Tacoma attorney Lara Herrmann e-mailed Peter Callaghan with some photos of her and her sister, Katie Herrmann, enjoying the festivities. (Laura is in the black cap).

Those are some impressive seats. But even more impressive is who was sitting nearby.

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Puyallup resident Angie Tjoelker of and her roommate Jessica got caught in a huge crush of people trying to leave the National Mall today, and Tjoelker was nearly sick by the time she made it back to Jessica's aunt's house.

People were crammed inside a mall waiting to board D.C.'s Metro at the L'Enfant Plaza stop, and many were overheating, Tjoelker reported this evening. People who had been standing outside in the cold for hours were suddenly shedding layers of clothing.

"It was seriously ridiculous," Tjoelker said. "People were fainting ... I'm on the verge of getting sick right now."

Tjoelker and her roommate eventually bailed out a side exit and made their way to another Metro stop.

Despite the ordeal, Tjoelker is happy she made the trip to Washington, D.C.

She and her roommate watched from a point on the National Mall near the Washington Monument. A nearby Jumbotron provided a view of the action. Her roommate wasn't tall enough to see it well, but she improvised by holding up her cell phone and watching the Jumbotron through the phone's camera.

"The most exciting part was just how excited everyone was throughout the day," she said. "Everybody was just in a great mood the whole day. There was an electricity in the air."

Tjoelker is heading home to Puyallup tomorrow. She's optimistic about the future, but realistic about quickly President Obama will be able to change things.

"It's not going to get done tomorrow," she said.

I love the PolitiFact Web site, which takes a fun and graphically innovative approach to political reporting. During the campaign and afterwards, they brought out the "Truth-O-Meter," which fact checks various politicans' claims for accuracy.

Now they are taking on Barack Obama's long, long list of promises. They counted up all the promises he made during the campaign - more than 500. Now, they will track which ones he keeps and which ones he breaks. So far, he's kept only two, stalled on one, made progress on another 12 and taken no action on 495. But hey, let's at least give him a week.

Yusuf Word, president of University of Puget Sound’s student association, rose when many college students are normally hitting the hay in order to attend Obama’s speech in D.C.

“We left the house at 4 a.m. and were downtown around 4:30,” said the 22-year-old senior, who is majoring in communications studies. "They let us in at 8 a.m. and we were there until about 1.”

Word said he was struck by the diversity of the crowd, in terms of both race and age.

“It was great feeling all that positive energy,” he said.

It was Obama who inspired Word to run for student government and Word
is also the first African American elected to his post.

While he was able to see Obama on a big screen nearby, people in his part of the throng had to huddle around a portable radio someone had brought.

“People ask, ‘Is he really going to be able to bring people together?’ “ Word said. “I think it’s obvious today, when you see all those people waiting 7-8 hours just to see him for a second.”

Right after Barack Obama was sworn in as president, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma turned around and exchanged a high-five with none other than Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

Baarsma, who was seated near Smith in the "orange section" -- directly in front of the podium but a fair ways back -- said the high moment from today's inaugural ceremony was the swearing in, though he said Obama's speech also was significant because it marked the end of the Reagan-Bush era.

It means, Baarsma said, that "the government is no longer your enemy," and that the Constitution's safeguards are protected.

"It struck a chord of optimism," Baarsma said. "We're in a difficult situation, but we can prevail like the pioneers prevailed. It was exciting."

Baarsma was seated in front of Smith, and beside George Galland, a senior partner in the Chicago law firm where Obama once worked. Baarsma struck up a conversation Galland and discovered that Galland's wife is friends with someone who served on the board of trustees of the University of Puget Sound, where Baarsma was a professor.

UPDATE: Correction just after the jump to note that it was not Galland's son who was a former student, but the son of a friend who was a university trustee.

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Blogger/copy editor Kelly Davenport shared a scene from this morning:

At Satellite Coffee in Tacoma's Stadium District, customers gathered around a laptop on the counter streaming a live video feed from CNN.com. From desktop speakers that usually blast Motown and soul hits boomed the voice of the new president giving his inaugural address.

Barista Magdalena Ramos timed her espresso shots – punctuated by the loud crunch of the coffee grinder and the blast of the steam wand – to lulls in the broadcast so as not to interrupt. On screen, Obama thanked President George W. Bush for his service, and the D.C. audience applauded – though it seemed subdued.

"Golf clap! Golf clap!" joked shop co-owner Pat Brown.

