Matthew Waxman: The War Powers Resolution was enacted in the wake of the Vietnam War to prevent the President from engaging in wars and major military adventures without Congress’s explicit consent. It does so by requiring the President to withdraw U.S. military forces from armed hostilities within 60 days unless Congress expressly approves otherwise.

The following question has since arisen many times: What remedy exists if the President ignores the requirements set out in that resolution? What happens, for example, if 60 days passes and Congress hasn’t authorized the use of force but the President continues to direct military activities abroad?

There are several types of remedies:

The first is litigation: members of Congress or other interested parties could sue the President, arguing that he is acting illegally. They could seek a court judgment ordering the cessation of military operations. That is what’s apparently about to happen now.

The second is that Congress could use its legislative power: it could pass a law prohibiting the military operations or it could use the “power of the purse” to strip funding for military operations. Either way, Congress could legislatively force the President to stop the operations, but this is very hard to pull off politically.

The third remedy is political, and this is the likely to be the most consequential one in this case: Members of Congress could use the argument that the President is violating the law as a political stick to try to pressure the President in certain ways, extract concessions from him, force him to spend political capital, and gain a greater say in managing or curbing the operation….MORE>

The spill, triggered by an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which Transocean Ltd. leased to London-based BP. Halliburton provided cementing services on the well BP was drilling. Halliburton Chief Executive Officer David Lesar said in May that the company is fully indemnified from costs related to the spill.

derived of about 13 percent of its North American revenue from the Gulf of Mexico in the first quarter. Last month, Halliburton said it planned to relocate workers and equipment to other markets as appropriate.

Halliburton ended last week at $27.51 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, leaving the shares 17 percent lower than before the rig blast.

So NOW, Burris, appointed by a scandal-wracked Blagojevich to fill the rest of President Barack Obama’s Senate term, told reporters in Peoria, Illinois, Monday night that he had three conversations with Robert Blagojevich.

Whoops, senior moment?

IF this man has any honor what so ever he needs to resign and give the seat back to the people and let them decide which criminal – I mean politician they want in that seat.

Now for the movie……………..

Partially cut:

• $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)

• $75 million from Smithsonian (original bill $150 million)

• $200 million from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)

• $100 million from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill $427 million)

• $100 million from law enforcement wireless (original bill $200 million)

• $300 million from federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill $600 million)

• $100 million from FBI construction (original bill $400 million)

Fully eliminated

• $55 million for historic preservation

• $122 million for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

• $100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization

• $50 million for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service

• $65 million for watershed rehabilitation

• $100 million for distance learning

• $98 million for school nutrition

• $50 million for aquaculture

• $2 billion for broadband

• $100 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology

• $50 million for detention trustee

• $25 million for Marshalls Construction

• $300 million for federal prisons

• $300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program

• $140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program

• $10 million state and local law enforcement

• $50 million for NASA

• $50 million for aeronautics

• $50 million for exploration

• $50 million for Cross Agency Support

• $200 million for National Science Foundation

• $100 million for science

• $1 billion for Energy Loan Guarantees

• $4.5 billion for General Services Administration

• $89 million General Services Administration operations

• $50 million from Department of Homeland Security

• $200 million Transportation Security Administration

• $122 million for Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use

• $25 million for Fish and Wildlife

• $55 million for historic preservation

• $20 million for working capital fund

• $165 million for Forest Service capital improvement

• $90 million for State and Private Wildlife Fire Management

• $1 billion for Head Start/Early Start

• $5.8 billion for Health Prevention Activity

• $2 billion for Health Information Technology Grants

• $600 million for Title I (No Child Left Behind)

• $16 billion for school construction

• $3.5 billion for higher education construction

• $1.25 billion for project based rental

• $2.25 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization

• $1.2 billion for retrofitting Project 8 housing

• $40 billion for state fiscal stabilization (includes $7.5 billion of state incentive grants)

• $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)

This in laymen’s terms means they want a newer working envirnment! WTF!

Looks to me like the old Republicans are again bending us over! Cutting housing, education, all the people candies for the government sweets!

