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Campaign TalesA British view of the US Election Blogs and sites about the presidential election
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February 05 So it's goodbye from meWhat a rollercoaster ride it's been. We watched Hillary Clinton lose her grip on the Democratic nomination. We watched John McCain pick an unknown Alaskan governor named Sarah Palin as a running mate. We saw Barack Obama emerge as the Democratic candidate. And we saw the election of the first black president, despite the best efforts of some who tried to suggest he wasn't born in the United States, that he was a terrorist-loving Muslim or that he was somewhere left of Lenin. Now Obama is up to his neck in the real, grubby world of the White House, watching his nominees flee over tax problems and struggling to hold the economy back from the brink. So in an attempt to remind us all how much fun it was getting here, I thought I'd post a few oldies but goodies as I pack up this blog. This has to be my favourite photo, of the Obamas doing a smoochy dance at the last inaugural ball of the night, courtesy of a huge screen at the back of Union Station. It's followed by the view I had without the benefit of the screen.
I met a lot of really cool people along the way - the Vietnam war vets, the crew of the water taxi that ferried visitors across the Potomac to the inauguration, the Ethiopian taxi driver on inauguration day who was celebrating because, in his words, the world would finally be able to see America practice what it preaches. The best moment has to be the train ride into DC on inauguration morning, which you can read about in my last post: Inauguration songs. First prize for persistence probably goes to Madison and her Mom, pictured here:
who had come all the way from Texas to experience the day, only to find themselves fleeing terrified from one huge crush of people - only to find themselves in another, next to me, for about an hour, waiting to get into the now infamous purple ticket zone, where many less fortunate ticket holders never made it in at all. (A Congressional committee is conducting an investigation now.)
This is the closest I got to the Obamas, as they walked past jubilant crowds outside the White House gates. And just so you know, dear readers, the depths to which I am prepared to sink in the name of bringing you a front-row view of this amazing campaign tale, here's one of me trying to avoid hypothermia in a truly ridiculous hat.
Thank you for reading. Also on MSN: President Barack Obama: inauguration day special
January 21 Lean on me...Many thanks to Shir for sharing this video of passengers singing "Lean On Me" and then falling about laughing after the train lurches to a stop and offers everyone a chance to demonstrate the literal meaning of the song...
Inauguration songsJust wanted to share this snippet of video of metro riders squeezed onto an orange line train and entertaining themselves on a very slow ride to the inauguration with some rather impressive singing.
Also on MSN: President Barack Obama: inauguration day special The Talking Point live blog: the global view
Obama goes walkaboutShortly before 5, Obama finally arrives, with Michelle Obama, resplendent in gold. It was worth the wait. By 5 p.m. we've all had our slice of history, our wave at Obama. The first family turns left along the west side of the White House and disappears from view. With an economic recession, two wars and millions of jobs to invent, it's hard not to think that the fun stops here for the Obamas. But if the crowds are anything to go by, the honeymoon will be long and their support strong.
A little after 4 p.m. the announcers says Obama is going walkabout. We are all freezing but the crowd flips out completely.
At 3.30 p.m., a few snowflakes fall despite despite the sun. I'm wondering what the Obama daughters, who received plentiful compliments from the crowd for their colourful dresses, will do first when they get to the White House. Skate in their socks down the corridor perhaps while their father signs executive orders?
At 3.07 p.m., word reaches the crowd that Senator Kennedy has collapsed.
At 3 p.m., I join the crowds awaiting the presidential parade near the White House. In the celebrity-spotting department, saw Jamie Lee Curtis, Ashley Judd and George Soros, who was heard to say how much he enjoyed the part of Obama's speech where he said it wasn't necessary to sacrifice liberty for security.
Inauguration day: live from DCLive from Washington DC (hit 'refresh' to see latest post - all times are local to DC): 1pm: The crowd is so excited when Obama is sworn in, it can barely contain itself. At the same time, there's a somber mood as he talks about the challenges Americans face. Perhaps the biggest cheer comes from his promise to befriend the rest of the world, a sentiment that very much appeals to supporters who are generally fierce opponents of the Iraq war and the Bush foreign policy in general. As the crowds slowly dissipate to gatherings around town, the feeling is President Obama has given everyone homework to weather the economic storm together and look optimistically to a brighter and more positive future. Noon (apologies for time-lag - messages taking a while to get through overloaded airwaves): Eeries silence as crowd awaits swearing in. Dubya appears to chants of "na na na na na na na na hey hey hey goodbye" and boos. Biden goes first. You could hear a pin drop. "See ya, Cheney," says one wag near me as Biden takes over. So now Aretha Franklin is singing "Let freedom ring" to the tune of "God save the Queen." No one can quite get their heads around it. 11:22am: Squeezed into corner but have view of jumbatron and Capitol steps. Just saw Bush senior on screen hobbling with cane. Cheers ripple through crowd as Gore, then Carter, then Clintons come into view. 10:28am: Squished like sardines into purple checkpoint chokepoint, with noisy helisopter circling deafeningly overhead. Distant voice keeps saying something about needing to have purple ticket to get in; met with calls of "Purple!" from the crowd and lots of ticket waving. Much warmer now apart from my toes. It's the bodyheat I guess, from hundreds of Obama supporters trying to squeeze in for their monment of history. 9:52am: Huge crowds are gathering at the access points for ticket holders. We are in the purple zone and the best way to describe it is controlled chaos. Atmosphere remains positive and mercifully it is now above freezing. Some frustration that no one seems to be getting through the gate which was supposed to open nearly two hours ago. 9am: Finally made it into the city, nearly three hours after leaving home. Entertained during hour-long train ride that usually takes 10 minutes by beautiful gospel singing - Amazing grace, Lean on me, and endless chants of "yes we can" and "amen". Train absolutely jammed full, but as it edges along the track, there is not a single gloomy face: amazing atmosphere of joyfulness. As we arrive in the city, crowds are streaming towards the mall, the odd armoured personnel carrier is in view and people are handing out maps and stickers. It's absolutely bitterly cold, below freezing, unusual for Washington, but no one seems to mind. Headed to Congress now to try to make it through security before the swearing in. 7:45am: Edging towards the city in an orange line train, standing room only. Passing weirdly empty I66, usually the main access road from the west but open only to charter buses, taxis and public transport buses, which are zooming past. 7am: A slightly sticky start to inauguration day. The orange line train that was supposed to dump me into downtown DC got stuck one stop after someone leaned on the door, breaking it, and the train was evacuated. Am now occupying a train headed out of the city, assuming it will eventually have to turn around. Mood is happy. Same cannot presumably be said for lines of cars we are passing on the roads. Passengers who have just joined us at endstation waited half an hour just to get into the station and it's only 7am...