More familiar faces in the crowd from Les Blumenthal in D.C.

WASHINGTON – There were more than just politicians at the inauguration.

Take Les Purce, president of The Evergreen State College. The great-great grandson of a Virginia slave, Purce was 40 yards away when Barack Obama was sworn in.

"It was electric," Purce said. "I could not help but think about my great great-grandfather and his family. All these people had such great hope. We made a great leap today. I'm searching for words."

Others also struggled to put it in perspective.

"For me it was overwhelming," said Leslie Braxton, a senior pastor at a Renton church who grew up in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood and as a 9-year-old was bused to a virtually all-white school five miles from his home. "I got a little teary eyed."

Braxton said his grandfather always said electing an African-American president would never happen, but his grandmother would scold him and tell him it was up to God.

"Things change," Braxton said. "It may be slow, but it is happening."

Tacoma resident Kurt Heineman is in D.C. on business and got a taste of the event. Here is his account and photos.

I awoke this morning at 4:15 am to catch the metro as early in order to get the closest to the Capitol building as I possibly could without having an inauguration ticket. Although many people, including myself, were very tired, you could feel the energy and excitement in the air.

Many of us brought cardboard or newspapers to sit and lay on while we waited for the event to take place. In this time, I met people from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Dakota, and various other states. The conversations I had with the people I met exemplified exactly what Barack Obama has and will continue to do for this great country, which is to bring together people from all racial, religious, and geographical backgrounds and motivate each citizen to be an active participant in renewing the greatness of the United States of America.

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Kindergartners and first-graders at Tacoma's Wainwright Elementary sat quietly this morning, watching Barack Obama take the oath of office as President of the United States.

Little girls, some with corn rows in their hair, others with blond pony tails, sat side by side. There were boys with the frizzy hair that marked their heritage as African American, others with the barber-shop style short brush cuts typical of Caucasian boys. Children with black faces, white faces, Asian features watched together as Obama told America, "We are shaped by every language and culture..."

They soaked in the moment as he spoke of "tolerance and curiosity."
They seemed the children of whom the new president spoke as he said, "We carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

Some 60 students from Darlene Wiggins' and Ann Balerud's first-grade classes and Jennifer Guild and Amy Maarsingh's kindergartens watched the swearing-in and speeches amazingly fidget-free.

=> Read more!

Washington service members deployed to Iraq watch Obama's inaugurationin a much more subdued atmosphere. Check out the story on our military blog, FOB Tacoma.

Macon Phillips, director of new media for the White House, wrote one of the first posts for the official White House blog that went live today.

One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

The initial new media efforts will concentrate on communication, transparency and participation, Phillips says.

The post includes a link to a form where visitors can leave their suggestions for what they want to see from WhiteHouse.gov.

Any ideas?

Angie Tjoelker, the Puyallup woman who went to D.C. with her roommate to watch the inauguration, wrote earlier today that being in Washington D.C. for the inauguration was "flippin sweet."

She has a different take on what it was like to leave the National Mall. She compared it something from a disaster movie.

Angie writes:

2:16pm. I feel like I'm in a disaster movie. Getting out of the National Mall was INSANE! We were in the biggest crush of people and took a half hour to go 30 feet.

Most streets are closed and are literally filled wall to wall with people. It is absolutely surreal to be walking on 4 lane road in a group of thousands of people and pass under an overpass with more people going a different way.

Jess and I ducked into a building to wait for a few hours. We are currently sitting in a hallway with about 50 other people with the same idea.

This is CRAZY! If I didn't know better I would think that some catastrophic event just occurred.

But, it is still fun. The stories we can now tell...

So who pops up in a Chicago Tribune scene-setter on the wire this morning but Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma. They even spelled his name right.

Standing in a blocks-long line awaiting entrance to the West Lawn, Bill
Baarsma, 66, the Democratic mayor of Tacoma, Wash., noted the symmetry of
the two inaugurations he has attended.

The first was Lyndon Johnson’s in 1965, thought to have drawn the largest
inaugural crowd, a record Baarsma believes was broken Tuesday.

“It wasn’t anything like this, trust me,” Baarsma said. “I don’t remember
standing in line like this.”

There’s another, more profound link between that inauguration and this one, Baarsma observed. Johnson used much of the political capital of his presidency to push for passage of civil rights legislation that accelerated political participation by blacks.

