History in the making...

I know I posted yesterday so I'm going to keep this short. However, I felt that today, marking a huge step forward in American history, should be celebrated and talked about as much as possible. 

240,000 people today will pass through security at the West Front of the Capital. Hundreds of thousands more will pack into The Mall. People have rented out rooms, taken days off from work, closed schools, driven, flown, taken a train, and even walked (if the distance permits), all just to say that they experienced the Inauguration Day on the 20th of January 2009. DC natives--at this point--are probably tearing their hair out from sheer frustration over the amount of tourists that are flooding the streets of DC and have been all week. In a way, I'm sad that I don't have the chance to be one of those hundreds of thousands of people to pack into The Mall. I can only imagine how intense the atmosphere must be, even now at 2 in the morning. 

At 9:45 am, Joseph Biden will be sworn into office, followed by Barak Obama, who will then be sworn in at 11:46am. The VP of the United States was not sworn in at the same time as the President until FDR took to office (he was also the first present to be sworn in on the 20 of January--just some side information for ya'll ;) ). 

At 12:32pm there is a departure ceremony for the outgoing Vice President and President. I might sound off an alarm of some sort-- at 5:32pm (UK time)--signifying Bush and Chenney being out of office. Forever. They, in my opinion, do not deserve a ceremony, but I suppose we cannot go against tradition, now can we? 

At 1:35 there is a luncheon held for the newly elected VP and President. 

And finally, the big bang (at least for the audience), at 2:36, the President and Vice President will begin their parade going down Pennsylvania Ave., followed by floats, citizen groups, military regiments, and marching bands. At this time (which will be 7:36 my UK time) I'll be having people over to my place for some champagne :) It will be a good time and a great start to what, hopefully will be, an uplifting and hopeful next four years.