From Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill

Nous célebrons à la maniere Obamania le D-Day, en direct de Washington, avec notre ami Antoine Mc Grath.

Lui-même au seuilde la Maison Blanche, Il nous livre ses premières impressions sur la cérémonie plus symbolique que jamais… Antoine :



The U.S. Presidential Inauguration is a tradition in our country. It includes the swearing-in of a newly elected United States President, and marks the beginning of their presidency.

By mandate of the U.S. constitution requires the incoming President to be sworn in by making the following declaration:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

An optional, but frequent addition to this oath concludes with “so help me God.”

Following the oath it is tradition for the new President to make an inaugural address. This tradition has been violated by only four presidents and was the probable cause of death for our 9th President William Henry Jackson who in 1841 delivered a nearly 2 hour inaugural address on an exceptionally cold day. William Jackson holds two records, one for having delivered the longest inaugural address, and for having the served only 31 days as president. His presidency also came at the age of 68, which gave him a third record of being the oldest man to be elected president until Ronald Regan became president at the age of 70, John McCain is 73.

John F. Kennedy had a particularly memorable inaugural address; 40 years after being delivered it is frequently reverenced in the U.S. the following are a few excerpts:

To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

The inauguration of Barrack Obama is estimated to attract 2.5 million people. Concerts, bars, benefits, balls and more are available and the festivities have been in full swing beginning with a free concert at the Lincoln memorial Sunday the 18th. Many of the inaugural events are free, however most evening benefit balls will cost roughly 100 USD, and can exceed 1,000 USD for a single ticket.

Today on January 20th the White House will host a parade, and the U.S. Capitol will hold the official inauguration of our 44th President Barrack Obama. Capitol Hill will be reserved for ticket holders, who were able to secure them from their representatives in advance. The rest of the surrounding area will be open to the public and equipped with live visual’s and audio of the ceremony.

On January 19th 2008 inauguration tickets were made available for pick up in the offices of Congress members and Senators. Each Representative’s office received thousands of inaugural ticket requests since November 4th and had a mere 200 to distribute. By 10 AM fortunate ticket winners were wrapped around the capitol offices waiting for entry to pick up the ticket(s) they had been assigned. It was a chilled day but diligent constituents warmed each other with jovial camaraderie as hope flavored snow fell from the sky.

Contents of the Official Inaugural Packets

• Invitation


• Program of Ceremonies and Information on the history of Lincoln
  “The Presidential Inauguration of 2009 takes place as the nation prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.”


• Obama and Biden Portraits
  Accompanied by their stock signature


• Inauguration Ticket
  Secured with an embossed official seal, fine print, and holographic strip. Imprinted with a not for sale notice

Pour retrouver les images de Washington et revenir sur les moments forts de sa traversée des States à vélo durant la campagne, n'hésitez pas à parcourir la gallerie d'Antoine !



Merci Antoine ! :)