Today was the perfect cap to our trip here in D.C.  We woke up around 3:15 to get ready and catch the Metro when it opened around 4a.m.  It was a madhouse underground and patience was needed.  It took a lot of crowd-manuvering before emerging above ground again and we had to run to get in line before a great many other people.  Before the sun rose we had moved beyond the entrance, and after sunrise we went through the security checks.  We were completely patted down and checked before we all ran to get to the fence.  We were about 5 people back from the fence right after the reflection pool in front of the Capital.  I couldn’t even lift my arms we were so crowded.  After about two hours, the people in front of us broke down the plastic fence and the crowd took us to the edge of the frozen reflection pool.

Around 10 a.m. a children’s choir sang some patriotic songs, followed by some other instrumental singing.  As the Congressmen, Senators, Cabinet, and other high ranking officials came to sit down, they were announced.  One man behind me gave frequent “Bush updates”  - telling us the last minute of the Bush presidency.  There were loud cheers for former Presidents Clinton and Carter, and when President Bush was announced the crowd gave a sea of boos.  The crowd even sang “Nananana Nananana Hey Hey Hey Good bye” for a brief time.  When the Obama and Biden families were introduced there were loud cheers and the crowd chanted “O-ba-ma” when he came out.  Following an invocation from Rev. Rick Warren, Joe Biden was sworn in as Vice-President by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court.  After another song, Chief Justice John Roberts sworn in Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.  It was an extremely joyous moment for the whole crowd and the atmosphere was one of optimism.

Turning around and looking at the crowd was really humbling – there were just hundreds of thousands (probably over a million) people waving flags and cheering.  It was really a sight to see.  After being sworn in, President Obama gave a great speech about coming together to do work and bring the nation out of these hard times.  One line that sticks out to me was “We are willing to stretch out our hands, but you must be willing to unclench your fist”  in reference to people outside of the United States.

After the rousing speech people started to go – which led to mayhem.  We traveled across the frozen reflection pool to Independence Ave.  It was mass confusion as we traveled through intersections as the police tried to drive cars and trucks through.  I could just lift my legs and be swept away, so it was a trick trying to keep everyone together.  We walked all the way from the Capital, across the Potomac River into Arlington and then to McDonald’s for some food – which took us to about 3:15.  My legs are like jelly from standing for so long and then walking about six miles.

It was at that time I took a hot shower and then a glorious nap.

I would just like to thank Dr. Brickman and the Washington Center for bringing us to D.C for this event.  Also thank you Jenn for the tickets and the Hartnett’s for thier driving.  Tomorrow it is back to Bonas to get back to school.

Today we started with some much needed rest.  After sleeping in we headed out to the congressional offices in order to pick up our tickets to the ceremony tomorrow.  The lines stretched all around the building and since the tickets were in my friend’s name she waited in line as we ran the other errands – I still owe her a drink.

The rest of us walked to a store to exchange some clothing, and then walked all the way back to the Mall so we could go to the Smithsonian Air and Spance Museum.  It was a lot of walking and the temperature kept dropping the whole time.  From the museum we made reservations at the Brickskellar – the restaurant with the single largest collection of beer in the world (over 1000).  After braving the long lines on the Metro we arrived for our reservation but we could not eat at the restaurant because some of our friends were 20 and not 21.  Since their parents were not present they couldn’t eat a meal.  0 out of 5 stars.

We then walked to Stars restaurant and bar around the corner and had a delicious meal (pork tenderloin over mashed potatoes and an apple sauce) with a waiter who was friendly and looked exactly like Andre 3000 from Outkast.  5 out of 5 stars.  Take that Brickskellar.

Tomorrow we have to be leaving the hotel at 4am for the ceremony and thus must sleep.

Today we woke up at the crack of dawn yet again to start our day.  After travelling into the city, we wandered around for quite some time before finding a restaurant that served breakfast.  We found our destination across from the Ford Theatre and next to the house where Lincoln died.  ”The Waffle Shop”  was completely filled with Washington police officers – except for the one table that we occupied.  It was probably the safest I had felt being somewhere in my entire life.  I ordered the steak and eggs, there was a complete layer of grease on my food which didn’t make me feel like a million bucks – but our waiter was funny and enjoyable.  2 out of 5 stars.

We then made our way to the National Mall to see the concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  We followed the crowd until we were about 200 yards away from the stage on the north side.  It was then a waiting marathon of five hours until the concert started.  Our entertainment included drawing figures in the dirt and trying to guess it, watching people climb trees and simply ask to be shot from the snipers on top of the memorial, and the colorful character in front of us.  There were also beach balls, toilet paper and a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama.

