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American Morning

Thousands Stream to Mall for Historic Inauguration of Barack Obama; Republican and Democratic Strategists See Need to Move Beyond Partisanship

Aired January 20, 2009 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: So Leslie, what were your thoughts about that?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it's a tremendously important step. You know, it is this kind of mantra of a breath of fresh air. It's Republicans and Democrats coming together and looking at ways to keep this economy moving.

You know, we have to look at the fact that America does not have the patience for partisan bickering. They really want to see government be effective. That being said, it doesn't mean there's not going to be vigorous debate starting tomorrow but it does mean that they want a responsive, effective government.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: So Robert, they don't have the patience for partisan bickering. Do they have the patience to give Barack Obama the time that he needs to get some of his programs in place and begin to try to turn the economy around, or will the pressure come down on him literally in the first weeks of his administration?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, it's really a very interesting point to bring up, John, because what's so intriguing about the polls that have been conducted nationally, is not only does Barack Obama and Joe Biden, not only do they assume office with a great deal of public support, in fact, unprecedented public support in modern polling, but the polling also shows the American people are patient. They understand we didn't get into these problems overnight, and they respect the fact that it's going to take time to get out.

Now, obviously people want results and we're a country that wants to feel encouraged. We want to feel hopeful for the future. But what we're seeing today on the Mall with over perhaps two million people coming together is a celebration of our democracy and a belief in our system of government. So we know it's going to take time, but you know, for those cynical politicians out there who are going to say, well, the unity dinners and the bipartisanship is just a temporary, it's a momentary political activity. Well, this has been a year where cynical politicians have been wrong throughout.

SANCHEZ: I think, John, you are exactly on the right point because these members of Congress, they represent constituents, constituents that are very concerned about this economy, that are inspired about this new day, that do want to see kind of a calming, the sense of confidence in America's strength, and want an appreciation of this moment. But that patience, that clock is ticking almost immediately.

It's not the first 100 days like we talked about like Axelrod saying this is the first 100 hours, if not the first 100 minutes. So many of these people do not have employment. They rented RVs. They're in these parks. They want to be part of this movement, but they have to go back home and face realities and those realities are going to dictate how long this honeymoon period lasts.

CHETRY: All right. We'll see --

ZIMMERMAN: You know, Leslie, I think --

CHETRY: All right, Robert, real quick.

ZIMMERMAN: OK, just very quickly. Leslie, I think the point is well-taken but I think the conventional notion of the first 100 days no longer applies. We have to see results, but we have to see first and foremost a Congress and a president working together and we're on the right track in doing that.

SANCHEZ: I completely agree.

CHETRY: All right. Well, there you go. You guys completely agree. Let's leave it there. That's so rare.

(CROSSTALK)

All right. Robert Zimmerman and Leslie Sanchez.

ROBERTS: That's the spirit of the day if I've ever seen it. All right. Thanks, guys. We'll check back in with you a little bit later on.

ROBERTS: So -- my goodness.

CHETRY: All right. And right now, we're going to talk to Tara Wall and Melissa Harris-Lacewell. I think we only have Melissa Harris-Lacewell right now.

Melissa, tell me a little bit about your thoughts. Yesterday, of course, a day of service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Today, the inauguration of the first African-American president. Clearly the move here is jubilant.

There are so many people who haven't uttered a word of complaint despite the bitter cold, the lines that they know they're going to be standing in all day today. People want to be here. It's a very different feeling. I asked some people, why weren't you content to just watch it on TV? They want to be here today.

MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL, POLITICAL SCIENTIST: Well, part of it is that our children are going to ask us where we were at this moment, and it's going to be a pretty great answer to be able to say, "I was in Washington, D.C. But I think the other thing is I've seen this particular spirit throughout this campaign. You know, I followed along with students, went to New Hampshire. We were in South Carolina. We were in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and this was the spirit of non-complaint, excitement, enthusiasm, so this is really just the culmination of what's been going on now for more than a year.

ROBERTS: Tara Wall is also joining us this morning. Tara, as we look all these crowds streaming in by the Washington Monument here to take their place in the Mall, with still almost six hours to go before the actual swearing in of our 44th president, this is the day where Robert Zimmerman and Leslie Sanchez agreeing on points, it's very rare. Have people sort of put aside partisan politics for the day?

Now, and I asked the question in this context. People are cautioning, hey, this is not the second coming and it certainly is not the second coming, but this is an incredibly significant moment in America's history and should people, when you counsel people to put their partisan hats aside to celebrate the moment of the day?

TARA WALL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. I mean, the pictures are just compelling. I mean, it's absolutely surreal and I think that of the Republicans who did choose to stay in town, you know, some took this as an opportunity to take a vacation but others, you know, stuck around, stuck in town.

You know, conservatives and Republicans understand the brevity of history in the making and the significance of this. I mean, that is a human American emotion. It has no party. And so, I think, you know, for this day, for this time, for this historical event, I think we can all take a moment to pause and appreciate it.

There's going to be plenty of time to wrangle over the politics of policy and what change really means and all of that going forward. But I guess, you know, one more night with this honeymoon phase, it's really been a working honeymoon I think. But just one more night for this honeymoon phase before we get to the business of getting job one done. And so I think that absolutely, people from all ideological backgrounds can take a moment and you know, even obviously going to participate and have voted for this president.

