The Inauguration of President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44^th President of the United States on January 20, 2009 at 12:05 p.m. President Obama had toiled with his inauguration speech right up to the day he was sworn in as President. His senior advisor David Axelrod and his speechwriter Jon Favreau aided some of the actual writing at Starbucks.

The inauguration of President Barack Obama took place on the West Front of the Capitol. The crowd of 2 million spectators found space to stand or camp and some of whom had braved the Washington cold since 12:30 a.m. that morning. The crowd now reported to have been about 1.5 million spanned past the WashingtonMonument to the Lincoln Memorial. At exactly 12:05 p.m. on January 20, 2009, President-elect Barack Obama put his hand upon the same bible President Abraham Lincoln had used on his own inauguration address in 1861. Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the 44^th President.

Chief Justice Roberts had to swear President-elect Obama again because of a small displacement of the word faithfully, an error made by the Chief Justice. The oath was only 35 words but had taken President Barack Obama quite a lot of hard campaigning to get there. Then at 12:05 01.20.09 the bible that had been in retirement for 147 years since President Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16^th President of the United States, was again brought out. President Barack Obama became the first African American to become President of the United States of America.

The inauguration of President Barack Obama was the beginning of the call on Americans to “remake America.”

President Obama delivered the inaugural speech with much more fervor than he had done on the campaign trail. He eloquently delivered a speech hoping to unify the nation through service. Over 400,000 people gathered at the National Mall in WashingtonD.C. as First Lady Michelle Robinson Obama and President Barack Obama’s two daughters, Malia and Sasha looked on as her husband and their father was sworn in.

Celebrations began immediately following the inauguration with parade, concerts, and balls. The first inaugural ball was celebrated on national television aptly called the Neighborhood ball with major headliner, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and Usher. The President and the First Lady danced for the audience as Beyonce sang “At Last.” First Lady Michelle Obama wore a long flowing off the shoulder crystal white embellished gown designed by Mr. Wu, an American designer.

The most spectacular summation of the inaugural event was President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and his wife Jill waving goodbye to President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush as they took off on a helicopter headed for Texas. President Obama was the first President in history to witness the departure of his predecessor in the history of America in that manner. Change had come to America.