MORE THAN $43 BILLION IN TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS

$27 BILLION FOR HIGHWAY, ROAD AND BRIDGE INVESTMENTS

$8.4 BILLION FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT INVESTMENT

$2 BILLION FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL

$1.3 BILLION FOR FAA AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

$850 MILLION FOR AMTRAK

$250 MILLION FOR GRANTS TO STATES FOR INVESTMENT IN HIGH SPEED AND INNER CITY PASSENGER RAIL

$100 MILLION TO MARITIME ADMINISTRATION FOR ASSISTANCE TO SMALL SHIPYARDS

MORE THAN $76.8 BILLION IN EDUCATION INVESTMENTS

$39 BILLION FOR STATE FISCAL RELIEF TARGETED DIRECTLY FOR EDUCATION

$13.9 BILLION FOR PELL GRANTS

$13.5 BILLION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING — This would bring the federal government closer to the promised 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for every child in special education. This will help relieve the increasing burden at the local level to cover the rising costs of special education, and allow districts the flexibility to retain support staff and teachers in the classrooms where they are so desperately needed.

$10.4 BILLION FOR TITLE I– The additional investment in Title I is a critical investment towards children in poverty. As more and more children are classified as poor during this economic downturn, this substantial additional investment will help local school districts ensure that their academic needs are being met.

ENVIRONMENT

$6.4 BILLION FOR WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE

MORE THAN $3 BILLION FOR JOB TRAINING

$3.25 BILLION FOR WORKFORCE INVESTMENT PROGRAMS

$160 MILLION FOR JOB CORPS

HEALTHCARE

$87 BILLION IN TEMPORARY AND TARGETED MEDICAID RELIEF TO STATES

Leading economists have found that targeted aid of this sort will generate increased economic activity of $1.36 for every $1 spent. Moreover, with unemployment up, the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid also rises. Increasing the federal investment in Medicaid will shore up the safety net for those vulnerable families.

HOUSING

$5 BILLION FOR SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS TO PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITIES FOR CAPITAL NEEDS

ENERGY

$4.7 BILLION FOR STATE AND LOCAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY BLOCK GRANTS

$4.4 BILLION FOR SMART GRID to improve the reliability of electricity transmission grid

$2.9 BILLION FOR WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS

$2 BILLION FOR ADVANCED BATTERY MANUFACTURING

$7 BILLION FOR LOAN GUARANTEES FOR STANDARD RENEWABLES

HOMELAND SECURITY

$800 MILLION FOR CONSTRUCTION OF PORTS OF ENTRY

$500 MILLION FOR FIREFIGHTERS ASSISTANCE GRANTS

SCIENCE

$1.2 BILLION FOR NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Shortly before 11:30 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told his colleagues that debate on the plan would continue on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. Reid said a vote could come on Tuesday on the plan, which is championed by President Barack Obama as a tonic for a badly battered economy.

The movement came after days of private meetings between centrist Democrats and Republicans who felt the price tag on the Senate’s nearly $900 billion version of the package was too much.

“There is a winner tonight,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and one of the moderates whose support was crucial in building support for the plan. “It’s the American people and they deserve it.”

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration was pleased with the progress.

“On the day when we learned 3.6 million people have lost their jobs since this recession began, we are pleased the process is moving forward and we are closer to getting Americans a plan to create millions of jobs and get people back to work,” Gibbs said.

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio issued a statement on the deal Friday night, saying, “Ultimately this bill should be judged on whether it works, and 90 percent of a bad idea is still a bad idea.”

Boehner’s criticisms echoed those of the House-passed bill; he said the plan was focused on slow-moving and wasteful spending rather than immediate relief.

“This is not what the American people want; nor is it what the president called for at the start of the process,” he said. “Both of these massively flawed proposals should be scrapped in favor of a truly bipartisan plan that will help our economy preserve and create jobs. The American people want and deserve nothing less.”

Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat from Nebraska and one of the chief negotiators of the plan, said senators had trimmed the plan to $827 billion in tax cuts and spending on infrastructure, housing and other programs that would create or save jobs.

