Obama inauguration

Obama Inauguration
By
Steven Rosenberg







Millions of people came out, yesterday, in order to to see Barack Obama inaugurated as President, and even the ones assigned to protect the public said the swearing in of the first African American president was an emotional experience.

“It’s exciting for me as anyone else,” Washington, D.C., police officer James Boteler said of Tuesday’s inauguration of Barack Obama.

Boteler, a veteran of four presidential inaugurations that include George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, worked during the day like every other officer in the city. Boteler, a narcotics agent, said that the inauguration will be the one time all year he will be in a police uniform on patrol. The large police presence during the inauguration was used in order to make sure the event would go on without a problem.

Along with Boteler, some 2 million people from all over the globe also showed up at the National Mall to witness the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. People were lining up in the streets at early hours in the morning in order to find a good viewing spot for the event, including Joanne Moore of Boyds, Md.

“This is a historic moment, and a time for Americans to come together and support our president,” Moore said.

Kate Hayes, an Orlando, Fla., resident who works in the educational system, said she wants the new administration to focus on education, which she said had been neglected under the Bush administration. She said that is why she says made the trip up to Washington, D.C. Hayes says that the swearing in to office of Obama makes the trip to Washington worth taking.

“This is the most significant inauguration of my lifetime,” she said.

The international community also came out to see history in the making. David Porteous, a Toronto, Canada native, wanted to see the inauguration of Barack Obama along with the rest of the millions that attended the event. From a global perspective, he states that Obama’s biggest challenge is to fix the perception of the United States around the world as according to him, the Bush Administration had caused some nations to lose respect for the United States. Even after giving this pessimistic notion, Porteous says that Obama has the credibility from the people in order to fulfill this endeavor.

“If anyone can do it, he has the confidence of the people,” he said.

The crowd during the inauguration was one of the largest crowds in inauguration history and even though there were people from all over the country and globe, the local D.C. community came out to see the event as well to watch President-elect Obama and the new administration.

Washington D.C., native Nancy Potischman, on the mall with her son, said she hopes Obama closes the Guantanamo holding facility.

“His most important issue is to get out of Guantanamo,” she said, referring to the Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp that holds alleged terrorism suspects. She said she attended the inauguration for the same reason many Americans did.

“…I wanted to see history in the making, and I wanted my son to see history.”
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Early in the morning in Chinatown on the day of the inauguration