ROBERTS: Right, right.

CHETRY: And Melissa, the other question I have about, you know, the communication. There are people who say it wasn't necessarily so upset about the bailout happening or the fact that we're needing to spend large, large amounts of taxpayer money being put back into debt. The national deficit growing and growing.

I just want to know why. I want communication. I don't want a veil of secrecy around my government. Now Obama has talked a lot about transparency. How does he make that happen?

HARRIS-LACEWELL: Well, listen, Americans love our country even when our country is not behaving exactly as we would want it, either in domestic policy or international policy. We're willing to make sacrifices for our country, but we have to know what we are sacrificing for. This is truly the covenant between leaders and their citizens, is to know that we can go ahead and follow and even if we don't agree, we will believe that the process was one that was fair, that was democratic and that was fundamentally in our national interests. So this is tough.

The Obama campaign, now the Obama administration has invited us to govern together, and that is obviously is very, very difficult in a country of this size.

ROBERTS: Hey, Tara, let's get a thought -- let's get a thought from you, Tara, on this particular point.

The Obama administration, like any administration, wants to very quickly put its stamp on the presidency to issue a number of executive orders and say, this is sort of the direction that we're heading in. Some of those executive orders might be a little bit controversial among Republicans such as turning back President Bush's executive order on abortion, closing down Guantanamo. Some Republicans say we're not ready for that yet. Is there a danger in him moving too quickly here in his first few days?

WALL: Well, I think you know, you have to measure these with, you know, a little bit of wisdom as you move forward. You know, one of the things that -- I interviewed President Bush last week on Thursday at one of his last interviews one on one, and he talked about, you know, the challenges and cautioned in this regard as related to Guantanamo Bay, for example. He agrees with incoming President Obama that it needs to be shut down and has advocated for it to be shut down but in a systematic way. That's why he set up the military tribunals for example.

And so he cautioned that this was not going to be an easy solution. It's easier said than done. Also, he cautioned against raising taxes in the midst of a recession. There's been talk amongst Democrats and maybe even a President Obama about raising taxes in the midst of a recession. He cautioned that that would probably do more harm than good in the long run.

So I think there has to be a caution moving forward and not doing certain things too quickly in an effort to want to seem to be getting things done so I think absolutely.

ROBERTS: Right.

WALL: And I think you will see Republicans speak out to make sure that those initiatives are tempered where they can be.

ROBERTS: And a rather surprising battle, too, brewing between Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi over the Bush tax cuts. The latest we have from the incoming administration is that they'd like to let those tax cuts expire in 2010. Nancy Pelosi says no, get rid of them right now.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell and Tara Wall, good to talk with you this morning. Thanks very much.

WALL: Thanks.

CHETRY: And look at another shot right now. Just an amazing shot of the National Mall. Crowds streaming in already. I mean, we're talking 6:09 right here in D.C. and already people are waiting to get a seat, and making sure that they stake their claim.

They started streaming in really before dawn. They walked past the mass transit. We have buses parked everywhere. We also have the Metro running on early schedule and a more frequent schedule. Opening in fact, at 4:00 a.m., which is an hour earlier than usual to help bring these huge crowds into the city.

And the pictures are amazing. Already people are lining up on this bitter day. It's only about 22 degrees right now.

ROBERTS: You know, I covered the last two inaugurals from there on the platform and I have never seen anything like this, with this many people, this early in the day, jamming the Mall. Now what you're seeing, too, are sort of the general admission areas. These are not the people who have tickets. The areas where people have tickets they're still fairly bare at this point particularly down below the platform here which are the VIP invited guests. But back there on the platform, it's kind of like a Lollapalooza festival.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: People are rushing to get close to the stage here as close as possible, and you can see there are just tens of thousands of people who were there already. You know, I would expect that there's probably more than hundreds of thousands of people there and they may hit those crowd estimates that they were thinking that they could hit, 2.1 million people.

CHETRY: You know, and really it's amazing where there are 29,000 hotel rooms in D.C., they say that every single one of them is booked.

ROBERTS: People were renting out their homes or, you know, people were charging people to stay at their homes and that.

CHETRY: Exactly.

ROBERTS: You know, if you had a spare room, you could rent it out. There's no question about that.

CHETRY: Yes. These pictures coming in to us, just you keep seeing people streaming in and we have not only a bird's-eye view, a ground view but a view everywhere across D.C. today, and we're going to be bringing you much more as the special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. continues here from Washington, D.C.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Fourteen minutes after the hour. Welcome back to continuing coverage, a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING live from the west front of the Capitol building and the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. And take a look at that, the upper right-hand side of your screen, 20 degrees. That is the standing temperature. You put the wind chill factor into it, it is feeling like it's 10 degrees now on the Mall. So, I mean most people who are there or going to be here have already left but if you're still waiting at home, put an extra layer on today. Get those hand warmers going. Get those warm gloves and a big, heavy scarf because it is cold out there.

And right in the middle of it all, right in the middle of that shot that you can see right there is our Carol Costello. She is among the hundreds of thousands of people already showing up at the Mall for the inauguration.

