol. The reaction was loud cheering and applause, and the crowd started cheering “Yes we can!” It was, for lack of a better term, pure insanity.

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For
The crowd calmed down to watch Biden’s swearing in, and then it was Obama’s turn. Of course the sound cut out at the exact moment that he was receiving his oath, but everyone’s gazes were still fixated on the screen. When it was understood that we had just witnessed the making of our new president, people started going absolutely nuts. American flags went up above the heads of screaming, jumping people, and for a moment, it seemed like nobody else in the world could possibly be having as much fun.
The crowd calmed down again to listen to Obama’s 18-minute speech, in which he made it perfectly clear that things were going to be different in America from now on. When he mentioned that we now find ourselves in a “new era of responsibility”, people shouted “yes!” in approval to his call for American citizens to change themselves and take responsibility for helping to get out of the “midst of crisis” that he referred to in the beginning of his speech. And if the hundreds of thousands of people crying, rejoicing and laughing were any indication of whether or not the public has accepted his challenge, then it is safe to say that most people are ready to do their part to make their country a better place.

A New Era of Responsibility: The First Few Hours
Most started leaving as his speech was done, completely elated. The throng dispersed to get out of the gates, and people tried their best to navigate the labyrinth of barriers surrounding the streets to find alternative routes. Union Station became a hub for venders of Obama merchandise who were selling every type of commodity available, including one guy standing on the corner with Obama Hot Sauce in one hand and Obama Water in the other. The subways were extremely crowded, but people patiently waited on the platform for their trains, even if they had to watch a few go by first. People shared their tables with strangers at restaurants and danced with each other throughout the tunnel on the way back home. It made me think that maybe Obama’s call for us to be better citizens was actually going to work.
Watching D.C. transform into a chaotic hub of activity over the weekend and watching the inauguration events made me more optimistic that maybe the ideas of “hope” and “change” are actually becoming real. People from all races and walks of life joined each other last weekend to watch the making of history, and peacefully invaded the streets of D.C. to party without causing any violence. This is proof that for many people, politics has gone beyond the realm of the closed off, high security buildings and into the streets. Many people said that they never had an interest in seeing the inauguration before this year, simply because they felt they weren’t being represented.
Whether or not Obama will follow through with his specific promises, most people say they believe he will, and have replaced negative views of politicians with the attitude that Obama is just a regular person with an agenda to help regular people. Walking down 2nd street, we met a man who was also coming back from the ceremonies, and pointed out to us the nation’s biggest homeless shelter right in the heart of the city. “You wouldn’t think it, but stuff like this is right next to the White House,” he said. People here have been looking for someone who will look past the grandeur of stone buildings to see things like that, and in the eyes of the millions who gathered to watch the Inauguration from around the world, Obama seems to be the one who can.

1/20/09: Crowds

2009-01-21T11:28:00.001-05:00

1/20/09: Metro

2009-01-21T11:15:00.003-05:00

Inauguration Day Brief

2009-01-20T16:33:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. So we have just returned from downtown, which is still teaming with crazed Obama fans. For the most part, everything went smoothly, and despite the millions of people out and about at the same time, the events were peaceful. The weather was really cold & almost everyone was stomping around by the time of Obama's speech to keep the blood flowing in their feet. We left from the north side around Columbia Heights sometime before 6 this morning, and walked about three miles to where all of the action was going on. There were people up at this time, scrambling to get newspapers and walking with friends to the event. More and more people joined us as we made our way, and by the time we arrived there was quite a crowd. Thousands of people walked through the 3rd Street tunnel get to The Mall early this morning, and we emerged on the other side of town as the sun was coming up with thousands of confused people looking for where to enter the Inauguration ceremony. The ticketed gates were pure chaos, and nobody seemed to know where to go to get in. But eventually we figured it out, and it was amazing. Although it was freezing and took hours to get through, the crowd fell silent for Obama's speech, hanging on every word. They also fell silent when Bush came out in the beginning, but it was quickly filled with boos and snide remarks. Some people thought it was poor etiquette, but a lot more found it appropriate.

