By Patrick Pho
Four years ago I trudged down to The Mall and stood in the cold to see Barack Obama get sworn in as President of the United States of America. This time around I avoided The Mall and checked out the Inaugural Parade instead. I still ended up waiting outside in the cold but it wasn’t that bad.
Read on for lots of photos from the parade route.
By Patrick Pho
‘Lake Show!’
courtesy of ‘Jason Rosenberg’
Last night a streak was broken in basketball. Unfortunately I’m not talking about the Wizards’ current losing streak. Their sixth loss in a row (13th on the road) ended an eight-game losing streak for the New Jersey Nets. The 97-89 loss did have one silver lining: another great game for backup guard Nick Young. Young scored 22 points in the losing effort and now has back-to-back games of 20 points. Young is having a strong season as an offensive spark off the bench and in a conversation with Laker’s forward Ron Artest I talked to him about Young’s improvement while he spoke about his recent meeting with President Obama. I also got a chance to get a quote from Young about his play in a game where his team is often behind.
Watch the video after the cut.
By Ben H. Rome
Lyndon B. Johnson’s photographer Yoichi Okamoto disappeared behind the President to make this image. Okamoto would have been below the eye line of almost all of the reporters in the room. (LBJ Library/Yoichi Okamoto, p. 118); courtesy National Geographic
Photographs. They’re a common form of expression in media today; they’re everywhere. To many, none are more relevant or as communicative as those taken of the President of the United States. We see them every day in the paper, on websites, on television. “Pictures are worth a thousand words,” says the old adage; none more so true than those of the most powerful and important position in these United States.
But what about the men and women behind those shots? Ever wonder about them – who they are, how they do what they do, what it takes to get “that shot”? John Bredar recently published The President’s Photographer: 50 Years Inside the Oval Office. Bredar primarily chronicles Pete Souza, President Obama’s chief photographer (and former photographer for President Ronald Reagan), through the book while discussing the unique ins and outs of the position with past photographers. We managed – with National Geographic’s help (and a review copy of Brader’s book)- to catch former Presidential photographers Eric Draper and David Hume Kennerly and find out a little bit more about who some of these special and unique individuals are behind the lens.
Access to the President “behind the scenes” by photographers is, in the sense of Presidential history, only a recent development. “Do we really need someone following the President of the United States around every day with a camera?” Bredar asks in his book. When photographer Edward Steichen approached President Lyndon Johnson about it, he posed a simple question: “Just think what it would mean if we had such a photographic record of Lincoln’s presidency?” Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
‘”you gonna eat that?”‘
courtesy of ‘oceandesetoiles’
It’s hot out there in the district but that won’t keep President Obama from being a gracious host to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. The two just hit up Ray’s Hell Burger in Rosslyn where the two had burgers and shared fries together. What a touching moment for the US and Russia, sharing fries! According to Fox News’ Major Garrett Obama enjoyed a burger w/cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato & “bread & butter” pickles and Medvedev had a burger with cheddar cheese, onions, jalapenos and mushrooms.
How bold of the Russian leader to opt for the spicy on his burger!
Medvedev is in Washington today to talk with Obama about the global economy and other assorted international business stuff that World Leaders often talk about. Obama is no stranger to Ray’s, having visited the joint with VP Biden last May.
Check out more photos and video below:
By Rebecca
‘busey’
courtesy of ‘spectabillis’
Thankfully, it’s not that often that Gary Busey and DC cross paths. However, the geniuses at http://barackandgary.tumblr.com/ have a lot of time on their hands and have photoshopped shots from the official White House Flickr stream with Busey’s head. My personal favorite is the photo of Busey with Clinton, Gates and Obama. Classic. Not sure what the purpose of this project is, but it was a great way to start hump day.
By Max
P020109PS-0339 by The Official White House Photostream
I thought I’d take a breather from highlighting a photo from our WLDC pool today. As Tom pointed out last week, Pete Souza and the White House photography team have begun sharing some of their photos on Flickr, giving us unprecedented insight into Obama’s daily life and legitimizing his belief that “to help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative.” He was voted into office as a man of the people, as an agent of change, and by sharing these photos with us, whether they be of a stuffy cabinet meeting or a putting practice session with Joe Biden, he brings us one step closer into his world. We’ve had White House photographers for many years, but this is the first administration to understand the importance of social media.
By Max
_MG_0727 by dbking
Between tackling the swine flu pandemic, appointing a new Supreme Court justice, saving the faltering economy, and walking the family dog, the first couple found some time to spend together away from the pressures of the White House. Barack and Michelle Obama reportedly had an early dinner at Citronelle in Georgetown Saturday night, followed up by a private, hand-in-hand stroll around the White House grounds. When was the last time you heard of a president and his wife going on a date together? Did anyone witness the big crowd of onlookers outside of the restaurant?
