On Tuesday, Barack Obama will become the nation’s 44th president in a ceremony rich with meaning and steeped in tradition. Yet his inauguration will be like no other, as millions of Americans who helped elect him will descend on Washington — or gather around television sets at home or computer screens at work — to witness history.
They’ll listen to the first African-American president address the country at a time of immense challenges — an economy in distress, a growing health-care crisis and a world in turmoil.
But before those problems are tackled, Inauguration Day will offer a time to pause, to look back on Obama’s historic journey to the White House and to anticipate his administration with a sense of urgency — and hope.
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The fashion
The speech
The performers
The ceremony