Right now we're going to drive back to Ohio and update more pictures and accounts when we get back. Look for more stuff about the inauguration tonight, when we'll have some time to get our act together.

Bits from Monday

2009-01-19T23:33:00.006-05:00

I never quite made it downtown today. Spent my day exploring the zoo (lovely in the winter) and the Adams Morgan neighboorhood. Here are some odds and ends, and a bit of Obama ephemera.

Massive mural on a side of a restaurant in Adams Morgan.

People writing on and looking at a large bulletin board with messages for the next president. They ranged from "Stop War" to "Legalize Weed" to "Go Eagles!"

Seriously?

Metro train. In a few hours the distance that was between me and the camera should be jam packed with inauguration goers. I plan to be very uncomfortable for the entire ride.

I planned on going to the inauguration with no ticket to the event and just going with the flow. Though on Friday it just so happened that tickets for me (and today for my girlfriend) appeared. I'd go so far as to claim magic, but lets jut say it was very unexpected and I am extremely gracious. While a ticket is by no means a guarantee of a good picture (nor is the lack of one a sign of poor pictures, there's so much going her, pictures are everywhere) it will be nice to be a "guest" (one of hundreds of thousands of people with tickets) and say that on paper...I was there. Talk to you tomorrow.

Monday

2009-01-19T21:54:00.007-05:00

Today the preparations for tomorrow's swearing-in ceremony and parade were visible on every street. But while workers are putting up makeshift walls to close off the streets, ideological barriers are being torn down. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, which commemorates the March on Washington 46 years ago. People that we have talked to all seem to have the same opinion: equality is imminent, but there still is a lot of work to be done.

As predicted, the crowds keep growing, and we've met people from all over the place. The positive atmosphere seems to be attributed to two things: The first day of Obama's presidency, and George Bush getting out of town. The parting words of one man I talked to from Indiana were "Now I have to go move George out the White House." A woman from Dayton said that she met people on the Mall from as far away as Peru and we chatted with a woman who flew here all the way from France. The fact that people from faraway lands are showing up for this event proves that the scope of this event is not limited to the capitol, or even the country - it's something being celebrated by people all over the world. This kind of overwhelming support is kind of bizzaire when compared to the kind of reaction that so many other countries have had towards us in the past few years, but nobody in this city seems to notice. It seems like everyone just wants a fresh start, and the general consensus is that we'll be getting one tomorrow.

Today we picked up our tickets from Ohio Congressman Charlie Wilson's office in The Cannon Building. Basically, there are three congressional office buildings and three senate buildings in the center of town, and all sorts of people were flocking there to get their tickets. The lines were huge by noon, but we ended up finding a short line via the side door. But by the time we came out, 1st & C and the surrounding streets were completely swamped with eager people from all over the place who had managed to score the most sought-after tickets of the year. Call me optimistic, but watching ordinary citizens cramming into metal detectors to gain access into big, important government buildings seemed like democracy in action. Oh yeah, and for the record, California definitely had the best brunch in the building.

Apparently there are 240,000 swearing-in tickets, and 3,000 for the parade route. We weren't important enough to score seats, so that means we'll have to fight for room behind the reflecting pool. Yes, although congressmen were nice enough to give out tickets to their loyal constituents, there's not going to be enough room for all of us. This means leaving Noah's row house in Parkview around 5 a.m.. We've abolished plans to take the metro In fear of being packed like sardines in a crushed tin box, and the only alternative is an hour walk downtown in the frigid, dark morning before the sun even comes up. We're planning on leaving tomorrow night to go back to Ohio, as we all have to be ready for class on Wednesday. This is basically going to be the longest day any of us have had for a long, long time, but we all agree that it's totally worth it.

If you haven't noticed already, we've been doing portraits and Q&As with people we're meeting. Most of this is because no matter how much I can talk about what we're seeing, nothing seems to convey what an amazing experience this is like personal stories. So expect a full account of the inaugural events tomorrow, as well as more of these profiles.