“We trimmed the fat, fried the bacon and milked the sacred cows,” Nelson said as debate began.

According to a senior Democratic aide, items fully eliminated from the plan include $55 million for historic preservation and $122 million for new Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

According to several senators, the revised version of the plan also axed money for school construction and nearly $90 million for fighting pandemic flu.

Remaining in the plan are tax incentives for small businesses, a one-year fix of the unpopular alternative-minimum tax and tax-relief for low- and middle-income families, said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was the most prominent Republican negotiator in the bipartisan talks.

“Our country faces a grave economic crisis and the American people want us to work together,” she said. “They don’t want to see us dividing along partisan lines on the most serious crisis facing our country.”

While Democrats appeared to believe they had enough Republican support to push the compromise plan through, most GOP members still were speaking against the plan, saying spending is not the answer to cure economic woes.

“This is not bipartisan,” said Sen. John McCain, who lost the 2008 election to Obama. “If this legislation is passed, it’ll be a very bad day for America.”

Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell compared the plan to President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” public works program, which he said did not help the nation out of the Great Depression.

“We’re talking about an extraordinarily large amount of money, and a crushing debt for our grandchildren,” said McConnell of Kentucky. “Now, if most Republicans were convinced that this would work, there might be a greater willingness to support it. But all the historical evidence suggests that it’s highly unlikely to work.”

Earlier Friday, Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich dropped out of the negotiations.

Voinovich concluded that his “philosophical” differences with the approach of Republican negotiators was too great, a Voinovich aide said. The senator said he could no longer support efforts at compromise or the final bill, the aide said.

Voinovich’s departure left four Republican senators involved in the negotiations: Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mel Martinez of Florida and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Democratic leaders will need at least two or three GOP votes to pass the bill.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois confirmed Democrats were in a tough debate over cutting what they saw as core programs. He singled out education as one of the largest areas of cuts — and one of the hardest for Democrats to swallow.

“It’s a painful area for all of us, as Democrats, to make these cuts in education assistance,” he said.

There are “substantial” proposed cuts to a $79 billion fund created to help states deal with the economic crisis by giving them more money for schools, Durbin said.

Putting more pressure on senators was news Friday that employers slashed another 598,000 jobs off U.S. payrolls in January, taking the unemployment rate up to 7.6 percent.

“This is not some abstract debate. It is an urgent and growing crisis,” President Obama said at a White House ceremony unveiling a new economic advisory board. “If we drag our feet and fail to act, this crisis will turn into a catastrophe.”

White House budget director Peter Orszag left a morning meeting in Reid’s office but would not comment on negotiations. Senators who were meeting in their office buildings Thursday were negotiating directly with Reid just outside the chamber doors.
The House passed an $819 billion version of the stimulus plan last week, but no Republican voted in favor of it.

The Senate has 56 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with them. There are 41 Republicans. One Senate seat from Minnesota remains open pending the outcome of an election recount challenge.

State officials said it could help reduce long lines at unemployment offices and cut down on the number of mistakes by people applying online.

“We’re going work with all the faith-based and community-based organizations that would like to, and the local libraries, to provide unemployment filing training so that they know the basics of what the filing process looks like,” said Workforce Development Commissioner Teresa Voors.

Indiana residents must apply online to get up to $390 a week. Many people apply at home or at libraries using Internet-accessible computers, and those who need extra help can go to a local unemployment office for assistance filling out the online application.

The state hopes that training more volunteers at churches and libraries — and loaning 200 surplus state computers to community groups — will give unemployed workers more convenient options.

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (CNN) — Workers at the Illinois Capitol building wasted little time Thursday night changing the face of state government, shortly after Gov. Pat Quinn replaced the ousted Rod Blagojevich.
A worker replaces ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s picture with that of Pat Quinn.

A worker replaces ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s picture with that of Pat Quinn.

The Illinois Senate voted 59-0 on Thursday to remove Blagojevich from office. Moments later, the Illinois Senate voted unanimously to prevent Blagojevich from ever holding political office in the state again.