Carol, what's the scene like around you this morning?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is insane. That's all I can say. It is insane.

I mean, take a look behind me. There are literally -- hey! There are literally --

(CHEERING)

I like to make them all excited like that. There are literally thousands and thousands of people, John. In fact, security really isn't supposed to be letting people through until 7:00 a.m., at least the second wave of people, but some people have found a way in near the Washington Monument and they're actually sneaking their way on to the Mall which is probably not a good thing but it's a pretty happy crowd so far.

These people, some of them plan to sleep until 11:30, until the swearing in ceremony. As you can see, they're headed toward the Capitol in Pennsylvania Avenue to try to get a good spot along the parade route, kind of next to the port-a-potties, kind of next to what is a jumbo -- the JumboTrons that are up along the Mall so that they can see things. They realize right now, though, they probably can't get a front row seat along the parade route.

ROBERTS: You know, let's get people a little bit of perspective here, too, Carol, on just the distance that we're talking about here. You can see the Washington Monument there, and then behind that, the Capitol building. That distance between the Washington Monument and the Capitol building is actually a mile. It's 0.99 of a mile, so you have a tremendous amount of space there, in which people are trying to cram in to get the best possible vantage point, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, if two million people really do show up, John, according to some experts, two million people will fit inside the Mall, but everybody will be kind of like this, standing next to one another, but that's probably a good thing, because it's so cold out here, everybody will be warm.

ROBERTS: You know, anybody who's seen that movie "March of the Penguins" knows the Antarctic winter all the penguins huddle together to keep themselves warm and brace themselves against the cold and the winds there, so maybe that's the same sort of philosophy that people will use, the same sort of practice people will use here on the Mall.

Just an incredible scene. Carol, thanks so much for that. We'll check back with you a little bit later on.

CHETRY: You know what is the best part of this is despite the fact that it's so cold, the wind chill, as we said, making it feel like 10 degrees here, everyone's smiling. Everyone's happy.

I'm sure people didn't get much sleep. A lot of celebrations going on last night and they packed. They got themselves up, they got themselves bundled and among them is our own Jim Acosta who also is standing there within the crowds there on the Mall.

Jim, you had a little adventure yourself even getting here, right? You ended up having to walk two miles to make your way in there because security is tight and the roads are closed.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think you're trying to talk to me right now, but I can't hear a word you're saying. What I could tell you is I'm standing here with a few thousand of my personal friends here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!

ACOSTA: And I think they would like to be on TV instead of me but that's OK. No. But I can tell you right now you're absolutely right as we've been watching these shots all morning. Thousands, if you will, tens of thousands of people are coming in. They're streaming into the Mall right now. They are parading right past the Washington Monument, on to the Mall and heading towards the Capitol.

We heard yesterday so much about just how much space each person might have down here, and some people might be able to sit on a newspaper that's folded out. Some might be able to stand on a half- folded newspaper. And essentially that's the situation we're in right now.

This might be one of those jam-packed crowds out here that a lot of people in the security community were anticipating, those millions of people that some of the early estimates we were hearing from city officials. And even though some of those estimates were laughed off by a lot of people, that is how things are shaping up right here at this moment.

We're, you know, five or six hours from the inauguration, and it is unbelievable. The size of the crowd that we're seeing down here right now. They don't have those JumboTron TVs on yet. We see those in position. We have seen security personnel across the Mall this morning, scores of security personnel, plenty of port-a-Johns as we've been hearing throughout the buildup to this inauguration day.

So the stage is set. All of the infrastructure appears to be in place and, of course, we have a lot of people down here right now. And one thing that I've been struck by all morning, I hope you can still hear me reporting right now, is just the scores and scores of African-Americans who have decided to come down to the Mall to witness this moment in history.

CROWD: Yes, we can!

ACOSTA: It is really inspiring. As you can hear right now, they are chanting "Yes, we can." We've heard that so many times during the campaign.

It's really inspiring to be down here right now -- John and Kiran.

CROWD: Yes, we can!

CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) at this point, as again, he's surrounded by crowds, the people down there on the Mall.

ROBERTS: That is just extraordinary.

CHETRY: It really is.

ROBERTS: We're still five and a half hours away from the inauguration there. That many people, just in that area where Jim is, and Jim is a long way back as well. So it's quite possible that the crowd could exceed the estimates.

You know, there are people who are walking across the bridges to get into the district. They closed down the bridges late last night, about midnight. They sent out the alert. So there is no private vehicular traffic allowed across those bridges. So people who are coming in from Virginia, don't forget, from Arlington County, Fairfax County, the City of Alexandria, there are millions and millions of people and they figure hey, we're just across the river from here. Why not? This is a moment in history that we are never going to see repeated.

CHETRY: Why not do it? You're right.

ROBERTS: So this is the very first time that this has happened so this is one of those unique moments in history. Let's just get out there, walk across the bridge and come in. So these crowd estimates may, in fact, exceed what they were thought to be.

CHETRY: You know, they were thinking that the weather would maybe be a deterrent and, in fact, that they told so many people that you can't bring strollers...

ROBERTS: So much for that.