Here you can watch the swearing-in ceremony online, which starts at noon. After that, the parade starts at noon. And this webpage has some historical information on inaugural events.

Jay and Jay, Atlanta

2009-01-19T21:31:00.010-05:00

We noticed some guys taking pictures at the World War II Memorial and decided to see what they were up to. We found out that they were friends from Atlanta, both named Jay. They made the 8-hour journey in the car on Saturday. Weirdly, that’s not that much longer than we spent in the car on our own trip from Athens.

_{Photo by Andrew Spear}

Jay, 26, Atlanta

How does it feel to be in D.C. during Obama’s inauguration?
This is amazing to me. I’ve never been here. I thought it would be colder, and I didn’t know about all of this stuff – big rock buildings. All of this stuff is stone! I haven’t been out of Atlanta since ‘95. I went to college in Florida at Full Sail, a music school, and came right back. This is crazy. You see it on TV all the time, but it’s just wild. I’ll tell you, I’m not disappointed.

What do you do for a living?
I work at Comcast and I have a magazine, Street Therapy. [We cover] educational stuff for younger kids, hip hop and what’s going on in our community. It’s a DVD and Internet magazine.

What do you think about Obama being president?
I wanna see it! That’s why I drove here. I think he’s cool. There’s a first time for everything.

What changes do you hope to see Obama make?
I just hope that everything is fair. I don’t know how fast he can do it, but I hope that pretty much the less fortunate can get a bigger piece of the pie, so to speak. There’s a lot of little things that I can’t explain how I want to, but if he can do what he says he can do, then it should be some change for the country. He hasn’t showed me nothin’ bad yet.

His friend, also named Jay, had a lot to say, too.

_{Photo by Andrew Spear}

Jay, 24, Atlanta

How does it feel to be here?
It feels great, actually. The way that everything is coming along and getting a hold of the history… [it's great] just to be here to experience it, you know?

What do you think about Obama’s first day in office being the day after Martin Luther King Day?
It’s pretty monumental. It’s definitely a big stride for African-Americans. We have a lot of things that we still need to work on though. It’s not over. It’s really just the beginning of the battle, so we’re kind of here in the forefront.

Is there any particular change you want Obama to make?
Community. Hopefully we can get a strong community and get us to all come together. We have minds; we just really have to utilize them. It’s the beginning of the battle though, and we have a lot of work to do.

What do you hope Obama does for the country?
We just need to get our foot back on the pedestal where America needs to be. We’ve lost a lot of respect over the war. I mean, look at our economy. We always used to be a superpower. Over the past 8 years, things have definitely decreased. We really just have to get our respect back over the world. That’s really what we have to do.

What are Obama’s best qualities?
Where I’m from we say Obama has “sway.” He has a mean sway. And I mean, just look at the way he carries himself. The way he talks, and the way he walks. He’s just smart. The thing that people forget too is that his wife is real mean. Michelle is just something else to be reckoned with. Between Barack and Michelle… well…(he laughs)

Why do you think Obama will make a good president?
I think the only man who can really get us out of the trouble that we’re in is Barack. You just have to see how everyone celebrated, not just within America. Even across the Middle East, even in Africa, even in Australia, even in South America. He’s really the only guy who can get us out of trouble.

Counting down

2009-01-19T20:51:00.003-05:00

Kristin and I managed to beat the line for our tickets this morning. Thousands of people waited outside of Cannon Hall and the other Congress buildings to get through security before meeting with their Congressperson.

The crews were still tying up loose ends this evening. I've overheard people saying they plan to be downtown at 4 o'clock in the morning.

This is the line to the metro last night just after the concert/Obama's speech.

Valerie Long, Newfoundland, Canada

2009-01-19T19:41:00.016-05:00

^{Photo by Andrew Spear}
This is the first in a series of personal accounts from people we've talked to in the capitol.

At Sunday’s concert, concert I noticed Valerie Long dancing around with a Canadian flag in tow. She seemed pretty interesting, so we chatted with her for a while about what someone north of the border would be doing at the Inauguration. Like Andy and I, it’s her first visit to D.C. ever.