“It set the table for Obama,” Baarsma said.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Norm Dicks has an uncanny ability to puts things into perspective. Tomorrow the House Appropriations Committee will mark up a more than $800 billion stimulus bill. But today he was as wowed as everyone else.

“It was the most amazing view, all you could see was people,” said Dicks.

Dicks shook hands with Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, and got a good look at the kids, Mailia and Sasha.

The congressman said Obama’s speech was “solid” and spelled out the “hard realities” the nation faces.

“Now the hard part begins,” Dicks said, adding Obama commands “real political power because he commands real respect.”

Dicks isn’t going to the Western states ball tonight, but he made it to Al Gore’s Green Ball last night. He and Gore are long-time colleagues and friends.

Here are some open-to-the-public inaugural events tonight. Let us know if you know of others.

• The Tacoma Colored Women's Club, 2331 S. Yakima Ave., will be hosting a celebration from 6 to 10 p.m. featuring a big screen television, music and food.

• 2nd District Democrats will meet up at Amici Italian Eatery, 9807 224th St. E in Graham from 6 to 8:30 p.m. for a no-host dinner and drinks.

• Pierce County Democrats and People for Peace, Justice and Healing are organizing a party at the Swiss Tavern, 1904 S. Jefferson Ave., Tacoma. The free, 21-and-over event features live music by The Disclaimers and a big screen with feed from D.C.

A couple more dispatches from Les Blumenthal in D.C.

WASHINGTON – As with most politicians, check that – as with most people who were there – Gov. Chris Gregoire was just trying to comprehend what she had just seen when she called after the inauguration.

“I’ve never seen anything this historic in my life. I can’t think of anything that comes close,” Gregoire said. “As far as you could see there was nothing but people. Oh my word.”

The governor said Obama became president at a most challenging time. “But look at the hope, look at the optimism,” she said

---------------------
WASHINGTON – Sen. Maria Cantwell just called and said the view from the podium where she was sitting was unbelievable.

The exact quote: “You walk out there and see all those people down the mall – it was breathtaking. If you sit still and just absorb what is happening, every inaugural is pretty historic but this was against the backdrop of hard economic times.”

Cantwell said she liked Obama’s speech.

“He was forceful in saying we will meet our challenges,” she said. “When generations from now look back, they will realize we succeeded.”

Also on the podium was Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash.

“I will never see a day like this again,” Baird said. “It was amazing, this incredible sea of humanity.”

Here's one from Joe Turner in Olympia.

This was a particularly special day for Washington state Sen. Rosa
Franklin, D-Tacoma, who is starting her 20th year in the Legislature.
She is President pro tempore of the Senate.

Franklin, 81, is black. She began her legislative career after working
many years as a nurse.

She watched the inaugural with other state senators and staffers on a
big screen TV in the majority caucus room.

"It is a day of renewing the spirit of what our country is all about –
about our country being for everyone," she told me afterward. "Anyone
can be a leader."

=> Read more!

A crowd at the Oasis of Hope Center on Tacoma’s Hilltop cheered when Barack Obama finished the oath of office.

Ella Haynie, 80, raised her arms and said, “Thank you Jesus.”
“This is a great day,” she said.

She said she never thought she would see a black person become president in her lifetime. Obama is “a man for all people – every race,” she said.

“Things are going to get better,” said Haynie, of Tacoma. “The change has come.”

Kecia Betts joined about 100 people to watch the inauguration on a 16-by-16 foot screen at the center. She took a day off from her job as a school teacher to watch the events for what she called the biggest day in African American history. Others also said they took time off work so they wouldn’t miss the inauguration.

Betts said Obama’s election marked the first time she felt part of the “American fabric.”

When she saw Obama take his place for the inauguration, Betts cheered and yelled, “Yeah, baby!”

“This is a long time coming,” said Betts, of Tacoma. “Look at how many barriers this man has broken.”

At the center, part of Greater Christ Temple Church, people sat around tables, sipped coffee, and watched the events on CNN. They listened intently and broke into applause and cheering often.

=> Read more!

Angie Tjoelker of Puyallup made it to a location close to the Washington Monument to witness this morning's inauguration. She updated her blog, "Don't Choke," a little after 9 a.m. East Coast time.

In a post entitled "day 4: Inauguration!" she wrote:

9:11am. We are here! It is impossible to describe the mood and feeling here. Everyone chanting in the subways. Singing together in the crowd. It is incredible!

