ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. – President Barack Obama has returned to Washington after a long weekend in his hometown of Chicago.

The president, his wife and daughters arrived at the military base just outside Washington at midday Monday. His family had left for Chicago on Friday aboard Air Force One. Among items topping Obama’s agenda this week is signing into law the $787 billion economic stimulus plan that Congress passed last Friday.

While in Chicago, the first family did not have a public schedule. The president played basketball with friends, visited the gym and got a haircut. Barack and Michelle Obama celebrated Valentine’s Day with a dinner at Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef’s restaurant on Saturday.

It was Obama’s first significant break since taking office on Jan. 20.

Obama won’t be in Washington long; he heads to Denver, Colo., Arizona and Canada this week and he plans to sign the stimulus legislation in Denver.

NBC17 traveled along with some Triangle residents to Washington. Check out their reactions to Tuesday’s event here.

Did you attend the inauguration? Tell us about your experience.

Many familiar rites of a presidential inauguration come not from the U.S. Constitution but from the precedent set by the first president, George Washington.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution says nothing about the inaugural ceremony, other than specifying the oath of office:

“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 office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ ”

In George Washington’s first inauguration on April 30, 1789, “we see the pattern that is set for all inaugurations ever since,” said Marvin Kranz, a historical specialist in the manuscript division at the Library of Congress.

Kranz narrated presentations on 12 of the inaugurations from Washington to Theodore Roosevelt as part of “I Do Solemnly Swear,” an online exhibit by the Library of Congress.

Kranz notes that Washington chose to take the oath with his hand on a Bible and set the precedent of delivering an inaugural address. Washington also added the phrase “so help me God” after taking the oath.

The first inaugural ball commemorated Washington’s presidency.

Kranz notes that on March 4, 1801, the third president, Thomas Jefferson, set another precedent, using his inaugural address to ease the peaceful transfer of power between political parties.

Of the nation’s 43 presidents, two — Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover — chose to “solemnly affirm” rather than “solemnly swear” while taking the oath.

With the exception of inaugurations that followed presidents who died in office, all inaugurations between 1793 and 1933 were on March 4 except for four that occurred on March 5 because March 4 fell on a Sunday.
That changed with the 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933. Beginning with Franklin Roosevelt’s second inauguration in 1937, presidents have been inaugurated on Jan. 20, minimizing the “lame-duck” session of Congress.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Barack Obama will host the first-ever “Neighborhood Inaugural Ball” during this year’s inaugural celebration.  The ball will be the premier event of inauguration evening on Jan. 20 and will take place at the Washington Convention Center.

With tickets available free or at an affordable price, it is the first official inaugural ball of its kind to be held during a presidential inauguration. A portion of tickets for this event will be set aside for District of Columbia residents. The ball will also feature a robust interactive component, including webcasting and text messaging, to link neighborhoods across the country with the new President and this premier event.   The PIC will release more details soon about using technology to allow Americans who are attending neighborhood balls across the country to participate actively in this celebration.

“This is an Inauguration for all Americans,” said President-elect Obama.  “I wanted to make sure that we had an event that would be open to our new neighborhood here in Washington, D.C., and also neighborhoods across the country.  Michelle and I look forward to joining our fellow Americans across the country during this very special event.”

The Presidential Inaugural Committee will release additional details regarding ticket distribution and interactive features soon.

With at least 1.5 million people expected to crowd Washington for the event, his inaugural committee announced that it would open the entire National Mall to spectators.

By MARSHA MERCER
Media General News Service

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama’s picks for his Cabinet are reassuring because they have Washington experience – unless they’re disappointing for that very reason.

It depends on where you’re standing. Inside-the-Beltway types are relieved to see a familiar cast of characters returning to power, even if they disagree with some previous policies.

Many voters, in contrast, hold the romantic notion that Ordinary Joes should come to Washington, roll up their sleeves and clean house. The “experts” in Washington have messed things up royally. Besides, didn’t Obama promise change?

Whether you’re reassured or disappointed by Obama’s Cabinet choices, though, one thing is clear. Washington experience is “in” again. It never really was out. A president has to deal with Congress to get his policies enacted, and that takes skill and knowledge of the ways of Washington.

Obama is assembling a practiced team of congressional and federal government officials to help run the administration. He started with his running mate Joe Biden, a six-term Senate veteran. Biden was at Obama’s side Monday, when Obama said “Vice president-elect Biden and I are pleased to announce…our economic team…”

Obama used the word experience half a dozen times at the news conference. He said he’s bringing together “the best minds in America to guide us” through the global economic crisis. Catch that? “Guide us.”

That’s about as close anyone in power in Washington ever comes to admitting he doesn’t have all the answers and needs help finding them. It’s a surprising admission after a campaign in which for two years Obama finessed his short tenure on Capitol Hill and brilliantly made lemonade from the lemons of his inexperience.

The change reflects the gravity of the challenges ahead. He stresses constantly that the economic crisis is historical and global.

When he picked Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, Obama said the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York “offers not just extensive experience shaping economic policy and managing financial markets; he also has an unparalleled understanding of our current economic crisis in all of its depth, complexity and urgency.”

It didn’t hurt that Geithner, 47, formerly at Treasury and the International Monetary Fund, has lived and worked internationally and has studied Japanese and Chinese.

Obama’s choice for White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, was deputy chief of staff under President Bill Clinton. In his role as No. 4 Democrat in the House, Emanuel was known as a fierce partisan fighter. But Obama said when he picked Emanuel, “No one I know is better at getting things done.”

In the wings are Sen. Hillary Clinton, former first lady and presidential rival, for secretary of State; former Senator and U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson for secretary of Commerce; and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle to head Health and Human Services.