Why did you decide to come down?
I had to. It’s history in the making. I’m all the way from Newfoundland, all the way on the East coast. Celebrating my 50th birthday here was a gift, and it’s an opportunity to be a part of the world changing.

When did you leave?
I left about 5 a.m. their time this morning, and flew, checked into the hotel, and just came here. When it’s 10 p.m. here, it’s 11:30 in Newfoundland. We have our own time zone – a half hour to ourselves.

Would you say that most Canadians are excited about Obama?
Canadians have been smiling, laughing, and crying tears. Watching [Obama’s speech] yesterday, I thought “I’ll have my own tears, here.” We’re with you. We all feel that this is the opportunity for the world to change.

What are so many Canadians supporting him?
We’re his first stop. His first official visit is going to be to Canada and he knows that he has the north with him. We will forge a good working relationship and friendship because he understands that we’re smart and intelligent like he and Michelle are.

What do you think about the atmosphere here?
We just checked into the hotel, and said" let’s get right over to the Mall." And we walked in, and Stevie Wonder welcomed us, and then Bono. Who could ask for a better welcome?

Security

2009-01-18T21:45:00.005-05:00

These guys were at the Washington Monument during the concert to keep everyone safe. One guy's eye was on the sniper scope the whole time.

Snipers on the roof just outside of the mall.

More Obamaphoria

2009-01-18T21:36:00.002-05:00

Sunday

2009-01-18T21:24:00.003-05:00

So today there were tons more people at the National Mall than yesterday, and I can only imagine what it's going to be like by Tuesday. Estimates say that over 300,000 people showed up, and this could mean that more than the projected 2 million will show up for the inauguration day itself. At this level there would be about 400 porta-potties per person. Let's just hope that's enough to keep everyone satisfied.

Yesterday the temperature didn't even get out of the teens, but today it was almost 40 degrees. People didn't seem to mind the cold, and if anything, used it as a way to show off their new Obama hats and scarves at the kick-off event for the Today was the big "We are One" concert outside of the Lincoln Memorial, with the likes of U2, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé singing songs inspired by our country. It was really cool to hear Springsteen joined the 89-year-old Pete Seeger in a rendition of "This Land is Your Land" with a gospel choir backing them. Obama addressed the crowd briefly, reassuring them that despite the economic turmoil the country is experiencing now will eventually be lifted, even if it does take a while.

Even on the other side of the Washington Monument where there was only a faint hint of sound from the concert, people were still crowded together, dancing and singing along. People watched Obama on Jumbo Trons out on the lawn, and even if they couldn't see the action up close (most couldn't) they were still rocking out. We've seen pick-up soccer games and runners going about their business as usual, mixed in with the news outlets setting up their makeshift studios and carving out their turf. Basically, this is a circus. But it's really kind of refreshing, to see the media interacting with REAL people in the same space. Maybe it could happen more often? At any rate, I got the chance to see women flinging themselves at Anderson Cooper next to a homeless man leaning on his shopping cart, which I'm sure never made it on CNN.

Although there are a lot of people who are unsure of whether or not Obama will bring about change, almost nobody that we've seen in the capitol has outwardly expressed opposition to the new administration. This is a stark contrast from the Counter Inauguration of 2005, when Bush was starting his second term. The only people that we have seen who were doing any sort of protest were some guys on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue somewhere, with big signs that said "Homo Love is Sin" and "Trust Jesus." But people seemed to be more drawn to the tent of Obama merchandise than trying to heckle the protesters, who really didn't have anything interesting to say anyway.

Although there are no big protests or anything going on (yet, anyway) there is still a pretty big police presence in general. But maybe that's just because we're in D.C., and there's kind of a lot of important things to protect here. Seeing snipers on the top of buildings is kind of surreal but for the people here, it's probably second-nature.
So what are people saying about Obama? I've overheard:

"He's the light at the end of the tunnel"
"To see this is such a privilege"
'He's MY president"
"I wouldn't be standing here out in the cold if it weren't for Barack Obama"
"If you can pay five dollars for a footlong, you can pay five dollars for an Obama pin"
"I love everything about him"

You get the picture.

