When Obama came to town

Ringside tickets to history don’t come cheap. In fact they cost nothing at all.

Like millions of others I applied for the chance to witness Barack Obama’s inauguration in the flesh. I had worked on his campaign for six months in Texas. My name was put forward and entered into the proverbial hat.
To my delight, my inbox lit up with the words, “The Presidential Inaugural Committee is pleased to offer you the opportunity to attend the inaugural festivities.” Price – Free. Time stood still just like it did on the night of November 4, when Obama was elected President.
Fast forward to last Sunday (18) and this writer was aboard an Aer Lingus flight to JFK. Half full or half empty depending on your take, the plane was the usual mix of banter and insomnia.
Getting the Obama gig was the result of a chance meeting with an Austin native in a Croatian hostel. The Texan said his friend was well connected in the Lone Star State with Obama’s Campaign for Change. We swapped emails and he promised to put in a good word for the eager Irish traveller.
A month later his friend, Ken Flippin, emails me to ask when am I coming over. I packed my bags and touched down in Texas in April where my first encounter with Ken was in the airport. “You came all this way for Obama? Damn we are definitely going to win now!” quipped my new friend. Seven months later we’d bonded like brothers and witnessed history unfold along the way.
Downtown DC was a peculiar place to be in the early hours. Practically deserted, the city was surrounded by a veritable ring of steel barriers all the way from the Lincoln Memorial to Capitol Hill.
Numbers vary but a conservative estimate is that two million people descended on the US capital for the inauguration. LBJ’s record from 1965 was smashed. One man who was able to remember that occasion was a local taxi driver by the name of Fred. “I marched in Kennedy’s inauguration in 61,” recalled the sprightly 74-year old. “I’ve never seen anything like this though. People have come from everywhere just for Barack. You would think it’s good for business but it ain’t. Traffic is insane.”
Room rates were quadrupled in some cases and forget about finding a table to drink your glass of $7 beer. Still, would you really want to be anywhere else?
Come the morning of January 20th we rose at 4am and left our shared house in Virginia an hour later. Predictably the line for metro tickets was long even at 5.15am but the freezing fans were rewarded with a special edition pass featuring a picture of the new President.
Wherever you went you say Obama supporters – and vendors trying to make a buck from proceedings. Along with the usual hats and t-shirts souvenir hunters could acquire Obama chocolate bars and slippers with bizarre plastic faces of the new first family.
Our tickets were of the silver variety so we had to get there early. Signposting was adequate for the purple and green holders but us silver clutchers had to battle against contradictory directions from the secret service and police. Not to mention the bitter cold.
On the way I encountered Channel 4’s Jon Snow who seemed genuinely impressed that I knew who he was. “Isn’t this marvellous?” remarked the veteran broadcaster. Indeed.
The lack of adequate directions didn’t ruin the mood. Whilst climbing over a barrier a man promptly fell onto a bush below. Quick as a flash an elderly black lady said, “Damn Bush, he is still trying to ruin things!” Everyone laughed. It made the wait easier to bear.
Finally we reached the entry point for silver tickets. Our hearts sank as we saw the queue reaching round block after block. Put simply there was no way we’d make it in before the ceremony got underway on time. Reluctantly, we trudged toward the Smithsonian district. Then, a shock.Barriers had been removed and we’d wormed our way into the silver ticket district totally bypassing security. Fortunately the most threatening item any of us had on our person was a couple of scathing editorials in the morning press.
With the clock now past eleven bells we shoved our way to a decent vantage point near the National Museum of the American Indian. The faces at the Capitol were no bigger than smarties though there was a big screen and speaker within earshot.
If you needed to take a pee you had to wait for it. There was one loo outside the National Air and Space Museum. The organisation of the inauguration was quite a contrast to the almost flawlessly run Obama campaign. By the end of Tuesday, the word on the Hill was that questions were being asked by the powers that be. As one friend put it, “That was a bit Irish.” Harsh.
Our date with destiny was almost upon us – all two million and more who got to be here. There was rapturous applause for Presidents Carter and Clinton. When the incumbent W was introduced the claps were muted and the boos audible.
Traditionally the new President is sworn in minutes before midday. Breaking with protocol Barack Obama took the oath after 12pm and his first act as President was to eyeball Chief Justice John Roberts who misplaced the “faithfully” in the 35 word oath.
Ironic that his inaugural act was to correct a mistake of a Bush appointee. He will have his hands full tackling rather more pressing errors in the next four years.
As the new President addressed his people for the first time we stood in collective silence. Hanging on his every word there was applause at the appropriate moments. This was no call to arms with snappy soundbites. It was a serious speech during troubled times by an assured man who knows the scale of the task ahead.
“We are ready to lead once more,” said the 44th President. When his 18 minute address reached its conclusion a friend turned to me and said, “That was a real privilege.” A young couple nearby remarked, “I’m glad I spent this moment with you.” Millions around the world nodded their heads in agreement.
The torch carrying the words “Yes we can” has been passed. Now let us begin.