After the Senate vote, the “welcome” sign with Blagojevich’s face, which visitors saw as they entered the Capitol in Springfield, was quickly brought down.

Maintenance crews arrived, first removing the gold nameplate with Blagojevich’s name. Using drills and a ladder, they then brought down the 5-foot-high sign to make the official change.

Workers also removed the former governor’s official state picture positioned atop a state outline and a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln. Video Watch Senate’s impeachment vote »

“Was that quick enough?” one worker said to laughter.

An employee standing nearby as the picture was taken away said, “Do we need someone to throw a shoe?”

Moments later, the picture of Quinn was placed were Blagojevich’s picture used to be.

Blagojevich, who was elected governor twice after terms as a U.S. representative and state lawmaker, was arrested on federal corruption charges in December.
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Federal authorities allege, among other things, that Blagojevich was trying to sell the Senate seat that became vacant after Barack Obama was elected president.

During the impeachment trial’s closing arguments, Blagojevich appeared before the senators, saying he had done “absolutely nothing wrong.”

“I’m here to appeal to you, to your sense of fairness, your sense of responsibility, and to the truth,” Blagojevich said in a closing address that lasted less than an hour.

It was the first time he had appeared at the impeachment trial, which began Monday.

“I’m asking you to acquit me and give me a chance to show my innocence,” he said. “And if you’re not comfortable with an acquittal, then extend this process, and get more evidence, if you can get it, to show that I did something wrong or give me a chance to bring my evidence in.”

Blagojevich, a two-term Democratic governor, was arrested on federal corruption charges in December.

Federal authorities allege he was trying to sell or trade the Senate seat that became vacant after Barack Obama was elected president. After the governor’s arrest, the state House voted overwhelmingly to impeach him.

The governor firmly denied wrongdoing Thursday, as he has all week on television talk shows.

“If I felt I did something wrong, I would have resigned in December,” he said. “If I felt I violated a law, I would meet my responsibility, I would have resigned in December.

“I wouldn’t put my family through this, I wouldn’t put you through this, and most importantly, I wouldn’t put the people of Illinois through this.

“But I didn’t resign then, and I’m not resigning now, because I have done nothing wrong.” Video Watch Blagojevich make his case »

The governor, who did not use notes during his remarks, said the allegations against him were unproved.

“There hasn’t been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing,” he said. “You haven’t proved a crime and you can’t, because it hasn’t happened.

BBC News, Tehran

By Jon Leyne

President Barack Obama, in his first foreign interview earlier this week, offered what he called the hand of friendship if Iran “unclenched its fist”

In response, Mr Ahmadinejad jumped back in the boxing ring and resumed a verbal volley of punches.

First he wished former US President George W Bush on his way: “God willing, he has gone to hell.”

Then Mr Ahmadinejad laid before his audience the ever-growing list of grievances Iran holds against the US:

* American support for the coup that unseated a democratically elected Iranian government in 1953
* American backing for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war
* Support for the “Zionist regime” [Israel]
* Launching the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq under the pretext of 9/11 – an incident as questionable as the Holocaust, he suggested.

Americans had kept Iran away from scientific progress and injected the country with poverty, ignorance and illiteracy, he said. They had turned their embassy in Tehran into a “nest of spies”, Mr Ahmadinejad continued.

The US needed to stop talking down to the rest of the world, to change its language and act respectfully, he went on. All American troops should return home. And Washington should apologise for its crimes against Iran.

Election platform

It was an exceptionally long and angry tirade, even by the standards of Mr Ahmadinejad.

It was tempered only by a few slightly more encouraging words. If there really was a fundamental change in American policy, said Mr Ahmadinejad, then Iran would welcome it.

Tough talk indeed from the man who sent an unprecedented message of congratulations to the new American president after Mr Obama’s election victory in November.

So have the hardliners won the policy battle in Tehran? Or is this Mr Ahmadinejad’s eccentric way of opening a diplomatic dialogue?

Most observers in Iran believed Mr Ahmadinejad wanted some moves towards reconciliation with Washington, in order to help his bid for re-election in June.