After the festivities everyone scattered to go home, clogging up the subways. I'm sure the people trying to beat crowds by walking down the upwards escalators is only a hint of what's to come on the public transit system in the next few days, which up until now have been relatively quiet.

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we'll be out reporting even more. Hopefully then I'll be a bit less tired. More tomorrow.

--- Kristin

Saturday

2009-01-18T10:28:00.010-05:00

Hey guys! Andy & I got here on Friday night, and spent all of yesterday taking in the sights. For both of us, it's our first time in Washington, and it's kind of surreal to see the nation's capitol for the first time - during the busiest event of the year. Obama fever has invaded the city, and everyone is really excited about our new president.

One indicator of this is all of the Obama merchandise that vendors around the city are selling at their stands all around the city. Yesterday we went to the northeast quadrant to check out the Florida Ave. shops and the Funky Flea Market, a makeshift flea market set up in the Gallaudet University parking lot on weekends. Among all of the goods that people were selling, Obama merchandise was definitely the most prominent - Obama's face was on every type of commodity available. We saw the usual apparel, like fake rhinestone-encrusted shirts and baseball caps, and then a few weirder things, too - a perfume with Obama family packaging, Obama belts, Obama hats, Obama scarves and even Obama earrings.

The only other place that I have encountered this much stuff with someone's face on it was during a trip to Rome. Outside the Vatican, there was no shortage of collectibles with the Pope on them, and to be honest, it's a weirdly similar ordeal here. Now don't get me wrong - I voted for Obama and everything, but it's just kind of weird to see merchandise usually reserved for sporting events or concerts being swiped up by huge crowds at the National Mall. If anything, it's just really strange to see a country that has spent years loathing the past president moving toward a mentality of extreme acceptance of a new one. Or maybe it's not strange at all, and I should lighten up. But no matter how you slice it, people here in Washington are definitely excited for what's to come.

And something else that's sort of strange is how advertisers have been taking elements from Obama's campaign to better their own. For example, in the subway, there's tons of Pepsi ads that look like ads for Obama from far away - until you realize that the "O" in 'HOPE" is actually filled in with the soft drink company's logo. And Ikea has started telling people that 2009 really is a time for change - a time to change your home's interior decoration. Now, this is kind of weird to me, but nobody else seems to think so. It's just another symptom of Obama fever, I guess.

My first impression of Washington is that it does a good job of showing extremes - by day, I watched black limos with important people in them speeding downtown, and by night, off the beaten path a bit, I watched a guy on the street try to break into cars by throwing bricks at them. But overall, this is a really cool place.

More updates later.

^{Photo by Kristin Majcher}

^{Photo by Kristin Majcher}

Coming Home

2009-01-18T09:58:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm Johnny. One of two photographers heading down to D.C. for this melee of tradition. This is going to be an interesting trip for me, mainly because its also a trip home. I've lived (excluding college obviously) in the Washington D.C. area all my life, and I'd thought I'd share some facts about the city, and why this election means so much to the residents.

A quick primer:

Population: Roughly 591,000 residents. That's just a few thousand shy of Boston, but 150,000 less than Columbus. The metro area boasts more than 5 million. D.C. is one of the nation's leaders in traffic congestion as many people who work in the city commute from Maryland or Virginia.

Mayor: Adrian Fenty has been in office for two years, preceded Anthony Williams who in turn was preceded by notorious mayor Marion Barry. Fenty, once in office, hired Michael Rhee to the post of "School Chancellor" to take control of the district's troubled school system.

Demographics: 55.6% Black, 36.3% White. Obama won here with 90% of the vote. Kerry captured 85%. Either way, the end of the Bush Administration and the ushering in of the first black president holds a special place for Washingtonians. On an ethnic level, sure. But on ideology and politics, lets just say that Bush wasn't the most welcome here and it seems Obama has been greeted in open arms.