When the show started it was pretty great.  There were numerous helicopters flying overhead including Marine 1.  Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill came out followed right after by President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.  There were numerous speakers including Forrest Whittaker, Jack Black, Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, etc.  Performers included Will.i.am, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, Jennifer Nettles, Beyonce, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, U2 and maaaany other famous people singing about America and unity.  The whole crowd was into the song “Shout” when Garth Brooks performed it.  Both Biden and Obama spoke about service and the overall theme centered around Abraham Lincoln.  It was truly a great experience and there were hundreds of thousands of people.

We then returned to the hotel where we ate dinner and crashed – which is the current state.

Peace.

Today we started with the Newseum – the newly opened museum about the news in America.  We kicked it up a notch from yesterday by seeing a movie in 4-D.  The movie was about the news, but the seats moved and jolted and some water was sprayed at you during some scenes.  A revolutionary war soldier shot a gun directly at the audience and some water sprayed as the bullet came out.  It was really cool…but the movie had some baaad acting.

We then witnessed an exhibit about journalism and 9/11, famous newspaper headlines, the berlin wall, and presidents’ pets.  During our walk some protesters came into the building shouting for Bush and Cheney to be arrested on war crimes.  Also while we were there, Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer were broadcasting from the top of the building since it had a great view of the capital.

After lunch we went to a Presidential store where it was a whole room full of Obama presidency merchandise.  It was kind of expensive, but it was full of really cool stuff and there was an incredible amount of people there.  The girls then wanted to go to H&M, so we stopped there.

To escape the bitter cold we stopped into a Cosi cafe and had some coffee.  Then we returned to the hotel on the Metro where I along with others are convinced that we were standing next to the movie star Ray Liotta – the guy from Goodfellas and Blow.  It is still a source of debate.

Dinner was at Ruby Tuesdays on Wilson St. in Arlington.  The food (steak) was really good and the mashed potatoes were even better.  Our server was really nice to us too, being very accomodating.  I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Tomorrow is the free concert on the Mall so it will be a long cold day with a million other people.

We have just gotten back from helping some of our friends move thier stuff into another room after their toilet exploded.  There were simply too many opportunities for a creative name in the title.

Our day started off again with a morning session with talks from Sam Donaldson of ABC, a panel of former governors and congressmen and then finished off with Dr. Steve Bell.  It was all again about the media and its role in politics.  Mr. Donaldson spoke long-windedly about how the legislative branch is the real power in government.  The panel spoke (even more long-winded) about how there needs to be accountability in governmnet and common ground.  And then Dr. Bell displayed the commercials from the primaries and general contests.

We then went to the Smithsonian Institution of American History where we ate lunch.  We then saw a great Abraham Lincoln visit where his top hat, suit, and other artifacts were on display.  There was also a Presidents exhibit and it was pleasant to see that Barack Obama’s picture was already on the time-line.  The renovations in that building have really made the museum a great experience.

Then some of us decided to go to the Natural History Museum.  There we saw incredible exhibits of diamonds, mammals, dinosaurs and aquatic life.  Afterwards we went to the IMAX theatre in the building and watched a Deep Sea movie in 3D.  I remember the 3D glasses and movies from elementary school and the fact that they didn’t work.  But this movie was incredible – it was like watching Planet Earth in 3D.  Very good.

So then we came back and ate in Arlington, Virginia at the Santa Fe Cafe.  It was a spanish restaurant – all of the workers spoke Spanish were very nice.  The food was greasy and spicy but was a fun place to go to.  2.5 out of 5 stars.

During dinner we got the call about our friend’s toilet, so we ran back and helped them move thier belongings.  Hence the beginning of the story.

Today we got to sleep in more than usual.  We were given tickets on Wednesday by a student from Montana to the U.S. Senate.  So today we went to the Senate through the new Capital Tourists Center in order to sit in the gallery while Senators Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton gave their farewell speeches to the Senate.

Joe Biden started by recounting many stories through his time in the Senate.  After being elected at a young age, he lost his wife and daughter in an accident.  He prevailed and kept serving in the Senate until being elected Vice President of the United States in 2008.  He spoke of meeting with a senior senator and telling that senator he decided to serve in the Senate because of Civil Rights.  When the senator decided to leave the Senate, Biden took his office and the desk he sat at, which happened to be a desk from the Civil War era.

Hillary Clinton then gave her speech.  She recounted Septemnber 11th and how the nation was united afterwards.  She claimed that she wanted the nation to be united again as a new administration takes office this Tuesday.  Senator Chuck Schumer then gave a gracious speech and fond farewell to Mrs. Clinton after her speech.  Even Senator John McCain came over to say good-bye to her.  It was so cool and amazing to see all of these senior members of the government in one place.