CHETRY: Right. You can't bring large backpacks. There's 5,000 port-a-potties and there's supposed to be -- I think there's supposed to be one port-a-potty for every 300 people is what the state estimate is. That's obviously going to far exceeded. I'm sure there's going to be --

ROBERTS: People this morning just brought themselves, they brought their hearts, they brought their hopes.

CHETRY: That's right.

ROBERTS: That's the reason why they're down there, you know. Forget the port-a-potties and all the logistics.

CHETRY: Well, hey, when nature calls.

ROBERTS: They don't care. They just want to be there.

CHETRY: Nature still calls. But we're going to continue following all these for you as you see the crowds already converging here on the National Mall, an extraordinary sight. And we have a front row seat.

CNN will be with you all morning, so keep watching. We're going to take a short break and AMERICAN MORNING will come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: All right, there we are. We are watching with not disbelief but, man, it really came a lot faster than we thought it would. And we're talking about the crowds of people.

There are so many people, hours before the inaugural speech and before the oath of office that's going to be taken. We're really shocked to see it already. The cold couldn't keep people away. The bitter temperatures, the challenge certainly to get here, because as we said, incoming bridges all closed down except to pedestrians and bikes. Mass transit, of course, overwhelmed today but they're still running, and people are making their way here any way they can early to witness history.

ROBERTS: You know, it really is amazing. It's the significance of history that has drawn so many people here. And what is so interesting is the impact that this is having on an entire community.

The African-American community is just so lifted up by this whole idea, the first president of the United States, who happens to be black. They came down here, they want to share a part of history and the impact that it's having, too, on culture.

You know, on "THE SITUATION ROOM" yesterday, there was an interview with a young fellow who said my hero used to be Michael Jordan. Now my hero, my role model is Barack Obama. So he has the power to change a lot of people's minds, to set a lot of different goals to sort of reset priorities here in America, so it will be really interesting, fascinating to watch over these next four years to see just how much of a difference you can make.

CHETRY: Yes. And as one of our guests, Melissa Harris-Lacewell said a little bit earlier, your kids are going to ask you, your grandkids are going to ask you, where were you? You want to be able to say "I was here."

ROBERTS: You could say I was -- see that person there with the hoodie? That was me.

CHETRY: That was me. And I'm walking along the crowds. Actually, there's probably a lot of warmth (ph)...

ROBERTS: Look at the crowds. That's incredible.

CHETRY: ... to be had in the crowds like that. Many people huddled together, actually making it a little bit of a warmer situation because the winds are certainly blowing this morning. And again, that is just a look at one small part of where people are going to be gathered.

You know, they were doing estimates right? The low end was what? Maybe 1.2 million. The high end -- two, three million.

ROBERTS: Yes. You know, Lyndon Johnson drew 1.2 million people for his inauguration.

CHETRY: Right. And that was the largest at this time.

ROBERTS: Yes. And this -- I think this is going to go over two million. That could be just, you know, pie-in-the-sky type of estimate but the number of people who were there, the density of the crowds that we're seeing, this is not going to be any kind of a small event. No question about that.

CHETRY: You know who's right in the thick of it all is our Carol Costello. She is in the crowds this morning. She's getting a chance to talk to people and witness firsthand the excitement, the anticipation of today.

And clearly, Carol is feeling the wind chill as well since she's jumping up and down this morning out there as well.

Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hi, Kiran. You know, everybody -- you know, we should jump. This is how -- hey, this is how we're all keeping warm, we're jumping.

We've been jumping, waiting to go on, because it's so very cold.

Chris, come on over here. This is Chris. I have three Chrises here.

You came from Glen Burnie. Your journey began at 2:00 a.m.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two a.m.

COSTELLO: Two a.m. And did you manage to get a spot down near the parade route?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had many spots and we just keep wandering around and, you know, we're with a group of people that was much (ph) warmer, so we're just going where the bigger crowd is.

COSTELLO: So your strategy is to head to the biggest crowd of people, huddle together and keep warm. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, huddle together. Yes. Everybody's 98.6. That's all a bunch of little heaters, and I'm smart (ph) so I'll just get right on in there. More people the better. Other people are bringing blankets, so you just kind of rub up against them.

COSTELLO: It's time to get to know people in Washington, D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. And that's the best thing (ph). It can't get any colder.

COSTELLO: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's definitely some shrinkage going on.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Let's talk to the other Chris now. Come on in here.

You had an interesting story of how your journey began. Tell me how you got into the Mall area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, well, we've been working on this for probably three weeks, developing our plan which went to -- we had to go to plan D, I guess, by the time we got to the Metro station. We got to the L'Enfant Metro station, crowded the gates where they said we couldn't get in until 7:00. We bypassed that, walked down to the Washington Monument, came in through the back way, and we're not screened at all.

COSTELLO: No security at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

COSTELLO: Does that concern you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, because, trust me, there were more Capitol park police and military folks walking around. I couldn't felt safer.

COSTELLO: Yes. There's like 20,000 police officers, Secret Service, sheriff's deputies. They're all over the place, believe me.

Come on up here. You're not Chris. What is your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheryl (ph).

COSTELLO: Sheryl (ph). I like your Obama picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're actually going to carry that around all day?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, actually I borrowed it so I have to give it back.

