inauguration – News Stories About inauguration - Page 6

Obama Grabs Highest TV Ratings Since Reagan

Jan 22, 2009 2:11 AM CST

Obama Grabs Highest TV Ratings Since Reagan

Web audience sends numbers skyrocketing

(Newser) - Barack Obama's inauguration was the most-watched ever but it failed to set a TV ratings record, USA Today reports. Neilsen estimates 37.8 million television viewers tuned in for the ceremony, while 41.8 million watched Ronald Reagan's 1981 inauguration. But internet viewership broke records and sent figures through the...

'Just to Be Safe,' Obama Should Redo Oath: Experts

Jan 21, 2009 4:40 PM CST

'Just to Be Safe,' Obama Should Redo Oath: Experts

Lawyers advise he retake fudged oath to avoid controversy

(Newser) - OK, it's probably not going to come up in court, but some constitutional lawyers tell the San Francisco Chronicle that Barack Obama should retake his flubbed oath just to be on the safe side. Presidents Coolidge and Arthur did after similar gaffes. It "would take him 30 seconds, he...

China Censors
Obama Speech

Jan 21, 2009 4:00 PM CST

China Censors Obama Speech

President's inclusion of communism as defeated ideology irks government

(Newser) - Chinese censors clipped parts of Barack Obama’s inaugural address from yesterday’s live telecast, including his message for the world’s despots, the New York Times reports. The streaming audio translation was muted after Obama said “communism” in a sentence about using alliances and enduring conviction to defeat...

Inauguration Boosts
Newspapers, for a Day

Jan 21, 2009 1:17 PM CST

Inauguration Boosts Newspapers, for a Day

Customers line up to nab front pages covering historic day

(Newser) - The newspaper industry might be in its death throes, but it briefly jolted to life this morning as long lines of people waited at newsstands for souvenir copies of front pages that hailed the inauguration of America’s first black president, the AP reports. In Washington, some editions of the...

Sports World
Full of Obama Fans

OPINION

Jan 21, 2009 12:28 PM CST

Sports World Full of Obama Fans

Usually politically quiet, sports stars come out in favor of new prez

(Newser) - Barack Obama's powers of inspiration and unification reach beyond the political world: "All around the country, athletes responded to the new president," Gwen Knapp writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. The inauguration sparked tears from big men who take physical punishment for a living, and Obama's rise has...

Kennedy Leaves Hospital

Jan 21, 2009 12:06 PM CST

Kennedy Leaves Hospital

Docs want Mass. senator, 76, to cut back on work

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy was released today from the Washington hospital where he was sent yesterday after suffering a seizure during Congress’ inaugural lunch with President Obama. The 76-year-old Massachusetts senator was back “in good spirits” this morning, the Boston Globe reports, but doctors urged him to reduce his workload. Such...

No, We Can't:
Meet the
Pessimist
in Chief

OPINION

Jan 21, 2009 11:07 AM CST

No, We Can't: Meet the Pessimist in Chief

Despite the rhetoric, Obama offers realism, not hope: Finkelstein

(Newser) - Barack Obama, elected on a tide of optimism, insisted yesterday that a new generation could meet the challenges of the age. Yet he described economic crisis and a collective failure of will, with no promise of rebirth or redemption, Times of London columnist Daniel Finkelstein observes. And that may be...

Noonan: A Solid,
Sober Beginning

OPINION

Jan 21, 2009 10:06 AM CST

Noonan: A Solid, Sober Beginning

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s first speech as president was not “a joyous audacious document, not a call to arms,” writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, “but a reasoned statement by a Young Sobersides.” That’s not a criticism: Moderate and moderated, Obama’s address...

Lines, Arctic Temps...
and a Miracle: Keillor

OPINION

Jan 21, 2009 9:38 AM CST

Lines, Arctic Temps... and a Miracle: Keillor

Writer savors the spirit of goodwill amid throng at inauguration

(Newser) - The lines were "the longest I have ever stood in," and the day was arctic, but there were no complaints to be heard from the jubilant throng in Washington yesterday, Garrison Keillor writes in Salon. "All kinds of people, the slim and sleek, the XXXLs, the heavily...

Amid Clichés,
Speech Showed
True Insight

OPINION

Jan 21, 2009 9:27 AM CST

Amid Clichés, Speech Showed True Insight

New president's speech emphasized how a bright future comes from old traditions

(Newser) - A conservative might have expected President Obama’s inaugural address to feature soaring language masking hackneyed ideas. Funny thing, writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post: It was just the opposite. "It is simply mysterious how such tired language could sound appropriate to the ear of Obama the writer,...

