Click image to see more photos. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hundreds of thousands of spectators descended on the National Mall Monday morning to watch President Barack Obama take the oath of office for a second time. The festivities are more muted than four years ago, when nearly two million people showed up.
The president greeted the American flag-waving crowd from the steps of the Capitol shortly before 11:30 a.m. He is expected to take the oath a little before noon. Shortly afterwards, he will deliver his inaugural address. The First Family will then attend a luncheon, before the inaugural parade starts around 3 p.m.
The First Family emerged from an 8:45 a.m. service at St. John's Episcopal Church Monday morning.?Obama took time to tweet during church Monday morning. "I'm honored and grateful that we have a chance to finish what we started. Our work begins today. Let's go. -bo," he wrote. During the service, the congregation prayed for the men and women in the armed services, the Supreme Court justices, and the nation. Bishop Vacti Mckenzie blessed Obama and Vice President Joe Biden while they stood in the front row with their heads bowed.
The president shared a laugh with his daughters upon his return to the White House Monday morning. Malia ran up to his limousine and shouted "Boo!" at her father. "You scared me!" he joked back as the Obamas together entered the White House.
Inauguration 2013
Early on Monday, it seemed the District had drawn nowhere near the number of guests that descended upon the city in 2009. Streets near the White House were busy at 6 a.m., but very walkable despite the large number of closed-off streets and pedestrian-prohibited pathways. In 2009, nearly two million people showed up to watch the nation's first black president take the oath of office.
Michelle Obama is wearing a navy dress and coat by the American designer Thom Browne, and accessories by J.Crew. The outfit will be donated to the National Archives after the Inauguration. Malia Obama is wearing a purple J.Crew outfit, while her sister Sasha, also in purple, wears Kate Spade.
Inside Statutory Hall in the U.S. Capitol, florists put the finishing touches on the room where Obama will dine with members of Congress after the ceremony. Tables were set with coral flower centerpieces and adorned with fine silver and glassware. Walking from table to table, a decorator and her assistant made sure not a single piece of silverware, dish or chair was even a millimeter out of place.
Behind the head table, where the president and the First Lady will dine, stood the lectern, in the shape of a golden eagle, from which Obama will speak later that day.
Obama already took the oath of office in a private swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.
--Yahoo News reporters Chris Moody, Rachel Hartman and Liz Goodwin contributed from Washington.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/inauguration-day-kicks-off-washington-132853541--election.html
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