COSTELLO: So what is your plan for today? Are you going to try to get a spot along Pennsylvania Avenue which is virtually impossible now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing is impossible as you can see.

COSTELLO: That was good. So why are you here in the frigid cold when the swearing in ceremony doesn't take place until 11:30?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I want to get right up close so I can hear everything that's going on. Yes we can. We want to make a difference here today.

COSTELLO: OK. Good luck to all of you and keep warm. We're huddling together. So, Kiran, back to you. I'm going to find some more intrepid souls on the Washington Mall for you.

CHETRY: You know what, she really said it best, the last woman you talked to, nothing is impossible. And you know, in a broader sense, that's really the message that Barack Obama is bringing as well. President who came from a very unusual upbringing, from Kenya, living in Indonesia for a time, all of the various life experiences that brought him to this point, and he really is living the notion that nothing is impossible, as he gets ready to take office as the first African-American president and the 44th president of our union.

ROBERTS: Though we mentioned that last night about midnight the alert went out that the bridges crossing over from Virginia into Washington, that would be the I-66, the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge, the bridge in from Arlington National Cemetery, the Memorial Bridge, 14th Street Bridge coming up from the airport, on Highway 395, all closed, about midnight last night to private vehicles.

There are still allowances for mass transportation, buses, taxis, limousines, things like that to get across, but a lot of people are using those bridges as pedestrian walkways now to try to get into the district. That's why we're seeing so many people.

Our own Barbara Starr had initially thought that that might be a good strategy to get into town from Virginia, but I think that she's trying to get in another way. She joins us now on the telephone.

And Barbara, can you tell us what it's like trying to get in to the nation's capital today from Virginia?

VOICE OF BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, this one is really -- everyone seems amazing. This is amazing. I am at the Springfield Metro rail stop which is about a good 15 miles south of town. It is wall-to-wall people here. I was standing a few minutes ago in a place I thought I could not get jostled around, swallowed up by the crowd. A very happy crowd but absolutely mobbed here since before 6:00 this morning.

Wall-to-wall people on the platform, hundreds of people wind up outside the station, waiting their turn to get in, to get on a Metro rail car to go downtown. But I don't know how they're going to get there, because I have to tell you, every train car that has pulled into the station, already full of people, wall-to-wall, a very happy crowd but it's going to be a long, cold day for a lot of these folks before they get downtown -- John.

ROBERTS: Well, Barbara, tell us, you know, with that many people trying to get into the station, and then get on the train, how long of a wait is it going to be for anybody who wants to show up there at that Springfield station in hopes of getting on one of the Metro trains and getting into the district?

(CROSSTALK)

STARR: Security here mainly for crowd control and to help people out. And one of the policemen that was walking up and down the platform was joking a few minutes ago saying, you know, you people will get there by noon maybe. Big groans coming up from the crowds, then he quickly said "I'm joking, I'm joking."

It is going to take awhile. We got here shortly before 6:00 a.m. Hundreds of people already lined up outside the station. The parking lot, a four-story structure was full, they told me by about 5:00 a.m. when it opened up. It is going to take a good, long while for people to get downtown. And what we've been hearing all week is when you get close enough, get out and start walking -- John.

ROBERTS: Yes. There are a lot of people who are walking a long way, including our Jim Acosta who says that he walked almost two miles to get to his vantage point there on the Mall. Barbara Starr for us this morning. Good luck getting in today, Barbara.

STARR: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Check back in with us and let us know how the trip is going. And she may end up walking a long way this morning, too.

CHETRY: Yes. What does she say, 17 miles? She's at the Springfield Metro stop, so she's got to try to get a little closer. And then she said a lot of people are choosing to just jump out and walk.

ROBERTS: Yes. Springfield, for those of you who don't know the Capitol city area, it's where I-95 starts to cut south from the Beltway. So from here, it's probably about 12 or 14 miles away. So she's got a little bit of a hike in this morning. No question about that.

CHETRY: Look at that.

ROBERTS: Five hours and 25 minutes until the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. A look at the Mall from our blimp cam today. There's the capitol building on the right, Washington Monument on the left, and here's a shot looking down the Mall now. This is a telephoto shot so the distances look a lot closer than they really are. From that Washington Monument there, in the foreground, to the Capitol building in the back right is actually a mile, and that will be jam-packed with people coming here to see this historic occasion in our nation's history.

CHETRY: Yes, and it already is. Look at that. A shot of the crowd this morning as early risers getting out to make sure that they get a set, a front-row seat to history. It's 34 minutes past the hour. A special edition of AMERICAN MORNING live from Washington, D.C., continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, the crowds are already pouring in. This is a shot coming to us from WJLA in Washington today. And we're witnessing it from our vantage point here on these beautiful risers that were built on the west front of the Capitol, where Barack Obama is going to be giving his inaugural speech not long from now. Several hours away, though, and people are already trying to come and be seated or stand, do whatever they need to do to make sure that they don't miss this event.

And we were marveling this morning at how early so many people decided to come out, make their way here, as we said, walking, people who already made their way into the district over the past couple of days, but those who were coming in today have quite a challenge.