But with a long silence from Tehran on policy towards Mr Obama, it was already clear that a fierce battle was going on behind the scenes.

In theory, it is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who is in charge of foreign policy, though in practice decisions seem to emerge from among a small group of senior officials, military officers and clergy.

When there are differences over policy, the default is always to return to the old certainties: “Death to Israel! Death to America!”

What a lovely man ‘Eh? Sure wish his mom would have given him a hug more often.

Illinois’ beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today that when he was deciding who would take President Obama’s Senate seat he considered appointing talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, a suggestion that Winfrey says left her “amused.”

Blagojevich made the revelation to Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” on the day his impeachment trial is set to begin. That trial is expected to toss him out of office.

The governor said that Winfrey’s name came up as a potential successor to Obama in the Senate.

Watch Gov. Blagojevich’s Interview With ABC News’ Cynthia McFadden On “Nightline” Tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET

“She seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way to become president,” Blagojevich said. Blagojevich added that “she had a much broader bully pulpit than a lot of senators.”

His consideration of Winfrey was tempered, he suggested, by the fact that “she probably wouldn’t take it, and then if you offered it to her, how would you do it in a way it wasn’t a gimmick to embarrass her.”

Later on “The View,” he added that Winfrey was appealing because she was an African-American woman with a huge standing in the country.

“Oprah is Oprah and I’m only the governor of Illinois,” he said.

Blagojevich said his consideration of Winfrey was “interrupted on Dec. 9,” the day he was arrested by the FBI.

Winfrey, who endorsed Obama’s presidential bid and showcased his candidacy on her show, said she missed “GMA” this morning because she slept late.

“If I had been watching from the treadmill where I’m usually watching, I would have fallen off the treadmill,” Winfrey told her friend Gayle King during the Sirius XM radio show “Oprah and Friends.”

Winfrey said she was “pretty amused” by Blagojevich’s revelation.

Amusing, thats a very polite thing to say. There are many things in the world that are amusing, personally I dont fine Blagojevich one.

The term is more than symbolic. Some presidents have been able to do a lot with those hundred days. Not surprisingly, Roosevelt was the most successful we have seen. His hundred days lasted from March 9 to June 16, 1933, and Congress passed 15 major bills.

Roosevelt, in a period of experimental genius, found support from Congress for a series of programs to help stabilize an economy where 25 percent of the work force was unemployed and banks were imploding as panicked citizens pulled out their money.

The humorist Will Rogers joked that “Congress doesn’t pass legislation any more, they just wave at the bills as they go by,” though in reality Democratic leaders were instrumental in initiating many of the ideas that came from the White House and making sure that they passed by sound margins.

Roosevelt understood that he had a limited window of opportunity after his election, and he moved fast. “I do not see how any living soul can last physically going the pace that he is going,” said Hiram Johnson, “and mentally any one of us would be a psychopathic case if we undertook to do what he is doing.”

Over the hundred days, Democrats remade the face of the federal government. Programs were created to regulate Wall Street and banking, support agriculture and labor, provide public works employment, regulate production and more.

Through the legislation, as well as his historic fireside chats, Roosevelt restored confidence in the government itself, as Americans sensed that Washington could save American capitalism. He also used the first months to overcome the many divisions that existed within the Democratic Party.

Lyndon Johnson had a very different kind of hundred days when he took over after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Johnson used his hundred days to define his presidency in relation to his predecessor.

Kennedy had encountered considerable trouble passing most of his legislative agenda, including civil rights and tax cuts, because a conservative coalition of Southern Democrats and Republicans blocked his proposals.

Johnson believed that in the months after the assassination, he needed to link himself to the deceased president, who seemed to become more popular after his death, and he used that connection to build political support for his bills. This is why Johnson retained the services of many Cabinet officials from the Kennedy administration.

“I needed that White House staff,” Johnson recalled, “Without them I would have lost my link to John Kennedy, and without that I would have had absolutely no chance of gaining the support of the media or the Easterners or the intellectuals. And without that support I would have had absolutely no chance of governing the country.”