Representation: None! A common misconception about the district is that it has a voice in Congress. Thats a half truth. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district's only voice in Congress, is allowed to vote in commitees but is completely barred from vote on the floor of the House of Represenatives. Which means in turn Washington D.C., a city bigger in population than Wyoming, is put on equal ground legislativly with Puerto Rico, Samoa, and Guam. There have been debates going on for years bringing up the idea of D.C. voting rights or even statehood, but none of them have successfully passed through the legislative branch. It seems that Obama will be supportive of such a measure, but with all the problems on his plate, I doubt we will such much happening with this issue for awhile.

So there are some quick facts. I hope they help put this inauguration in context to what it means locally (they do foot the bill for the Inauguration by the way). I'm leaving town in a few hours, and I can't wait to start sending images from whatever's happening down here.

The build-up

2009-01-17T18:57:00.004-05:00

MSNBC was broadcasting from a mobile studio set up in the mall.

Hundreds of people got their pictures taken in front of the Capitol building. You can see the stage, huge flags, and 230,000 chairs in the background.

A flag hangs in a window in the northeast quadrant of D.C.

Here's hoping there are enough porta potties for the crowd.

Pete Souza: First Photographer

2009-01-15T17:20:00.009-05:00

A bunch of OU photojournalists are heading down this weekend to capture the action, but it's pretty safe to say that out of all of them, VisCom professor Pete Souza will have the best chance at making the best shot of the new president. That's because he's the new First Photographer. He's traded Appalachian hills with Capitol Hill, and now has the best access to all of the important stuff going on in the White House - because, well, he lives there.This clip of Souza talking to OU's favorite alum Matt Lauer on The Today Show accomplishes two important things. First of all, it offers the first glimpse at the new presidential portrait. Second, it proves to the world that OU is awesome.

Athens NEWS reporter Mike Barajas just wrote an article on the news about Souza, which you can read here. And here are some of the photos that Souza took of Obama way before the presidential race, back when he was just an Illinois governor trying to make his first foray into national politics.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Change is Gonna Come

2009-01-14T10:23:00.007-05:00

On Tuesday, millions of people will squeeze into a 3.5 square mile space in downtown Washington, D.C. to watch Barack Obama become the new president of the United States at the 56th Presidential Inauguration. Naturally, a group of Ohio University students will join the bunch, including three of us here at the Athens NEWS. We leave on Friday to begin the 355-mile road to the White House, and want our readers to join us.

To keep up with the events, we have created a blog at http://athensinauguration.blogspot.com , which will be updated regularly throughout the weekend. Here we’ll post words and pictures to show what we’re experiencing, so Athens can follow us on our adventures in the capitol.
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The theme of the ceremony this year is “A New Birth of Freedom,” commemorating the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth. In his famous Gettysburg Address, Lincoln used these words to show his hope that the sacrifices made by those who died for the United States would lead to a “new birth of freedom” for the country. And 46 years and one day after Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, our first African-American president will assume presidency in the same place. Some people have been waiting for this event forever, but for young people like us, this is just the beginning.

For most of us college students, this was the first time we had the chance to vote for a presidential candidate. This was the first time that serious issues such as the economy and healthcare became reality for us, as opposed to just topics that show up in the newspaper. This is the first time that politics really has a direct impact on our lives, and although we will go to the polls many more times, we will always remember 2008 as the first time our votes really counted.

And going to a presidential inauguration ceremony will be a first for me. I have never been to an event of this magnitude in my entire life, let alone Washington D.C. itself. This experience is going to be surreal, to say the least.

Besides being crammed into a space with tons of people, I don’t have any idea what to expect this weekend. But I do know that after all those nights of staying home to watch the debates on TV last quarter, being able to see the end of the campaign trail and the beginning of a new presidency in person will be an incredible experience. And by adding the blog to your RSS feed and checking it regularly, you’ll be able to watch the excitement unfold as we do.

--- Kristin Majcher