Our own Barbara Starr attempting to get in from Virginia today working on the Metro, trying to get in from that. And she's saying every car that's pulling up is packed with people trying to make their way here to the district.

And our own Jim Acosta as well is right in the thick of it. He is in a big crowd of people that are already trying to stake their claim on the National Mall in preparation for Barack Obama's speech a little bit later today. Let's check in with Jim.

ACOSTA: Good morning, Kiran. I think if any more people show up at this inauguration, we might have to start calling this Barackstock.

And I have to tell you that this is not one of those deals where the picture is exaggerated by the magic of television. No, the crowd is just this large down here on the Capitol right here. I'm standing right here at Sixth Street and Madison Avenue, we're ultimately right here on the Mall.

CROWD: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

ACOSTA: So you have six blocks all the way to the Capitol, that are already filled, and then you have block after block after block filled with tens of thousands of people right now.

Obviously, this is a very excited crowd. They are pumped up, as they used to say during the campaign, they're fired up and ready to go. And as we've been saying all morning, I am just simply struck by how many African-Americans have come down to the Mall to witness this moment in history. A moment so many people, black and white, people of all colors in this country, have waited for this moment to come.

And I talked to David Axelrod, the senior adviser to Barack Obama, and he said that they really haven't had a chance to let all of this sink in yet. They've been so steeped in all of the issues right now that they haven't really had a chance to feel this. But one thing that they have notice as they've been traveling around this city is just how happy people are. And despite the difficult economic times, despite all of the layoffs that people are dealing with right now, all of the tough times out there, it's amazing to see so many people coming in here from all different parts of this country -- East Coast, West Coast, the Midwest, the South, coming up and telling us just how happy they are that Barack Obama is about to become the next president of the United States.

And you don't really get a sense down here that this is a political event, that people are coming down here with a political agenda. You're not hearing a whole lot of politics. What you're hearing down here is a lot of pride in America, a lot of pride in being an American. And that is what we're seeing down here. And I have to tell you, I grew up outside of Washington D.C., I made it to those Washington Redskins Super Bowl parades, and that was a lot of people.

This is an unbelievable amount of people down here, and we are still hours and hours before Barack Obama takes the oath of office. It is just unbelievable and you know, words just can't describe the feeling that people are having down here right now. It's magic.

ROBERTS: And perhaps there's some warmth in numbers, too.

CHETRY: Exactly, exactly.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

CHETRY: And the crowd chanting, "Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" as Jim was talking to us from there. Jim, thanks so much.

And you know, he brought up an interesting point. He said that, you know, he was speaking with David Axelrod, and then a lot of this might not have had a chance to sink in yet for them. They have certainly a lot of things to worry about, a lot of policy issues, a lot of big challenges ahead. But I wonder what will be going through Barack Obama's mind when he walks out on that especially constructed podium for him today and sees the sea of people that all want to hear him speak.

ROBERTS: Yes, it's going to be an amazing, amazing event. I had the opportunity to walk out in the stage in front of maybe a couple hundred thousand people, and that is awe-inspiring. But to do it in front of potentially two million people is really incredible.

Now, what's also interesting, too, is, you know, we talked about this idea that the uniqueness of American democracy and the peaceful transition of power and the most powerful office in the world being president of the United States and the nexus of that power is in the Oval Office. And we've talked to aides to various presidents over the years about what it's like to actually walk in there, you know, the day of the inauguration when you know that everything's on your plate.

Mike Deaver who was Ronald Reagan's image guy, told me once, he said that we walked into the oval office and Ronald Reagan sat down behind the desk and he said, "It feels pretty good, doesn't it?" Mike Deaver just said, "I have chills. I just can't imagine what it's like to actually be in here and have the levers of power in the hands of Ronald Reagan and of the administration and just the awesome responsibility that comes with that."

And Paul Begala, who's going to joins us a little bit later on, said exactly the same thing. When he first went into the Oval Office the day of the inauguration with then President Bill Clinton in 1993, he said it was just awe-inspiring to walk in and think, oh, my God, we're running the place now.

CHETRY: That's right. And they're in a club of a select few of people throughout the history of our democracy. And today, we're seeing it in action as we see all of the people who voted, who came out, who wanted to be counted...

ROBERTS: Just extraordinary.

CHETRY: ... and they're continuing that. They're continuing today by being here physically. It meant a lot so that they can be part of this today.

ROBERTS: So people across America are watching this inauguration today, this history-making event, and people around the world watching with a lot of fascination as well. And they're watching us this morning as we're broadcasting on CNN international, and we welcome in our international viewers. And who better to give us a little bit of international perspective on all of this than our own Zain Verjee, who's been spending some time with the Kenyan boys' choir.

Good morning to you, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, you know -- hi. This is really a special day for Kenyans around the world. You keep hearing this chant, they're saying, "Obama tosha." That means Obama is enough for us, that's what we want.

Well, the Kenyan boys' choir is in town from my hometown, Nairobi, and they were out on the Mall really wanting to remind Barack Obama of his Kenyan roots. And they performed these amazing traditional songs, one of which really talks about Obama being the first-born and that he's going to be the first African-American president and how proud they are of this.

