Massive crowds brave cold, long lines, to attend inauguration

WASHINGTON -- Two million people began arriving on the National Mall here around midnight the night before Barack Obama's inauguration.

But police drove people off around 4 a.m., fearing the cold weather would be hazardous, security officials said. By that time, lines stretching for blocks had already formed from the entrance.

During the swearing-in ceremony, the atmosphere was more subdued than might have been expected, perhaps because of the frigid temperature. Cheers were shorter and less raucous than at the typical energetic, youth-driven Obama rallies during the campaign.

The crowd became animated when the announcer introduced former President George Bush and former Vice President Richard Cheney, who attended the ceremony in a wheelchair. The crowd greeted them with an lengthy "boo" and began singing "Na Na Hey Hey", by group Steam.

Obama's rhetoric during his inaugural speech was subdued, broad and did not contain many applause lines.

"The speech was a little more low-key than usual, but he wasn't saying anything new," spectator Albert Edward said. "He was talking about his familiar themes, but they're powerful themes. It was an excellent speech."

The ticketed entrances to the Mall were color-coded, and instructions were printed on the back of each person's ticket. But the color coding did little because so many streets had been closed. People became confused and streets were jammed for four blocks around the Capitol.

"I walked around for hours before I found my entrance," one woman said. "There should be people directing people where to go."

The Presidential Inaugural Committee placed representatives around the Capitol to guide people to their gates or to the open area, but some thought they were difficult to locate and were understaffed.

Interstate 395, which runs beneath the Mall, was closed and turned into a pedestrian walkway, which became filled with thousands of attendees crossing the Mall because all streets had been blocked, making it difficult to get to certain gates.

Not everyone who had a ticket managed to get past security. At the blue gate, lines stretched all the way around the Health and Human Services building. The gate did not open until an hour before the ceremony. Witnesses said that the security screening machines broke and the guards were forced to search people by hand, eventually closing the gate at noon. Hundreds of people were turned away.

People waiting in line discussed the weather, the coming ceremony and the landmark election of a black president.

"I told you it would be a cold day in hell when the first black man became president," one elderly woman joked.

Jessica and Marshall Douglas from Illinois had campaigned for Obama during the Iowa caucuses and traveled to Washington to see the ceremony.

"We've supported Obama since his senate run," Jessica Marshall said. "We started a journey with him back then. So we came to Washington to start another journey."

Obama defeated his Republican opponent Alan Keyes by a landslide in 2004 after his high-profile Democratic National Convention speech.

People in line managed to maintain good humor despite the hardships. At one point a man looking for his friend stood up on the base of a street lamp and called out, "Hey, Tom!" Everyone in the crowd named Tom immediately replied with "Hey!"

Officials reported that after the crowd dispersed, the Mall was littered with trash, mostly composed of empty packets of hand-warmers, which were being sold for $5 before the ceremony. Temperatures never climbed above 34 degrees.

Contact staff writer David Larter at david.larter@richmond.edu