Writers Hail
Message From
a 'Prince'

OPINION

Jan 21, 2009 4:23 AM CST

Writers Hail Message From a 'Prince'

Inaugural address praised as masterful use of language

(Newser) - Barack Obama's inaugural address showed a literary mastery of language, assorted authors tell the Los Angeles Times. The president's plain speaking and restraint is commended, along with his use of "we" instead of "I." Author Ted Wilmer hails the president's use of "tight language, short sentences...

Kennedy
Going Home Tomorrow

Jan 20, 2009 7:42 PM CST

Kennedy Going Home Tomorrow

Senator's seizure probably caused by fatigue, doctor says

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy continues to do well after today's seizure and will be released from the hospital tomorrow morning after a night of observation, the Boston Globe reports. His collapse was probably caused by “simple fatigue,” a doctor said. He is surrounded by family at a Washington hospital after...

Warren Prayed for All—but Invoked Jesus

analysis

Jan 20, 2009 7:24 PM CST

Warren Prayed for All—but Invoked Jesus

Clever phrasing keeps his prayer from being controversial

(Newser) - Laden with pre-inaugural controversy, Rick Warren’s invocation today was “both inevitable and surprising,” writes Lisa Miller in Newsweek. “Inevitably,” he focused on being inclusive, alluding to Christian, Muslim, and Jewish rites; the "unkempt" pastor knows how to “strike an empathic, populist chord.”...

Europe Is
Giddy for US:
Can It Last?

analysis

Jan 20, 2009 7:07 PM CST

Europe Is Giddy for US: Can It Last?

French expect America to 'find its path' again

(Newser) - In France, the magic of Barack Obama’s inauguration is “a bit like the liberation after World War II,” says one French analyst. This particular sentiment “may have hit the hyperbolic stratosphere,” writes Elizabeth Bryant in the Washington Times, but it reflects a groundswell. “Fundamentally,...

Obama Speech Bodes Well for the Constitution

OPINION

Jan 20, 2009 6:40 PM CST

Obama Speech Bodes Well for the Constitution

Inaugural address may hint at a more respectful administration

(Newser) - All presidents swear to uphold the Constitution when they take the oath of office, but John Nichols is pleased that Obama went further than that in his inaugural address today, he writes for the Nation. Invoking Ben Franklin, Obama rejected “as false the choice between our safety and ideals,...

China Military Welcomes Obama Era

Jan 20, 2009 4:57 PM CST

China Military Welcomes Obama Era

Timed with inaugural, Beijing defense report urges cooperation

(Newser) - China has called for better military relations with the US in its biannual report, whose release analysts say was timed with President Obama’s inauguration, the Financial Times reports. The relationship between the two was strained by the US decision to sell $6.5 billion in arms to Taiwan. “...

Docs: Kennedy Awake, Alert After Seizure

UPDATED

Jan 20, 2009 3:53 PM CST

Docs: Kennedy Awake, Alert After Seizure

'These things' typical in brain-cancer patients; Dodd says he's 'fine'

(Newser) - After being hospitalized for a seizure suffered during an inaugural luncheon, Ted Kennedy is himself again, say those close to him. When one is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, a source tells ABC News, “these things happen,” and Kennedy is stable. “He’s fine,” said friend...

'Human Gridlock'
Plagues Ceremony

Jan 20, 2009 3:16 PM CST

'Human Gridlock' Plagues Ceremony

Inauguration spectators wait for hours to get in and out of Mall area

(Newser) - The record-breaking crowd—an estimated 1.8 million people—at today’s inaugural events is overwhelming Washington’s streets and mass-transit systems, creating long waits for spectators trying to exit the Mall area, the Post reports. Hours after the swearing-in, some were still waiting to enter Metro stations. “It’...

Race Hovers
on Edges of
Obama's Speech

Jan 20, 2009 3:09 PM CST

Race Hovers on Edges of Obama's Speech

President alludes to slavery, points to diversity as a strength

(Newser) - Barack Obama made only subtle reference to his race in today’s inaugural address, but it came up again and again throughout the 18-minute address. He said that America owed its prosperity to “the makers of things,” who “endured the lash of the whip and plowed the...

Obama Begins Inaugural Parade

Jan 20, 2009 2:50 PM CST

Obama Begins Inaugural Parade

(Newser) - Barack Obama's motorcade is on its way to the White House, heading a parade that pays homage to pioneers who paved the way for the nation's first black president. Re-enactors of a black Civil War regiment, World War II's surviving Tuskegee Airmen, and Freedom Riders who battled for civil rights...