Posted on 01/18/2009 9:19:36 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Excitement is swelling across the United States and the world as Barack Obama prepares to be sworn in Tuesday as the nation's first black president witnessed by the largest inauguration crowd in history.
Obama is "a man whose history reflects the enduring promise of our land," outgoing President George W. Bush said Thursday as he bade farewell to the nation in a televised address.
"This is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. And I join all Americans in offering best wishes to president-elect Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two beautiful girls."
Washington is proudly gearing up to host the inauguration of the 44th president, which draws the curtain on Bush's controversial eight-year reign.
But with some two million people expected to attend the event along with a veritable "who's who" of Hollywood stars, sporting heros and political heavyweights, the tightest security operation ever mounted in the nation's capital swung into action at the weekend.
Nothing on this scale has been seen since the 1965 inauguration of John F. Kennedy's successor Lyndon Johnson, attended by 1.2 million people.
And anxious security officials have been poring over plans for months. More than 12,500 active troops and military reservists and thousands of police are being drafted in as a security blanket descends on the city.
"I think we all have to be concerned about a chemical, biological, radiological potential attack," Major General Richard Rowe, head of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, said last week.
Some nine square kilometers, a huge swathe of the downtown area encompassing the White House, the National Mall and the Washington Monument, is being locked down from Monday afternoon until just after dawn on Wednesday, with traffic restrictions in place already from Saturday.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I thought it was supposed to be 5 million? And what's the carbon footprint of this event?
Won’t be watching this sham — have to floss my teeth...
The OBASM continues... I feel sick to my stomach.
I haven’t seen any of this “swelling excitement.” Where’s it at?
Oh well, even though the failure will be rough (and is assuredly coming, given that the sum total of the loon and his loonies barely comes to room temp IQ), their massive failure will be schadenfreude at its finest.
My best example would be to imagine the Chicago-bred Obamaloon at the controls of that Airbus instead of the superbly trained AF Academy grad.
I can’t find my birth certificate so I’m going to spend the day searching for it.
Fox news reported that there are more people protecting the Obama’s for this than there are troops in Iraq. My jaw hit the floor when I heard this.
As a child, my father told me about being sick of seeing John F. Kennedy in 1960 while visiting Massachusetts on vacation because he didn’t like Kennedy or vote for him. I think I finally really understand how my father felt.
ROTFL! That’s great. So true too!
Welcome to: Pimp My Presidency.
“I can’t find my birth certificate so I’m going to spend the day searching for it.”
It’s in the library, on the end table by the door. Don’t worry, you’ll find it after the 20th.
I was going to watch it but I have to rearrange my sock drawer.
The swelling excitement is in Chris Matthews’ pants.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.