After lunch, we went back to the Senate chamber to see Roland Burris be sworn in as the junior Senator from Illinois.  It was a truley unique experience to see a swearing in of this office.  Vice President Dick Cheney was there to preside over the swearing in, and was only there for about 4 minutes.  It was interesting.

We then took a tour of the Capital and saw the amazing rotunda, crypt and other rooms of the building.  It was truley amazing to see all of the architecture and the detail in all of these rooms.  It is mind-blowing to see all of these places where American history has been made.

We then went back to the hotel since we were all tired.  After a quick twenty minute nap we went to dinner across the river in Georgetown at a place called.  McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon.  There we met a person from Rochester New York and currently living in Las Vegas.  His friend who worked at the place was very nice to us.  But the service for food was extremely slow and we were late to our show with Mark Russell.  2 out of 5 stars.  Nice place to drink though.

Mark Russell, the political comedian, was absolutely hilarious.  He mention Buffalo, NY and we all cheered and he personally made three shout-outs to us during his routine.  We were extremely excited about this and his jokes were extremely funny.  If you can get the chance to see him, you should without a doubt.

It was a great day.  Tomorrow shall be great too.

The morning sessions are too early in my opinion.  The first part of the session started with Steve Bell commenting on the media, and then with another C-SPAN live broadcast.  The guest was Dana Perino – Press Secretary of the United States.  She took questions from students and callers from around the nation.  Through her answers she hoped that Bush’s legacy would reflect his commitment to freedom, and also claimed that Bush’s immigration policy reflects his acceptance of all cultures.   She also claimed that the invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with oil.

That’s what she said…

After the C-SPAN session, former host of ABC’s Nightline Ted Koppel came to speak to us about the media.  He began by telling us that a journalist cannot and should not think of the consequences of what they are reporting.  Only once in his career did Koppel not report something, and that was when the American government specifically asked him not to report so that some government workers would not be killed.  But aside from that, journalists need to report the news and not think of the consequences.

Nightline was started after CBS created 60 Minutes in 1968 and the show actually made money for the network.  Koppel also stated that he thinks the internet is the “ultimate democratization of journalism” since anyone can put news or stories on the internet.  He also refuted Secretary Perino’s claim that Iraq was not about oil.

The questions from students continue to be ridiculously repetitive.

And then Clarence Page –  a columnist from the Chicago Tribune spoke.  He recalled the different phases of labels applied to him in his life time.  He has been from being called “colored” to “people of color” and is very excited about Obama becoming President.

Lunch was at Elle’s pizzeria near the Verizon Center and the National Portrait Gallery.  This was the restaurant that our Court’s class ate at last year, but Dr. Brickman, Cara and I could not remember what the name was or where it was located.  So we discovered it yet again and ate there.  Jenn and I split two pizzas – Margharita and Genovese (potatoes and pesto).  It was extremely delicious and pleasant.  And the food is extremely healthy.  5 out of 5 stars

We then met the Amabassador to the United States from Algeria.  He answered our questions about their economic and political relationship between the two nations and explained their hope for the new Obama administration.  Algeria and the US are working out some kind of open air deal between the two nations since both are committed to fighting terrorism – which Algeria experienced heavily in the 1990’s.  The Ambassador was extremely nice though and had a good sense of humor about the outgoing Bush administration and it’s complex to “rule the world”.

Then a few of us went to the National Portraitl Gallery and looked at all of the portraits of famous Americans and American Presidents.  The Abraham Lincoln room was awesome, they have a WANTED flier from when Lincoln was shot and the government was looking for Booth and his helpers.

We then tiredly returned to the hotel and ate dinner, and it’s time to sleep.

Today we were able to be in the audience for live broadcasts of C-SPAN.  Guests Juan and Brett commented on the significance of Barack Obama of being the first American-American President of the United States.  Real reform started with the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court case.  Juan stated that this is a “tremendous, emotional moment that goes beyond politics”.  And they see all issues being important to the next president.  C-SPAN then recorded a show where Tim and Carol Wheeler answered questions about thier experience of volunteering for Obama in the Iowa caucus.  The creator of C-SPAN then stayed for question time with students – where students answered questions this time.  It was good, but yet again there were questions that seem to repeat themselves every time that students get the opportunity to ask.  Frustrating.

After the morning session we went to lunch at Union Station.  There are many restaurants at the station for people to eat at, as well as stores and a movie theatre.  There are many different types of restaurants at the station, including Chinese, Greek, Italian, and there is Johnny Rockets, a pizza place and other numerous types of food.I ate chinese for the second day in a row – 3 out of 5 stars.  It is good selection, but fast food.

