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CNN 10
President Obama`s Inauguration
Aired January 22, 2013 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re from Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we`re attending the 57th presidential inauguration in our nation`s Capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALES AND FEMALES: You`re watching CNN STUDENT NEWS. Take it away, Carl!
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Right, I will. You`re going to hear more from this Carson High students in just a moment, and you`re going to hear a lot about the event they were in D.C. to attend -- the presidential inauguration.
Back when they wrote the U.S. Constitution, the country`s Founding Fathers came up with 35 words: an oath, the same one that every president says when he takes office or starts a new term. The same one the U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts gave to President Obama yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, U.S. CHIEF JUSTICE: Please raise your right hand and repeat after me, I, Barack Hussein Obama do solemnly swear.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I, Barack Hussein Obama do solemnly swear.
ROBERTS: That I will faithfully execute.
OBAMA: That I will faithfully execute.
ROBERTS: The Office of President of the United States.
OBAMA: The Office of President of the United States.
ROBERTS: And will to the best of my ability.
OBAMA: And will to the best of my ability.
ROBERTS: Preserve, protect and defend.
OBAMA: Preserve, protect and defend.
ROBERTS: The Constitution of the United States.
OBAMA: The Constitution of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help you God.
OBAMA: So help me God.
ROBERTS: Congratulations, Mr. President.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: That isn`t the first time President Obama is taking that oath this week. The Constitution says a president`s term ends and the next one starts at noon on January 20th. That was Sunday, and that`s when Chief Justice Roberts gave President Obama the oath in the White House. Not the first time something like that has happened, in fact, it`s the seventh time. Whenever January 20th is falling on a Sunday, in an inauguration year, the public ceremony has been moved to Monday. Organizers expected around 800,000 people to feel the National Mall for that ceremony. The platform at the U.S. Capitol building was filled with former presidents, Supreme Court Justices and members of Congress.
Ceremony included some stars as well, like Beyonce, who performed the National Anthem and Kelly Clarkson who sang "My Country, Tis of Thee".
Including Barack Obama, 17 presidents have given a second inaugural address. The theme for yesterday`s inauguration was faith in America`s future. And in his speech, President Obama talked about what lies ahead for the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: America`s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive. Diversity and openness. An endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment and we will seize it so long as we seize it together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The inaugural day and its traditions don`t end with the swearing in ceremony. Afterward, the president and congressional leaders sat down for a ceremonial lunch. Then, the first family led the way from the Capitol back to the White House in the inaugural parade. It included floats and marching bands from across the country, and inauguration day wrapped up last night with parties to honor the president.
Going back to George Washington there had been 57 presidential inaugurations. It gives us a lot of interesting inaugural info. President Obama`s speech yesterday was around 2,000 words long. The shortest inaugural address was George Washington`s second one, just 135 words, the longest -- nearly 8500. William Henry Harrison spoke for an hour and 45 minutes in a snow storm without wearing a coat or a hat. He died one month later of pneumonia. There have been 57 inaugurations, but presidents have taken the Oath of Office 71 times, that`s because of situations like this year, when President Obama took it twice. One man has been on both sides of that oath: William Taft took it 1901, then he administered the oath in 1925 and 1929 because he was the Chief Justice of the United States. How about some inaugural technological inauguration trivia? Say that three times fast. First inauguration, known to be photographed, James Buchanan, in 1857. First one on TV, Harry Truman, in 1949. And first inauguration broadcast on the Internet, Bill Clinton in 1997.
A lot of folks travel to Washington for the inauguration. Like the students from Carson City, Nevada, who introduced today show. Here is what they have to say about their visit to the nation`s capitol.
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CAITLYN MORTON, CARSON HIGH SCHOOL: I`m here, in Washington, D.C., for the 57th presidential inauguration trip. My school has toured all the memorials we could possibly think of.
CARLY SCHMIDIN, CARSON HIGH SCHOOL: We`ve gone to Library of Congress and a lot of the memorials. Library of Congress was kind of big one for me. We saw the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and we`ve done so much stuff here. And today we went to Arlington, which was really powerful and very special, and then also we`ve gone to the Holocaust Museum, which is just an amazing experience to just read everything and learn about everything what`s happened. And we`re going to the inauguration, and I`m super- excited to see history happen because you always read about the stuff in books, but you never really get to see it. It`s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I`m just super-excited.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The presidency is serious, but the people who hold the office are people, and sometimes like all of us things for them can get a little wacky. Here is a look at some of the lighter moments from President Obama`s first four years in office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: We cannot sustain -- oops. Was that my, oh, goodness.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: That`s all right. All of you know who I am.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: As some of you may have noticed, I had a lot more energy in our second debate. I felt really well rested after the nice long nap I had in the first debate.
In the next 100 days our bipartisan outreach will be so successful that even John Boehner will consider becoming a Democrat. After all, we have a lot of in common, he is a person of color ...
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Although not a color that appears in the natural world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man!
I`ve got ...
OBAMA: I`m good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got me.
OBAMA: No one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald. And that`s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter -- like where are Biggie and Tupac?
(singing): I`m so in love with you ...
Hey, get out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s the most persistent fly I`ve ever seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s time for "The Shoutout." What was Martin Luther King Jr.`s first name when he was born? If you think you know it, then it shout it out! Was it Marshall, Martin, Matthew or Michael? You`ve got three seconds, go! Martin Luther King Jr was born Michael Luther King Jr. His father later changed his name to Martin. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Martin Luther King Jr would go on to become a symbol of the U.S. civil rights movement. His work earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and led to the creation of a national holiday in his honor. As many Americans marked that holiday yesterday, some of them did it by participating in the MLK Day of Service, finding ways to help their communities. Many cities around the country also held parades like this one from last year`s MLK Day in California. A couple of weeks ago we asked you to send an I-report describing Dr. King in just one word. Here`s what you came up with.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Martin Luther King Jr was and still is ...
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Inspiring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The compass to people.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Heroic.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Courageous!
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Charismatic!
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Confident.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Epic.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRLS: Heroic.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Courageous!
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Courageous!
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Determined.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Determined.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Visionary.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Example.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Big thanks to everyone who is sending those videos, we hope you`ll joins us again tomorrow when I report on more stories for CNN STUDENT NEWS. And before we say good-bye, a quick hello to the students and teachers of Macintosh High School. I had an awesome time hanging out with you Friday. I hope everyone has a great week.
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