‘People never thought this day would come’

Published 11:19 pm Tuesday, January 20, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Austin Valadez isn’t accustomed to waking before dawn. He had no problem doing that on Tuesday.

The Marysville 14-year-old knew he had a date with history and wasn’t about to let the early hour or icy cold prevent him from seeing Barack Obama sworn in.

“It’s something I will remember for the rest of my life,” Austin said. “It was amazing.”

He and 38 other Totem Middle School students, along with teachers and parent chaperones, arrived at the National Mall about 6:30 a.m. Without tickets, they claimed grass near the Washington Monument — far from the stage but with a great view of a nearby Jumbotron.

“It was a really good spot,” he said. “It was kind of cold. We all huddled together like penguins to keep warm. It worked.”

The ceremony began and history unrolled, leading up to Obama’s speech.

“It was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had,” he said.

Several thousand Washington residents traveled east for the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States and the first who is black.

Most couldn’t see the stage and relied on those big screens to follow the ceremony.

Eric and Beth Lucas were fortunate enough not to need a technological aid to see Obama take the oath of office.

The Everett couple’s tickets put them in the middle and near the front, a view enjoyed by few of an estimated 2 million people shoehorned into the National Mall.

“I was thrilled,” said Eric Lucas, Snohomish County’s first African-American judge. “It was like a party out there. Everybody was jumping up and down. It was exciting. Words can’t really cover that. It was terrific, fantastic.”

Lucas said he was glad Obama spoke of a new era of responsibility and service. He has been waiting since John F. Kennedy to hear another president preach that message.

Obama surprised him by packing so much information on the world situation into the inaugural address, he said.

“I don’t think I’ve seen another presidential inauguration that was that detailed with regards to current events,” he said. “It had some philosophical themes, but it wasn’t primarily philosophical or theological. It was very, very direct. I was surprised by that.”

Members of Congress had good seats, too. They sat on raised platforms where they had a sightline to President Barack Obama and an expansive view of the monstrous crowd.

“It was a sea of people and I don’t mean to be cliche,” Rep. Rick Larsen said. “It looked literally like sea waves out there with the movement of all the people. To hear the roar for Obama was incredible.”

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, said one couldn’t help but have one’s emotions stirred.

“If you’re present in the moment, thinking about everything, thinking about the president, thinking about the people hoping and praying for the nation, it really touches you,” she said.

The two federal legislators heard Obama say plenty about what the next few months in Congress will be like.

He spelled out the crises of the war in Iraq and the troubled economy and the resolve needed to deal with both, they said.

“The Obama administration will be about steadfast determination,” she said.

“This is game day for us,” Larsen said. “I’m ready. I’m excited.”

Excitement is what Josh Ogden, an Everett High School sophomore, felt Tuesday.

“I went to something that was a defining moment in history,” said Ogden, who joined student leaders from across the country for the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference.

“People never thought this day would come,” he said. “Now, an African-American is the leader of the greatest nation of the world.”

Students from Cascade High School came away feeling speechless.

“I don’t even know how to describe how amazing it was being there,” said Cascade junior Ashley Wysong. “A lot of people can say, ‘I went to D.C. and to the Capitol.’ Not many students can say, ‘I went and saw Obama be sworn in.’”

The 23-student contingent waited in the cold for five hours before finally making it into the inauguration, where they had to split up and stand in different sections.

Wysong, who was in the silver section, hasn’t heard many politicians speak so she doesn’t have much to compare Obama’s address to. Still, she was impressed.

“He was very honest and very up-front about what they need to do to the country next and about how we have to pick ourselves up,” she said.

Senior Candice Westerlund stood in the orange section, snapping photos of the Capitol and watching the nation’s first African-American president get sworn in.

“It was very great — very, very, very, very memorable,” she said. “It was just amazing that we got to see everything go on and see it live.”

Another classmate, junior Katie Kloes of Everett, had not contemplated a life in public service until hearing Obama.

“I think I might want a career in politics and try to help make some of the changes he’s talking about,” she said.

Even Republicans in D.C. for the inauguration came away impressed Tuesday.

“President Obama changed the tone of the country from negative to positive with his comments,” Everett businesswoman Gigi Burke said. “The crowd’s energy was positive, motivating and inspiring.

“He humbly asked the citizens to bond together and be accountable and help the necessary changes,” she said. “This country needs to get back on track.”

Vicki Gillis of Arlington said she was “inspired” by Obama’s speech.

“And I’m a Republican,” she joked. Turning serious, she said, “I was truly inspired because I’m at the point now that I think we all have to come together.”

Gillis, a fundraiser for Republican candidates, attended former President Bush’s inauguration in 2005 with a ticket.

Tuesday, rather than battle the immense crowds, she watched from her room at the Gaylord Resort hotel with another Republican, Joyce Edwards of Everett.

She said she’s been on the National Mall and in the big crowds and found everyone to be very friendly.

“We tell people we’re Republicans. They’ve been very welcoming, very gracious,” she said.

When people greet each other, they embrace, she said.

“I’m a hugger. I was so glad to see the hugging go on today,” she said.

Back in Washington state, silence filled the halls of the state Capitol and committee hearings were canceled throughout Olympia to let lawmakers watch Obama’s inauguration.

House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, and a couple members of his staff watched in his office.

“We’re glad that America is excited,” DeBolt said as Aretha Franklin took the microphone. “Any time we have so much hope and optimism in the country is a good thing. I hope we all stay together and realize we are one nation.”

Groups of Democrats gathered in rooms surrounding the chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

About 50 people, mostly state representatives, watched on a TV screen inside the caucus room of the House Democrats. They stood when Obama took the oath of office and cheered loudly at the end of his address.

“It was an excellent speech,” said Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip. “There’s been a lot of change in the last 60 years and it’s been good for the nation. With all that change behind us, it’s time to move forward.”

Rep. Mary Helen Roberts, D-Lynnwood, organized the get-together that included a cake with red-white-and-blue frosting.

“I thought it was wonderful,” she said of the speech. “This was more focused on the kinds of things we need to think about for the future.”

Rep. Mike Sells, D-Everett, said it was a day of emotion and history.

“His words have the power and impact to bring people together,” he said. “It is a first, another American first. Who’d have thought 30 years ago this could happen?”

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.