Reporter’s Notebook Jan. 18
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When Barack Obama took to the stage toward the end of the “We Are One” inaugural concert Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial, hundreds of thousands of onlookers whooped and cheered — even the ones who stood in the cold nearly two miles away on the far end of the National Mall and had to watch the JumboTrons to see the next president speak.
“Everybody loves Obama,” said Shaady Fakhrai, 23, of Washington, D.C., who stopped hawking patriotic hair decorations long enough to clap and holler.
In the nation’s capital just two days before Obama’s inauguration, it did seem as if everyone loved him.
Excitement, hope and a sense of historical import were obvious in the crowds, which thronged Washington, D.C., nearly as visible as the sparkly winter hats embroidered with Obama’s name — and the smiles on the faces underneath them.
“This is a beautiful scene to me because I remember my mother going to the March on Washington [during the civil rights movement],” said Velma Simmons of Stockton, Calif. “Now my granddaughter will cherish witnessing the first African-American president of the United States. That’s a blessing.”
Her 6-year-old granddaughter Aniyah Willis waved a flag — one that sported a familiar, big-eared face.
“That’s Obama,” Aniyah said, pointing to the flag. “Obama of the United States.”
U.S. Marine Capt. Mike Sapronetti of Clarendon, Va., said that he was energized — even though he had voted Republican.
“I was a McCain supporter. But as a member of the military, we’re just excited for the change that he has to offer,” he said. “This isn’t the official view, obviously, of the military, but with all the excitement in the city and all the people coming out with this focus, I think that’s important.”
Sometimes the focus seemed quite tight as when a circle of spectators bloomed around CNN journalist Anderson Cooper and his overhead television camera for a live broadcast from the National Mall. People in the circle quickly phoned home, asking parents and friends to turn on the TV, to make sure not to miss their 30 sec-onds of fame.
“I want to tell my grandchildren about being in D.C. for the inauguration of the first black president,” gushed an on-camera Kelsea Schulenberg, 13, of Clearwater, Fla.
Other times the focus was more diffuse, more free-form. During a performance of Afropop music from Kenya in the National Museum of the American Indian, it seemed like a party, not a museum. People danced with abandon, including two kids break-dancing and an older white man who shuffled into the middle of the circle with exuberant flair.
The crowd may have been all colors and all ages, but on this day, in this place, they were united in their joy.