Pomp, Parade and Parties for Obama's Inauguration

Washington is gearing up to host the nation's 57th presidential inauguration, a ceremonious affair to kick off President Barack Obama's second term.

Published

4 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

US Politics, United States

People

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Michelle Obama

Places

United States of America, Washington, D.C.

Transcript

SCRIPT: This is not Barack Obama -- but a stand-in double for him. The dress rehearsal is one of the final steps to the ceremonial kick-off to the president's second term in office. Presidential inaugurations are major, momentous events in US history -- never more so than four years ago, when nearly two million people crowded the National Mall to hear the words of their first African-American president: SOUNDBITE 2 US President Barack Obama (English, sec): "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord..." This year, which coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, fewer than a million are expected -- but it'll still be a crowded celebration. After the swearing-in, Washington DC becomes a parade route, with the president and first lady heading down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, followed by a long ensemble of soldiers, citizen groups and marching bands, all of whom are praticing to make Monday perfect. SOUNDBITE 2 Colonel Bill Knight (man) Commander of the 11th Wing, US Air Force, Commander Joint Base Andrews (English, 15 sec) : "I think this is a huge deal. This goes back to the very founding of our country. It's just an honor to be part of the military element that is going help do a peaceful transition of democracy right here in the United States." 0 The inaugural bash ends with gala evening events. Four years ago, there were 10 official -- plus countless unofficial ones -- to satisfy all the merrymakers. This year just a few balls will suffice -- befitting a second term, or perhaps a less festive mood in Washington. Forty-seven-year-old Obama opened his first term with a call for "unity of purpose", but his 51-year-old self is likely to sound a different note on Monday. While he's met some major challenges, he's failed so far to resolve another right here in Washington... with Republicans. That conflict could color his second term -- but inauguration fans hope it won't spoil the party. SHOTLIST: WASHINGTON, JANUARY 13, 2013, SOURCE: CBS RESTRICTIONS: *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - No Japan - No Free over-the-air broadcasters in Australia - No US cable news outlets, free over-the-air networks or stations, their websites and their mobile phone services - Shot of rehearsal of swearing-in ceremony in front of US Capitol Building, with man and woman standing in for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama - Pan from Capitol Building to swearing-in stand WASHINGTON, JANUARY 20, 2009, SOURCE: US POOL *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - VAR of crowd on National Mall and Obama swearing-in ceremony - Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swears in Obama - Obama repeats inaugural oath - SOUNDBITE 1 US President Barack Obama - Obama daughters and guests arrive at inaugural ceremony - MS Obama - WS of crowd WASHINGTON, JANUARY 20, 2009, SOURCE: US POOL *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - Obama couple get out of limousine and walk along inaugural parade path - WS parade with military and school marching bands ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MARLYAND, JANUARY 11, 2013 SOURCE: AFPTV - various shots of the US Air Force marching band practicing for Obama's inauguration parade - SOUNDBITE 2 Colonel Bill Knight (man) Commander of the 11th Wing, US Air Force, Commander Joint Base Andrews WASHINGTON, JANUARY 20, 2009, SOURCE: US POOL *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - Obama couple dance at inaugural ball DENVER, COLORADO, AUGUST 2008, SOURCE: US POOL *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - VAR of Obama at inaugural ceremony WASHINGTON, JANUARY 16, 2013, SOURCE: US POOL *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - VAR of Obama with Vice Preisdenet Joe Biden and children signing executive orders on gun control WASHINGTON, JANUARY 20, 2009, SOURCE: US POOL *NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes* - VAR of Obamas watching inaugural parade in front of White House --------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: US-politics-inauguration Obama takes on tricky task in second inauguration by Stephen Collinson WASHINGTON, Jan 15, 2013 (AFP) - US President Barack Obama faces a near impossible task in his second inaugural address Monday: uniting a nation in which the compromise that oils governing is crushed by deep political divides. Before a crowd of thousands and the eyes of the world on television and online, Obama will stand on the West Front of the US Capitol and swear to faithfully execute the office of president and defend the Constitution. In a quirk of history, the 44th president will already be serving the second day of his second term, as the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution states that presidential mandates end at noon on January 20. When the date falls on a Sunday, the president is privately sworn in -- as Obama will be by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Blue Room of the White House on Sunday -- and then repeats the ritual for posterity on January 21. While second term inaugurations lack the majesty of a peaceful power transfer from one leader to another, some have served as important rallying points at perilous moments in US history. In spectacular prose, and in only 720 words, Abraham Lincoln pledged in his second inaugural address in 1865 with "malice toward none" to bind the wounds of a nation split by civil war and reflected on the evils of slavery. In his second inaugural address in 1937, Franklin Roosevelt rallied Americans for a fresh assault on the clinging poverty of the Great Depression, warning : "I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished." While Obama may struggle to reach those heights in the 57th US inauguration, he may recall the prevailing economic panic when he took office in 2009 and style the slow return to growth as evidence of enduring national purpose. Officials have declined to preview the president's speech, but he is expected to map the broad contours of his second term, rooted in his campaign quest to frame a more equitable economy. "I intend to carry out the agenda that I campaigned on, an agenda for new jobs, new opportunity and new security for the middle class," Obama said Monday. In their seminal study of presidential rhetoric, authors Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Kathleen Hall Jamieson identified characteristics underpinning successful inaugural addresses. First, a newly sworn-in president must unify the wider audience in order to ratify his leadership, and then seal the patriotic binding by reaffirming traditional values drawn from his nation's past. Then, presidents seek to lay out the principles by which they will govern and demonstrate that they accept the limitations of executive power, cloaking the whole address in ceremonial and dignified rhetoric. "Unifying the country is probably the most important requirement of an inaugural address," said Leila Brammer, a specialist on political rhetoric at Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota. "Even if you won by a 60-40 margin, there are still 40 percent out there and you still have to make the case that you are the president of everybody." Obama's task is even more acute -- he beat Republican Mitt Romney by 51 percent to 48 percent of the popular vote in November's election, and his approval ratings, averaging 53 percent, reflect a nation split down the middle. He was also deprived of a honeymoon that might have soothed tempers after a negative election, as he was forced to wage an ugly year-end fight with Republicans over taxes and spending. Coming fiscal and budget clashes in Congress are stirring new bitterness between the parties, and casting a shadow over Obama's second term agenda. Inaugural addresses are not the place for detailed policy prescriptions -- that is the job of the State of the Union address, which Obama will deliver in the House of Representatives on February 12. But he may refer obliquely to top priorities, including economic fairness, immigration reform, energy independence and an effort to curb gun violence. After the solemn ceremony will come celebration, as Obama returns to the White House down a parade route lined with crowds, before a night of glittering inaugural balls. As he pens his second inaugural address, Obama, a president acutely conscious of his place in history, may feel under pressure. His first inaugural speech, though praised at the time, lacked the soaring cadences of some of the great examples of the genre. It lacked anything on the order of Roosevelt's "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" or John F. Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you," which have become part of the US political lexicon. Obama's most memorable speeches have often come in a political context rather than a formal one -- like his election night addresses in 2008 and 2012, or when facing personal peril, like his discourse on race five years ago. He has excelled at moments of national tragedy, after shootings in Arizona and last month at a Newtown elementary school for instance, or when sketching foreign policy philosophies, like after winning the Nobel Peace Prize.