Last February, Hillary Clinton said in a Democratic presidential candidates’ debate in Cleveland, “We’ve seen the tragic result of having a president who had neither the experience nor the wisdom to manage our foreign policy and safeguard our national security. We cannot let that happen again.” Presumably, she’s feeling better about Obama at the helm now.

As if responding to those who worry that installing Clintonites in his Cabinet is a retread of the 1990s, Obama frequently reminds that change won’t come overnight, and he warns that there are no shortcuts to fix the economic crisis. He said he wants in his team a blend of “sound judgment and fresh thinking.”

Obama promises to hit the ground running to stave off predicted waves of layoffs. The first test will be whether he can get his economic stimulus package enacted right away. Without providing an estimate of its size or scope, he says it will address the foreclosure crisis, help the auto industry, create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, rebuild roads and bridges, modernize schools and create clean energy. Estimates start at $500 billion to $700 billion and up.

Obama’s vision of a can-do America may help quell people’s anxiety while the wonks come up with strategies to navigate these perilous storms. Wall Street liked what it heard about the new Cabinet. The market closed up more than 350 points Monday. Washington experience is good.

WASHINGTON—The pictures are down and the awards packed away in Rep. Robin Hayes’ Capitol Hill office.

His desk flanked by cardboard moving boxes, Hayes, R-N.C., said goodbye to old friends this week and considered his options after losing a bid for a sixth two-year term in Congress.

“The memories I have of 10 years, it just doesn’t seem like it’s been that long,” Hayes said in an interview.

As Hayes’ congressional career was drawing to a close, Democrat Larry Kissell, a schoolteacher who soundly defeated Hayes in a district that stretches from Concord to Ft. Bragg, was just beginning his tenure in Washington at an orientation for freshman lawmakers this week.

“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind of getting to know people and procedures, and getting a good start towards coming up here in January,” Kissell said in an interview. 

This week, he joined other freshman in classes on ethics and operating a congressional office.  He attended dinners with House leaders and met with other North Carolina Democrats. 

He hired a chief of staff, his campaign manger, Leanne Powell.  He requested slots on the same three committees on which Hayes served – agriculture, transportation and armed services. 

He will discover the location of his office after a lottery drawing Friday, but he already has a place to live next year when Congress is in session – a small studio apartment within walking distance of the Capitol.   

“It’s a little bit bigger than a dorm room, but it will be fine for me,” Kissell said.

As a social studies teacher with a passion for history, Kissell said his first trip to Washington after the election had left him somewhat awestruck.     

“When I came in Sunday night and saw the Capitol dome glowing, it stirs you, it gives you a sense of that humbleness, of what you’ve been trusted to do by so many people,” he said.

Hayes said he has not yet determined what to do when his term ends in January. 

This week, he spent what is likely to be the 110th Congress’ last days in Washington wrapping up loose ends.  He helped his staff find new jobs, and closed out requests for help from constituents or prepared to pass their cases on to the new guy.         

He said he hasn’t spent much time thinking about the future.

“Even though I won’t be an active member of Congress, there are a lot of things I can and will do to continue to help the district,” he said.

He said he had not ruled out running against Kissell in two years.

“I’m not thinking about that today. Some people have done that. It’s certainly a possibility, but again that’s on down the road,” he said.

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WASHINGTON—Senator-elect Kay Hagan, D-N.C., joined other freshman lawmakers for orientation Monday on her first visit to Washington since knocking off Republican incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole.  

Hagan met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and planned to spend time looking for a place to live when her term begins in January.

Hagan’s victory – a win many thought unlikely as recently as six months ago – was one of six Senate seats Democrats took from Republicans in the election, helping the party expand its majority to at least 57 seats.    

Hagan said she had formally requested seats on the Senate banking and armed services committees, and hoped to hear a decision by the end of the week.

The banking slot would give Hagan, a banking executive before she joined the North Carolina Senate, a voice in the ongoing national debate over regulation of a key industry in the state.  Dole currently serves on the banking committee.   

“It’s very important for someone from North Carolina to serve on that committee,” Hagan said in an interview.  

As a freshman member of an institution that prizes seniority, it could prove difficult for Hagan to exert a great deal of influence during her first term.

Hagan said that she would work to be effective by making constituent service “a hallmark of her office.”

“That’s the way I operated as a state senator…I think it’s crucial for citizens of North Carolina to know they can have responses to their requests,” she said.

This week, Hagan and other freshman lawmakers will receive ethics training, advice on setting up their offices, and participate in leadership elections.

Hagan said she spent part of Sunday looking for a place to live, and planned to do so again later this week. 

“Since I know I’m going to be here for at least six years, I’d love to buy a place,” Hagan said. “I need to find a place fairly quickly, so if I can’t find something, I’ll just find a place to rent for a while.”

She said she expected to return to North Carolina on most days when Congress is out of session. 

“I’m going to play it by ear.  That’s my intent right now. I would envision sometimes my husband coming up and being here for the weekend,” she said.

During the campaign, Hagan made an issue of the amount of time Dole spent in the state.  A review of records by Media General News Service found that Dole spent less than two weeks in North Carolina in 2006. 

Dole disputed the finding – which repeatedly appeared in Hagan’s television commercials – but her office was unable to provide documents showing more visits.

WASHINGTON – Where is Washington going to put them all?

The inauguration of Barack Obama is expected to draw more than a million people to the capital. Hotels are booked up. And some members of Congress have already stopped taking ticket requests for the inauguration ceremony.

The National Park Service will be clearing more viewing space along the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue. Jumbo TV screens will line the National Mall so people can watch the inauguration and parade.

DC police normally bring in an additional 3,000 officers from forces around the country. This time, police say, the request will probably be for about 4,000 officers.