And the Kenyans being here, too, in the United States is really a manifestation of the link between Kenya and the U.S. As you know, Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya, and his extended family and other relatives are here from Kenya, including his grandmother, Mama Sarah. And there are huge parties and celebrations today in Kenya, especially in his father's hometown of Kogelo.

And one other thing, guys, I actually just talked to my father this morning, and he said that everyone is watching, everyone is so excited. They're just waiting for the moment. There are so many parties. There's even a competition today to see who in Kenya can actually speak like Barack Obama. But they're all watching CNN and they're watching you guys, so say "jambo," hello, when you can.

ROBERTS: All right.

CHETRY: We certainly will. In fact, a big hello to our international viewers who are watching us being simulcast on CNN-I this morning. Stick with us throughout the morning. We have so much ahead.

Meanwhile, we want to bring in Frances Townsend. She's the former Bush homeland security adviser. She's a CNN national security contributor and she joins us this morning as well.

Fran, good to see you. You know, they're talking about this unprecedented amount of security right now -- the sharpshooters on every building, the air surveillance that's taking place, radiation detectors, enormous, enormous undertaking to make sure that everybody here is safe. As you look at this crowd that's already coming to join the thousands and thousands who are going to be making their way a little bit later today, what are the top security concerns facing the authorities here in D.C.?

FRANCES TOWNSEND, FORMER BUSH HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: Well, you know, right now it's going to be crowd control. And fortunately, last summer, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier went through an exercise of the evacuation plan. So, they've been through this. It was successful. Now at that time, of course, the exercise was only with about 400,000 people who were on the Mall for the Fourth of July.

But it's important that authorities have been through this -- the Feds, the local police. They understand that the most important thing right now that keep people safe is their ability to get to the site and get away from it safely. And you'll find that they also have plain-clothed folks in and among people. So people worried about security, you're rest assured there's lots of people out there trying to keep them safe.

ROBERTS: You know, Fran, we talked about this a little bit yesterday, but I think it bears repeating, because you had a very good perspective on this. You know, we talked about the idea of a potential terrorist threat against the inauguration. You know, the threat could be against the president himself, could be against the people, just could be against the city itself and some area of infrastructure.

But on a much more personal level, what -- how great is the worry that here we have the first African-American president, that he may be target of assassination by just -- I don't know, some radical group or just some whack job?

TOWNSEND: Right. You know, it's interesting -- from my perspective, my attitude about this is if you prepare for a high-end, very organized threat like from a group like al Qaeda, then you've done what you can do to mitigate the threat, to lessen it against the lone nut. And frankly, John, the people who are most likely to pick up an individual who poses a threat are the police officers, the undercover people who are on the Mall, on the ground, where they're trained to look for unusual behavior.

You know, so the security screeners will screen out, you know, people with objects or things, but the people who are in the crowds themselves are most likely to see the first indication that there's a problem. And again, if there were a problem, the most important thing is this practiced evacuation rounds to make sure people don't get hurt in a panic.

ROBERTS: Right.

CHETRY: It is interesting, though, because, of course, we went through enormous screening to make our way as close as we are. Everybody actually had to have, you know, their little bar codes scanned and we had to be approved. But there were a couple of people in the big crowds out there telling Carol Costello and Jim that they did not have to go through any security actually to get there.

Is that just a matter of being practical, that the hundreds of thousands and perhaps even as many as two million, each and every one of those people cannot possibly be screened?

TOWNSEND: Kiran, that's exactly right. When you look, this is not like a stadium where you have a fence perimeter where you can absolutely 100 percent control it. What you do is you put checkpoints out there, knowing you're probably going to get the majority of people and then that's why you have folks on the Mall in uniform and not in uniform, undercover, who are patrolling the crowds, looking for other people who may have gotten past screening.

ROBERTS: So, what is it, Fran, just a calculated threat assessment, that if you think you can get a lot of people, it's OK to let some other people in, particularly if you have put the word out to say, you can't get in with strollers, you can't get in with backpacks, just bring yourself because there's going to be areas where you will be screened? If you send that word out, is that an effective enough deterrent?

TOWNSEND: Well, I think it is a calculated risk assessment, but I think that's right, John. Most people presume if you're one of the two million coming to the Mall, the likelihood is you will be screened. And, of course, if the police on the Mall see something suspicious, they have a right to stop an individual who's already passed the perimeter point and to re-screen them.

And so, I think the law enforcement officials have confidence that the majority of folks will be screened and those who are not, if they have any concern, they've got the ability to stop them.

ROBERTS: All right, Fran, thanks so much for that. It's good to see you this morning, and...

TOWNSEND: Good to see you.

ROBERTS: ... we're hopeful that things -- we're hopeful that things will go off without a hitch. Certainly, the law enforcement authorities in this part of the world are used to these huge events. They're used to protecting the president, they're used to protecting incoming dignitaries, they used to protecting members of Congress. We saw the response here in the city after 9/11 so things should be well in hand here.

CHETRY: Right. And we're going to check in right now with John Avlon and Patricia Murphy. You guys have been able to view these pictures as well. I mean, you know, the estimates, I guess, the largest, John, right, ever, was 1.2 million that came out for Lyndon Johnson. We expect to exceed that today, if any of the early arrivals are any indication.