During his first speech to Congress after the assassination, Johnson invoked the memory of the slain president by asking legislators to help him fulfill the unfinished agenda.

Calling Kennedy “the greatest leader of our time,” Johnson said to Congress, “Let us continue.” The memory of Kennedy helped him succeed in passing legislation on civil rights, tax cuts and the War on Poverty.

Yet another way to use 100 days is to undermine your partisan opposition in Congress. Ronald Reagan did this masterfully when pushing for his across-the-board tax cut in 1981, a centerpiece of his domestic agenda. Reagan argued that tax cuts would stimulate economic growth.

The president used the bully pulpit to overcome opposition among House Democrats, building support for the cuts. He gave a speech on television, urging citizens to write their legislators and tell them to support the cuts.

House Democrats, now the sole base for the party in Washington, joined in once they saw the public pressure. In fact, they pushed for tax cuts of their own, which were rolled into the bill.

“It’s like the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union,” according to Michigan Democrat William Brodhead, “for every move there’s a countermove; for every weapon, a counterweapon.” By the end of the bidding process, Reagan could claim victory on Capitol Hill and his key legislation had drawn the support of his opposition.

Sometimes presidents have stumbled in the hundred days, and the results are disastrous. Jimmy Carter is one of the most striking examples. In his hundred days, Carter did almost everything wrong. One of his biggest failures was how he handled relations with Congress.

Trying to strengthen his credentials as a reformer, Carter took aim at pork barrel spending, opposing specific items that President Ford had included in his final budget that funded more than 300 water projects across the country. Carter dismissed the proposal as a classic example of congressional pork. He sent a letter to Congress stating that 19 of the projects would be cut.

Congress was furious. They believed these funds were essential to their constituents. Those affected by Carter’s list included Sen. Russell Long, the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate overturned Carter’s decision. Bitter feelings remained and the rocky relations continued to be a major problem for Carter.

Barack Obama can learn a lesson from all of these presidents about how to break out of the gridlock that has bogged down Washington. They will have to use their hundred days to build confidence in the government and its ability to stabilize the economic system, taking advantage of the narrow window they will have to get legislation through.

Obama will have to define himself in relation to his predecessor, but in this case by demonstrating clearly to the public what he will do differently, rather than the same, as President Bush. And, finally, the new president will need to find legislation that attracts some support from the opposition to diminish the power of polarization on Capitol Hill and establish the groundwork for future compromise.

The one thing that Obama must realize is that those hundred days will disappear quickly. Once they are gone, as Bill Clinton learned after delaying his push for health care reform, the political capital is hard to get back.

Crowds at the inaugural parade cheer and snap photos of President Obama on Tuesday.

Millions of people packed the Mall early Tuesday to watch Obama’s inauguration and later hit the parade route to catch a glimpse of the new president. For many, the inauguration was the realization of a dream they never thought could be fulfilled.

This is America happening,” said Evadey Minott of Brooklyn, New York. “It was prophesied by [the Rev. Martin Luther] King that we would have a day when everyone would come together. This is that day. I am excited. I am joyful. It brings tears to my eyes.” Obama’s speech: How did he do?

L.J. Caldwell of Somerset, New Jersey, said Obama’s inauguration capped five decades of struggle for African-Americans.

“When you think back, Malcolm [X] fought. Then we come a little further, Rosa Parks sat. Then come up a little further, and Martin [King Jr.] spoke. Then today, President Obama ran, and we won.” Video Watch Obama say Americans have “chosen hope over fear”

iReporter Barbara Talisman, 48, of Chicago, watched Tuesday from a spot on the Mall near the American Museum of Natural History.

“The historical significance of today and importance of our work made it necessary for me to be here and not at home. I want to be a witness,” Talisman said.

Kim Akins, 43, of Chicago, Illinois, who lives just blocks from Obama’s home, made the trek to Washington with her 8-year-old daughter, Chloe.
Vanessa Reed of Centerville, Virginia, took her daughters to a spot on the inaugural parade route.