Judging by the apparent love between POTUS and FLOTUS, this is surely not their last romantic excursion into DC’s restaurant scene. We’d love to hear about some of our readers’ most memorable dates and recommendations for the Obamas’ next night out on the town. Barack if you’re listening, I highly recommend taking Michelle to Lauriol Plaza for a refreshing pitcher of margaritas and queso dip some time. You don’t always have to take her to a five star restaurant you know.
By brownpau
Photo by cruffo
The Obama Express has arrived! Union Station was a circus tonight — thousands of people clogging the Grand Hall and concourse hoping to catch a glimpse of the president-elect at the end of his whistle-stop tour, with memorabilia vendors hawking their wares at every corner. Sadly, as indicated on Union Station’s website, the arrival was not meant to be a public event. The president-elect and all his travelling companions boarded their motorcade directly from the platform area, skipping over the concourse and heading straight for Blair House.
More photos of the Union Station madness at GreasyGuide.com.
By Max
Ben’s Chili Bowl by dbking
President-elect Barack Obama chowed down with Mayor Fenty at Ben’s Chili Bowl this afternoon. Since the owners recently changed their “eat for free” policy to include Bill Cosby and Obama, I’m guessing he didn’t have to pay much for that half smoke. Asked if this was his first time at Ben’s he replied, “It is, actually, and it was terrific.”
There’s no word on whether or not Obama and Fenty were out boozin’ it up prior to their trip to Ben’s – a right of passage here in DC.
By Tom Bridge
The Obamas have arrived in DC for the next 10 days, as the girls are starting at Sidwell Friends today, and the President-Elect has business on The Hill talking about the bailout. They’ll be staying at the Hay-Adams for the next 10 days or so, which means additional street closures around the hotel. H Street is closed between Connecticut and Vermont, 16th between H and I is also closed, as well. Avoid the area at all costs if you’re driving.
By Tom Bridge
Police protect Nick Altrock from adoring crowd, 1906 by Boston Public Library
Not Inaugural Fever as in “escalated to a fever pitch,” but rather Inaugural Fever as in, “Hm, I think I will stay home today.” I’m excited for the inauguration. Right after the Election, I devised just about every possible plan to get down to the Mall, to get a ticket for the actual event on the steps of the Capitol. None of them worked, mind you, because I don’t tend to donate to national politics, or really ever approach my elected representatives about much. I figured, “Hey, wouldn’t it be a cool and very DC thing to do to go down to the Inauguration?”
Yeah. It would be. But I suspect this is something that’s far better in theory than in practice. The cavalcade of news stories about how crowded DC is going to be has cinched the deal. With the Park Service expecting anywhere from 1 to 4 million people, Metro freaking out because they can’t carry any more than 1 million people, yet 1.6 million people are expected. John Catoe’s done everything except ask for DC to close down except for inaugural traffic.
Bathrooms are going to be hard to come by downtown, and by the Mall, so expect long lines just to pee. January temperatures make hanging out on the Mall sound like hanging out inside the walk-in freezer with 1 million of your best friends. Better yet? They’re not letting people on the Mall until after 7am, which means that if you want to get there early, you can’t. So get ready for a huge crush of people in the Downtown Core starting about 5:30am, if not earlier, to get onto the Mall proper. Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign by Barack Obama
While the final totals are still being tallied, it’s readily apparent that Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States on 20 January 2009. Virginia, DC & Maryland will cast their electors all for Senator Obama in December, the first time they’ve all been cast for the same party since 1964.
Kwame Brown and Michael Brown lead in the At-Large City Council race, with Patrick Mara and Carol Schwartz in 3rd & 4th. Eleanor Holmes Norton will return as our Delegate to the House. Maryland will get both Early Voting & Slot Machines. We still have no freaking idea what happened in Arlington. Well, we do, but it’s hard to believe that DC got their votes up before Arlington county did.
I’m exhausted. It was a rollercoaster tonight, and it ended with an incredible speech by President-Elect Obama. This was the end of his speech tonight, and I think it deserves to be printed here:
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes we can.
Congratulations, Mr. President-Elect.
By Tom Bridge
Miss Peacock In the Kitchen With a Knife by tzofia
Yesterday’s crazy story in the news was about Ashley Todd, who claimed to have been beaten and robbed at ATM, and when they saw the McCain/Palin sticker on her car, the thugs came back to carve a B in her cheek. Creepy. As. Fuck. While it happened up the road in Pittsburgh, it resonated
Yeah, it’s apparently all made up by Ms. Todd. She has now confessed to the police admitting that she cut herself and inflicted the wounds for political ends.
11 days til this craziness abates, right?