JOHN AVLON, COLUMNIST, DAILY BEAST: That's right. I mean, this may be, if you count the television audience, the largest viewed political event in world history. That's the level of excitement that exists, I think, not just in the United States, but around the world. Because this so revives the idea of the American dream and the American experiment for a new generation, in the way that that's just indelible around the world.

We here in America, you know, we don't just mark time by decades in America, we mark it by presidential administrations. So the inaugural address really is the beginning, the articulation of a new era.

ROBERTS: So Patricia, you know, when we look at this enormous crowd of people here and we think of the upwelling of hope that people have, too, for a new day in America, where does reality start to meet the promise here? You know, obviously, there are tremendously good feelings here on the Mall as people are waiting the inauguration of president Barack Obama, but at some point, people are going to have to take a realistic look at things here and say OK, so we've got this enormous sense of hope, but how much can really get done here.

PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Right. Well, reality starts at 12:01 for this new administration. We already know that staff members from the Obama campaign are now becoming staff members for the administration going straight to the White House, rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.

And I think the biggest challenge that Obama is going to have is leveraging all of this goodwill to get Congress to come along with him. We know he wants to start with bipartisan spirit. That's a new currency in town. Right now, we have a Congress that has been always very partisan. The currency has been partisan fight. He's going to have to tell them that this is the new way, this is the new currency in town, this is how you spend it. So I think that reality starts. We know that the Senate and House are in session tomorrow, and everything gets kind of the rubber meets the road tomorrow, if not today.

ROBERTS: All right. We'll be talking with the incoming press secretary, Robert Gibbs, about all of that coming up in just a little while as well. John Avlon and Patricia Murphy, thanks for being with us this morning.

MURPHY: Thank you. AVLON: Thank you.

CHETRY: All right, well, another live look at the Capitol. Boy, it's getting crowded around here for sure, and we're still hours away from the inauguration. We're going to take a quick break here on the special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. We'll be right back.

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ROBERTS: Five minutes to the top of the hour now. We're back with our special edition coverage of AMERICAN MORNING. We welcome our international viewers who are watching us on CNN-I today as we get ready to mark this historic transition of power from President George W. Bush to the incoming President Barack Obama. He'll be the 44th president of the United States and the very first African-American leader of this nation.

We want to bring in Ken Blackwell right now, the former secretary of state for the state of Ohio. He is with us, a Republican as well.

Ken, where are your thoughts going on this day?

KENNETH BLACKWELL, CANDIDATE FOR REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: This is a great American day. You know, John, 232 years ago, when this country was created as democracy -- only 2 million people lived under the aegis of democratic governance. Today, 2.4 billion, and America has led the way. But that doesn't mean that our history has been perfect. It has had imperfections, but as Lincoln said, our union is perfectible, and this is one of those moments that demonstrates that we can change history, that we can rise to the occasion of our greatness.

ROBERTS: You know, I tell you, Ken, when you just look at the crowds here that are on the Mall already, this early, with still five hours to go until the actual swearing-in ceremony, you have to think that this represents an amazing change for so many different people. And you know, we took a poll in the last couple of days. CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, they found that among African-Americans, 69 percent say they believe that what we're going to see today represents the culmination, the realization of Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for America.

BLACKWELL: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: Do you believe that?

BLACKWELL: Well, I think so. I think we are moving rapidly towards a post-racial America. And Dr. King had that vision, but there have been many ordinary citizens that have put a lot on the line, given their lives, given their treasure, and this is a glorious day for all America.

ROBERTS: You know, Ken, you talked about a post-racial -- just to remind people, Dr. King's dream was that his children could live in an America where they are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. But is it a little early to say that America is moving in to a post-racial phase or is this sort of more the first step along that route, that road?

BLACKWELL: No. Again, I think over 232 years, we've made tremendous progress. We haven't hit perfection yet, but this is a giant step forward, and so we should celebrate this moment. We should realize that America represents a great hope for all the rest of the world.

In our population of 302 million people, we have every race, every ethnicity, and now what we're being able to demonstrate as Lincoln said again, that we are not perfect but we are perfectible, and if we have a rebirth of freedom, we can do great things.

I think President Obama has to do three things, and we as a nation have to do three things. We have to inspire hope, we have to pull people together, and then we have to create opportunity, or as you said in your last segment, inspiration has a short shelf life, and so we have to get back to work next week, making sure that we put the best face and foot forward and create opportunities for people to get our economy growing again.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, let me ask you the tough question on that point. As we mentioned, you are a Republican. Barack Obama is a Democrat. You're actually a candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, which means that you would be one of the chief opponents of this president, should he start to come off the rails of where you would like to see him go. So how much time do you give him, how much of a honeymoon are you willing to give him before you start becoming more vocal opposition than Republicans are at this moment?

BLACKWELL: Well, I think I want to underscore, we will be a loyal opposition. We are not going to be opposed to him for just any nebulous reason. We will have a vigorous discussion about policies and directions that will deal with the challenges facing us. I think that discussion probably resumes next week, but it will be a principle-driven discussion because at the end of the day, Republicans and Democrats all have an interest in moving this country forward.