Vanessa Reed of Centerville, Virginia, took her daughters to a spot on the inaugural parade route.
more photos »

“I was going to take my daughter here if it was the last thing I did,” she said. “It’s breathtaking. … It’s overwhelming.”

Vanessa Reed of Centerville, Virginia, who brought her two young daughters to the inauguration, reflected on Obama’s speech as she sat with her daughters across from the presidential reviewing stand at the end of the parade route.

“It was beautiful. It spoke to the issues of the moment,” said Reed, who worked for the Obama campaign. “I am proud this country saw what we saw in him.”

Patrick Bragg, 44, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, contemplated the day as he tried to stay warm standing over steam vents on H Street.
Patrick Bragg says he rode a bike 18 miles to get to downtown Washington on Tuesday morning.

Patrick Bragg says he rode a bike 18 miles to get to downtown Washington on Tuesday morning.
more photos »

“I’ve been sitting here thinking — it’s really beautiful,” said Bragg, who rode a bike 18 miles from Bethesda, Maryland, to attend Tuesday’s ceremonies. “This is what I would consider the true representation of all of America. Obama gives everyone space at the table.”

Some of those attending Tuesday recalled how they were part of the effort that culminated in the historic day.

“You remember why you are doing it all, why you were working so hard on the campaign making phone calls, knocking on doors and getting slammed in the face sometimes,” said iReporter Vanessa Palmer of the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Howard University student Shakuwra Garrett, 18, said she felt like “a part of history.”

“I can carry this with me the rest of my life,” Garrett said. “It’s an accomplishment for all of us.”

The accomplishment crossed borders and oceans for some of those at Tuesday’s inauguration.

“The dream came true,” said Fatima Cone, 39, who came to the U.S. from Ivory Coast, where her mother wears an Obama T-shirt.

She conveyed the excitement her family feels in West Africa.

“The fight is the same for all blacks. It’s the same story. It’s the same fight wherever you come from,” Cone said.

Canadians Peter and Susan Butler drove down from Toronto, Ontario, to see the event and “support the American people.” iReport.com: Are you in Washington? Share your story

“This is a world event,” Susan Butler said. “We can tell our grandchildren we were here.”
Briton Simon Ginty called the Obama inauguration “an international moment.”

Briton Simon Ginty called the Obama inauguration “an international moment.”
more photos »

Simon Ginty of Manchester, England, said the world was celebrating Tuesday.

“This is an international moment as well as an American moment. I’m excited to see how Obama changes things. I imagine things are gonna be on the up,” Ginty said.

Eli Bracken, an iReporter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, drove into Washington early Tuesday to try to see the inauguration, but large crowds kept him away from the Mall. Video Watch a satellite image of the crowd »

Instead, he watched on TV from a McDonald’s restaurant on E Street near the Canadian Embassy. The eatery went silent during the inaugural prayer, he said.

“It was just cool that everybody knew they were witnessing something awesome,” Bracken said. “There were people gathered around every car they could just to hear it.”

Dartmouth College student Amarita Sankar, 18, watched Obama’s speech on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

“Whenever I hear him speak, I want to be a better person. That’s what you want in a leader, ” Sankar said.
Margaret Trowelle of Jersey City, New Jersey, gets strangers to autograph an inauguration hat Tuesday.

Margaret Trowelle of Jersey City, New Jersey, gets strangers to autograph an inauguration hat Tuesday.

Margaret Trowelle of Jersey City, New Jersey, showed off a hat she had signed by others she’s met in the nation’s capital.

“Everyone is so friendly,” she said.

Benica Tripleti from Eastern Kentucky University was among a group of 54 people headed to the Mall. She said she had one goal: “to see Obama’s head.”

Kathie Easom and Christine Hannon of upstate New York were looking to plant themselves on the Mall and watch the proceedings on a screen.

“It’s a once in a lifetime event,” Easom said.

Eight rows behind the inauguration stand, Sylvia Schoen of Phoenix, Arizona, waited in the morning cold.

“It’s freezing. It’s worth it. It’s worth it,” she said. Video Watch the atmosphere surrounding the inauguration »

“Obama’s cause is all about the future. I think that’s why everyone’s so excited right now,” Schoen said. “It’s like we can do anything. Look what we just did, the people. The people did this. Not the politicians. We did it.”