We then went to drop off our things and went to NDN for the afternoon session.   NDN stands for New Democratic Network, and is a think tank for progressive politics.  The director spoke to us about the collapse of the Republican party during the 2008 election cycle.  He claimed that the Republicans were able to retain power for a long time because of their strong anti-comunist stand and their exploitation of racial grievances.  He also thinks that the Southern Strategy of winning national elections is over.  He also claimed that the Millenial generation was the largest in history (in abslolute numbers) and that we are the most civic minded in histroy.

Latinos were also a major discussion.  1 in 4 students in the American education system are Latino and thier votes are key to the success of political candidates in national elections.  Any party that wants success in the 21st century needs to be bi-lingual and bi-cultural.  He did credit President Bush (43) of creating a relationship with Hispanic voters and the Republican Party in 2000 and 2004.

We then went to Cosi’s for coffee until the Chamber of Commerce dinner.  The dinner was a giant cocktail party – but alcohol free.  Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation came to speak to us about the media and the new century.  It was unfortunate that many rude students forced Mr. Scieffer to actually ask them to be quiet.  Very disappointing.  He spoke well and was excited for us and our opportunity to see the inauguration of the first African-American President.  He remembers being around for when Ole Miss admitted its first African-American student.

We then went to the hotel and relaxed – which is what we are doing now.

Today was another interesting day in our nation’s capital.  We started off the morning with Dr. Michael A. Genovese from Loyola Marymount University.  He spoke to us about the interesting situation that Obama is currently in.  He says that Obama must have a balanced act in order to retain power as president.  He must keep a state of crisis so that he is a powerful president, but at the same time he should not have to high of expectations so that he sets himself up to fail.  In essence, it is Obama’s position to lose.

We then heard the experiences of Special Agent David O’Connor of the Secret Service – which was created in 1865 by Abraham Lincoln the day before he was assassinated.  But the organization was originally commissioned to prevent counterfieting.   He took many questions from the audience and told us that he has been able to travel all over the world when on detail, and that he personally was most excited about covering Pope Benedict XVI when he visited the United States.  This will be his last inauguration as he plans to retire.  One girl rudely asked him about the shoe throwing incident, and argued with him as he apparently did not give a sufficient answer.  There needs to be screening of questions.

We then were given a history lesson about presidential portraits and how they represent the position of president rather than the actual physical attributes of the president.  Mr. Pachter spoke of how presidents like Van Buren, Wilson, Adams and Jefferson were not good presidents, even though they were good men.  He sees Obama as being a great president because he has a 1st class mind and a 1st class temperament.  This will lead him to do great things he thinks.

Common Ground then became the theme as USA Today Columnists Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel spoke.  Thomas is a member of the Republican Party and Beckel is a member of the Democratic Party.   Aside from debating their differences the two friends believe that there needs to be an end to partisan bickering so that the general good and welfare can be at the forefront of our politics.

After lunch, we visited the nonprofit public-interest advocasy group NORML (National Organizations for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).  We saw their prisoner art and spoke with the director about his passionate zeal for the de-criminalization of marijuana.  He stated that one in three Americans live in a municipality where marijuana has become de-criminalized.  He sees the continued upholding of status quo with marijuana laws under Obama.

Then after lunch, Sarah, Cara and I traveled from the Mall into Chinatown.  We were almost run over by a motorcade as we crossed the street.  We are unsure of who it was, but it was obviously a high-profile person.  We ate at La Tasca next to the Verizon Center.  La Tasca is a Spanish Tapas restaurant and bar with a fun, inviting atmosphere.  The ribs with tangy sauce were great and the service was good.  Another 4 out of 5 stars.

FYI:  Dr. Brickman does not liked to be called a “maverick”.

The Washington experience has begun.  Today we were able to listen to the distinguished Steve Bell as he lectured about President-elect Barack Obama and the media.  We addressed the issue of bias in the media as well as satire when he showed clips from Saturday Night Live.  We then listened to Dana Bash, correspondent for CNN.  She spoke of her experience covering the McCain campaign in 2008 and her view of politics from the media’s perspective.  It’s clear this program will leave us well-informed .

We then took a tour of the monuments around the district.  We viewed the powerful war memorials for Vietnam, Korea, and World War II.  At the Lincoln Memorial, a stage was being set up for a concert on the Mall this Sunday.  This is just one location where construction for the Inauguration is present.  We also visited the Jefferson Memorial, where we saw the President’s helicopter fly over and then a motorcade of some sort.

Dinner at the Dubliner was very delicious, I highly recommend it if in the area.  Four out of five stars.