WASHINGTON D.C. — People jammed into the National Mall today to celebrate President Barack Obama’s inauguration, waving flags and cheering as they watched the Jumbotrons.
Frederick Community College professor Ken Kerr took the train down today and watched from the Mall.
“People were very joyous, and I think people understood the bigness of the moment,” Kerr said. “There were times when the crowd was just absolutely silent as if everybody was just taking in the moment.”
Kerr, the advisor of the College Democrats at FCC, campaigned for Obama and was glad he was able to watch him take office. Having Obama as president signals a 180 degree turn for the country, he said.
“I think we’ve moved beyond a lot of the things that have held us back in terms of the differences between the races and the animosity between people,” Kerr said.
He thought it was interesting that the crowd cheered for the Obamas, Bidens and Clintons, but remained silent when Republicans came on the screen.
In some cases, the crowd booed President George W. Bush and even sang “na na na, hey hey, good bye.”
On stage, Obama was greeted with a color guard, Marine band and a performance by Aretha Franklin.
The new president acknowledged the current economic crisis and asked the nation to begin a “new era of responsibility.”
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America,” he said.
For more, read Wednesday’s edition of The Frederick News-Post.
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