Bird’s-Eye View

You may have seen Supreme Court Justice John Roberts decided, out of caution, to re-administer the oath of office to Barack Obama tonight since they stumbled over the oath yesterday. When I first heard, my heart sunk for the 2 million people who thought they saw the history-making event of a black man become president. […]

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I read about some hoopla about whether President Obama really is president since he and Chief Justice John Roberts mangled the oath.
Here’s what the Constitution says:
“Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: - ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the […]

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I’m sitting exhausted at a Starbucks in Maryland, working on tomorrow’s story, but I wanted to send a few images from the journey today to Obama’s Inauguration. Hope you enjoy:
The crowd entering Greenbelt Metro station at 5:30 a.m.:

Riding the Metro train into Washington at about 6 a.m.:

The U.S. Capitol at dawn:

Who let boxing promoter Don […]

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Tomorrow, I’m going to think about two people, and this was prompted by what Rev. Mark Breland said during the Martin Luther King Jr. service in Lititz. He asked the congregation to think about the unsung heroes, the marchers or those who suffered and are not celebrated the way King is today.
One person I’ll think […]

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Just arrived at my hotel in Laurel, Md., and the entire way as I drove through the heaviest snow of the season I was thinking how we oughta write an article targeting how wrong meteorologists have been this year. I’m one of meteorology’s biggest defenders, but this year has been ridiculous when it comes to […]

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What would be the perfect momento from the Inauguration? T-shirt? Nah. Button? Nope! Hat? Forget it.
You should definitely make room in the wallet for the Barack Obama Bobblehead. You can find these at any of the street vendors hawking kitschy merchandise for between $20 and $30. I found mine at Union Station near the U.S. […]

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Aides to Barack Obama have begun to speak about what the president-elect has chosen as the theme for his inaugural address - Responsibility.
From the Washington Post :
Obama will talk about restoring a sense of responsibility in the country, (Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs) said, conveying his belief that “we need more responsibility and accountability, certainly, […]

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I’ve spent some frigid days and nights in the wilderness. There was the night along the Loyalsock Trail when temperatures dove below 10 degrees, and that 12-hour sleet storm in New Hampshire’s Pemigewassett Wilderness last February. But ranking up there (or should I say “down”?) was the icy day I spent Friday in Washington, D.C.
If […]

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Boy, I hate making mistakes. And I made a glaring error in this morning’s story about the inaugural address. See if you can catch it in this paragraph:
Sometimes, the circumstances inspire the speech. Think about Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, when, in 1865, he appealed to the “better angels of our nature” as the Civil […]

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The Washington Post published a map of where 22 jumbotrons will stand on the National Mall for Barack Obama’s Inauguration. I’ve posted a link to the map on the Bird’s-Eye View Inauguration Info Center. Officials figure with an estimated 2 million people coming to Obama’s swearing-in, many of those attendees won’t be able to actually witness […]

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