Harvard University student Megan Starr, 21, was impressed with the crowd.

“I’ve never seen people excited about politics before,” she said. “Usually they are politically apathetic, but people are getting involved.”
Woodie Lee Durham of Buffalo, New York, says Tuesday marks a milestone for African-American influence.

In a seating section for the disabled on the Mall, Woodie Lee Durham of Buffalo, New York, said Tuesday was a landmark for African-American influence on America.

“It is no longer a question; this is the answer,” Durham said.

Of the millions who came to hear Obama speak, many made sure to hit the parade route, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the new president.

“Obama! Obama!” throngs of people cheered as the limo carrying the new president made its way down the street.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, stepped out of the presidential limo for a couple of minutes and walked the parade route, waving to supporters as they passed.

Meghann Curtis, 30, of New Jersey was at the Mall for the inauguration but also managed to snag a seat at the parade.

“It was majestic. That’s the word that keeps coming to mind,” she said.

“They are elegant and tall and gorgeous,” Curtis said of the Obamas. “There is something breathtaking about the two of them.”

Many reached for their cameras, trying to capture a permanent memory of the moment. Supporters waved American flags, and some even sang as they waited for their chance to greet President Obama. Photo See photos of Obama’s inauguration »

After 12 hours of waiting, many of them in the cold, Karin Riggs, 29, of Seattle, Washington, and her bandmates marched into history. The trumpet player was one of 177 participants, from 26 states, performing with the Lesbian and Gay Band Association — the first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group in history to be invited to march in a presidential inaugural parade.

“We were not just making history for our organization. We were making history for the LGBT community,” she said by phone.

Danielle Davis and son Carson, 6, of Chantilly, Virginia, got into their parade seats at 10:40 a.m.
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Davis said the experience was worth dealing with freezing weather and a long wait.

“It was exciting, thrilling,” she said. “I am so glad to be a part of history.”

George Stephanopoulos reports

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., who is battling a brain tumor, was taken away from the congressional luncheon in convulsions.

Kennedy was at a table with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Vice President Mondale and Mrs. Mondale, and others. While at the table, Kennedy began having seizures that lasted for several minutes. As they were carrying Kennedy out of the room, he was still seizing. President Barack Obama went out of the room with him, but he is back in the luncheon room now.

We are also told that Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., the oldest member of the Senate, was so upset and distraught from what he had witnessed, that he needed to be taken out.  Byrd was conscious when he was taken from the room. The two have been friends for a very, very long time.

Obama just spoke to the luncheon about Kennedy, appearing extremely sober:

“First of all, I know that while I was out of the room, concern was expressed about Teddy,” Obama said. “He was there when the Voting Rights Act passed. And, along with John Lewis, was a warrior for justice. And so I would be lying to you if I did not say that right now a part of me is with him. And I think that is true for all of us. This is a joyous time, but it’s also a sobering time. And my prayers are with him and his family and Vicki.”

An ambulance could be seen driving from the U.S. Capitol.

Today is the day we have all been waiting for. The swearing in of our next President. BBC has stated that all of the UK is following it as if it were the Coronation of a Queen or King! Coverage is world wide to watch our new President take office. Never in the past has there been so much attention given to the U.S.
BBC NEWS HEADLINE -
Barack Obama to open new US era

UK events mark Obama inauguration

CNN HEADLINES -

Washington awakens with inauguration buzz

Time line -

(9:55 EST): President Bush welcomes Barack Obama to the White House for coffee
(11:30 EST): Obama and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden arrive at the Capitol for the official inaugural ceremony; Biden is sworn in
(12:00 EST): Obama takes the oath of office, delivers the inaugural address
(12:40 EST): Obama escorts Bush and former VP Dick Cheney to a departure ceremony

As many as 2 million people are expected to crowd into the area between the Capitol, the White House and the Lincoln Memorial as Barack Obama takes the oath of office at noon.

You can watch it live on Facebook