Also on MSN:
President Barack Obama: inauguration day special
The Talking Point live blog: the global view Share It
January 15 Ferry, 'cross the Potomac, to see Obama
With all the bridges from Virginia to DC closed to traffic on inauguration day, my plea in my last blog for a jet pack to transport me from my home fell on deaf ears. In my search for alternatives, I discovered a water taxi service in Alexandria, a historic port just across the river from DC but sadly too far south to help me. This may be just as well as a quick poll of my friends asking whether it was worth the $90 return ticket elicited such witty suggestions as "Swim for free!" and "Stay home, watch it on TV." So I popped in to visit the Potomac Riverboat Company, where the crew (above) was preparing for a dry run. They won't get to watch the inauguration themselves as they'll have to stay with their boats until the return trips begin in the evening. But they will catch a rare sighting of some large U.S. Coast Guard vessels guarding the president next Tuesday. And while others - me, for example - freeze their tails off waiting for a special inauguration bus or risk suffocation on the metro, the passengers of The Cherry Blossom
or the less dramatic, but nonetheless cosy water taxi
will be whisked in comfort to the party on a 20-minute journey that is a first for presidential inaugurations and for the Potomac in general. Charlotte Hall, vice-president of the company, says they have prepped seven boats and 3,200 seats and tickets are going fast, despite the price tag. "We have eased back on the numbers so as to ensure people are comfortable," she says. Wow. "The boats are all heated, all will be serving beverages and they all have restrooms." Wow again. People are already complaining that the planned 5,000 portapotties on The Mall will be inadequate, and thermos flasks are banned. So if you're lucky enough to be close to Alexandria on inauguration day, you could do worse than pop down to the dock behind the World War Two torpedo factory (fear not, it's home to artists' studios these days.) Me? I'll be waiting for a bus. Read MSN UK's election special here http://events.uk.msn.com/us-elections.aspx
December 29 How to survive inauguration day crush...
(Picture of Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, from the U.S. Senate's website.) Like most parents with small children living in the Washington DC area, I feel a certain responsibility to ensure they witness the historic moment next month when the United States swears in its first black president. I have been plotting my odyssey to and from downtown DC for weeks, even contemplating hiring one of those little carts you pull along behind a bike. My four-year-old attended the opening game of the Washington Nationals. So he and his little sister surely cannot miss this. I had thought about heading for Maryland to get a reserved seat on a train that would have brought us in to the capital, in a state of absolute serenity, floating high on inaugural clouds, to Union Station, a mere 10-minute walk from the very spot where Barack Obama will be sworn in. I probably won't be able to fight my way back through the crowds to catch my return train on time, I had thought to myself, but what the heck, I'll just leave early and take the metro as a back-up. I scrapped my plans when the Congressional committee charge with organising the event politely informed me we might be crushed. Here's the not-so-inviting message the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies issued today. "D.C.'s subway system will be running "rush-hour" service all day, but is expecting "crush-level" crowds. Be prepared to wait for space on a train for long periods of time, during which you will have to stand in close proximity to several thousand people. Many Metro escalators will be closed due to crowding and individuals will need to climb Metro stairs or wait to utilize the small number of elevators at Metro stations." Now this doesn't sound like the usual Girl Guide's challenge, to be resolved with chapstick, a needle and thread and a hankerchief. But what exactly does the warning mean? Might we be rather uncomfortable and find ourselves inhaling the odour of our neighbour's aftershave? Or squeezed against the doors to the point of suffocation? Or, like the poor individual I saw on a metro train a few months back, does attending the inauguration mean we'll get our faces bloodied by some nutcase who thought we were standing too close? Or end up squeezed into a tin and ejected with a label "Crushed inauguration hopefuls?" Will it be more down-with-the-headbangers-at-the-front or in the gods with the more sedate crowd? Might I need to follow up our moment in history with a trip to the ER? Or is it all a big ruse designed to get people to stay home? I suspect the latter. Let's keep this thing in perspective. In 1861, with the nation on the brink of civil war, Abraham Lincoln feared "bullets may be flying" on his inauguration day. I for one plan to get my walking boots on and head on foot over the Potomac river from Virginia since all the bridges will be closed to traffic. I'll leave my children at home. Six hours standing followed by up to eight hours of waiting to get on a train only to be crushed, without the usual supplies of toys, crayons, frisbees and bouncy balls, is just too much. Jetpack, anyone? Read MSN UK's election special here http://events.uk.msn.com/us-elections.aspx
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