Liveblogging: Inauguration

Rob @ 12:26 PM: Obama's finished. Sober but not somber - I think it struck the right tone.

Rob @ 12:18 PM: What I love about those crowd shots - they are demonstration of a real mandate - not a spin manufactured image of a mandate. With high poll numbers and this kind of demonstration, it's clear the direction of the nation.

Rob @ 12:09 AM: Seeing the far shot of Obama at the podium, it hardly feels real.

Rob @ 12:06: The oath has been given and Barack Obama is now president of the United States. (A couple of mistakes is okay. He is but a man.)

Rob @ 12:01 PM: A beautiful musical interlude from Yo Yo Ma. It really helps one take a breath and realize where we are today and what's about to happen.

Rob @ 11:58 AM: We're almost free.

Rob @ 11:58 AM: America is about to be free of Vice President Dick Cheney.

Rob @ 11:53: Well that abomination is over. We're on to a spectacular Aretha Franklin singing My Country Tis of Thee.

Rob @ 11:48: Rick Warren's hollow invocation about to begin. I'd like to be 100% supportive of Obama, but he'll never make me understand why this man was chosen to represent people of faith in America.

Rob @ 11:46 AM: Sen. Feinsten is starting off the ceremony.

Rob @ 11:39 AM: Obama just appeared on TV. He looks confident and yet well aware of what he's about to undertake. Biden, by contrast, seems much more celebratory. It's also nice to see two women, Sen. Feinstein and Speaker Pelosi, walking the President in. Our nation looks a lot different today than it did in 2004.

Rob @ 11:35: Bush is about to walk out - Biden right behind him.

John @ 11:34 AM: Jacki and Joe just called. Neither of them is getting in. Both had tickets. Jacki (who has my tickets that Pelosi's office gave us) said it's simply a mass of people downtown - there are no lines to get in, no one directing anything. The guy in line next to Jacki says he's been there since 4:00 AM, and he still hasn't gotten in. Then again with millions of people downtown, and it looks like it truly is millions, it's not clear how you organize any of this.

Rob@ 11:33 AM: The Inauguration is about to start. There is a little booing of Bush.