Historic Journey To A New Morning

This is Paula Brooks, reporting for LGR… from the Lincoln Memorial… Washington DC….

Yesterday, in a journey laden with symbolism and imagery, President-Elect Barack Obama and his family entered our nations capitol…

The President-Elect began the yesterday in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our democracy, and traveled by train to Washington DC.

In Philadelphia, where the declaration of independence and the US constitution were both signed, Obama said: “It was here in this city that our American journey began.” He called for a renewal of the spirit that built America, to heal a nation and a world divided.

Flanked by his Wife and Daughters, Mr Obama told invited guests:

Let’s make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the beginning…. We are here today not simply to pay tribute to our first patriots but to take up the work that they began.

While our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not. What is required is the perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed.

What is required is a new declaration of independence not just in our nation but in our own lives, from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry; an appeal not just to our easy instincts but to our better angels.”

On the train with Mr Obama yesterday were people he met along the campaign trail, among them a lesbian couple from Ohio… of these guests he said….

Theirs are the voices I will carry with me every day in the White House… Theirs are the stories I will be thinking of when we deliver the changes you elected me to make.”

Yesterday’s events were no doubt orchestrated to inspired hope.

But if yesterdays train ride was designed to build hope, Mr Obama’s radio address for the nation on Saturday gave no such sugar coating as he addressed the issues of the day.

Difficult days are upon us, and even more difficult days lie ahead,” he said. “Our nation is at war. Our economy is in great turmoil. And there is so much work that must be done to restore peace and advance prosperity.”

President Bill Clinton once complained in an interview that his times did not send him the epic crises against which the greatest presidents are measured. I think Barack Obama’s problem knows that will not be one problem he will have.

Meanwhile… Here in Washington it is a new morning and all are getting ready for a big party… The President-Elect will appear in public in the nation’s capital for the first time today when he opens a star-studded concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Beyoncé, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Wonder, Shakira, Garth Brooks, Mary J. Blige and Willie Nelson among others are all on the entertainment bill here today.

The opening invocation will be given by Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop, The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson.

Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Tiger Woods, Ashley Judd, Kal Penn, Forest Whitaker, Laura Linney, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Rosario Dawson, Jack Black, Martin Luther King III will read historical passages.

This is the PEOPLES Concert and the event this afternoon is free and open to the public. It will also be televised on HBO today at 2:30 PM ET.

Obama staffers are telling me the bands have been asked to play songs that echo the themes of Mr Obama’s message.

I will be here to cover it…