Jess is eating leftover kabob right now and it is grossing me out.

No guarantees about being able to post anymore due to spotty cell reception.

In case people are looking for us, we are close to the washington monument facing the capitol.

This is flippin sweet!

Here was the scene at The Spar this morning, sent in by reader Patricia Shuman. Feel free to email your photos and write ups and I'll post them here.

Kati Irons, one of the locals we're following in Washington D.C., made it to the base of the Washington Monument earlier this morning.

I gleaned that from her Twitter update.

I also gather that it's quite cold.

Here's one of her "tweets":

Ready to head down to DC.Wearing about 12 layers of clothes. Want to be only person in 1st Aid tent for heat exhaustion. about 7 hours ago from web

Her last report came about three hours ago, and it made another reference to the cold. Haven't seen any digital evidence of her since then, so hopefully she's not being treated for heat exhaustion -- or frost bite.

Another dispatch from Les Blumenthal in D.C.

WASHINGTON – Some in the crowd at the inauguration were disappointed, not by President Obama but because they never made it to the ceremony.

Just talked with Daniel Roy of Belfair, who along with his wife, Ann, founded Grandparents for Obama. They had tickets but waited outside a security checkpoint for more than three hours before giving up and heading back to their hotel to watch. Luckily, their hotel had a view of Pennsylvania Avenue, and they were able to see the limo holding Obama and then-President Bush headed from the White House to the Capitol.

“We decided if we couldn’t see it live, we would see it on television,” Roy said. “Sure I’m disappointed, but I feel I have been very fortunate. It’s still been exciting.”

You may have heard the applause up in Tacoma (OK, maybe not). There are a handful of Washington state senators, sergeants at arms, staffers and others gathered on the floor of the state Senate to watch our new President be sworn in.

Others are gathered in the gallery. There are probably 50 of us in or overlooking the chamber. But there are televisions on all over the state Capitol Campus with other small gatherings of spectators.

More later. Obama is speaking, so I'll shut up.

UPDATE: Wow. That was short and sweet. It got a standing applause down here.

I wandered around the wings of the Senate and went over the House chamber. They also had President Barack Obama on the big screens. (There's a lot of 'em in Olympia. You'd think this was a sports bar.)

Sens. Jim Kastama, Karen Fraser, Ed Murray, Linda Parlette, Brian Hatfield, Janea Holmquist, Phil Rockefeller and Mike Hewitt are on the floor or standing in the wings.

Marty Brown, the governor's legislative liaison, came up one floor to the Senate chambers, too. I guess the guv doesn't have a big screen.

I'll try to catch some of them later. They're listening to a poet at the moment.

I knew Gov. Chris Gregoire was in D.C. but I just found out that Sens. Jeannie Kohl Welles of Seattle and Claudia Kauffman of Kent also made the trip.

Good morning.

To accompany the constant stream of national coverage, News Tribune reporters will be covering the inauguration through the eyes of South Sound residents. Our D.C. correspondent Les Blumenthal is hooking up with groups and individuals who are among the crowd in the Mall. Joe Turner will get reaction and color from Olympia. Other reporters will be out in the field and on the phones, capturing the scene as South Sound residents watch and reflect on the day. We'll be updating this blog as items come in.

We'd love to hear directly from you about how you are marking the occasion and how you feel about the ceremony and the speech. Drop me an email with your dispatch or photo and I'll post it on Political Buzz.

From Les Blumenthal in our D.C. Bureau

WASHINGTON - Just got back from the Mall where I was trying to hook-up with a group of eighth-graders from Mason Middle School in Tacoma. It didn't work.

The group had gotten up at 4:30 a.m., rode their bus from their hotel in a suburb 25 miles out, wandered through downtown for a half hour or so and finally arrived at a security checkpoint with about 10,000 other people. I must've gotten within about 30 feet of them, but I couldn't get through the crowd. Marilyn O'Malley-Hicks, the teacher leading the group, was in cell phone contact, but it wasn't going to happen.

Security was tight throughout downtown, but not oppressive. Military police directed traffic, though many downtown streets were blocked off. Even the U.S. Postal Police had a presence.

Hawkers were selling everything from T-shirts to hand warmers and foot warmers. "$5 T-shirts, no batteries required," said one.

A few people carried anti-Bush signs. One read, "Bush your time is up."

The crowd was black, white, young, old and mostly calm as they swarmed toward the mall.

Among those attending was Yakama Tribal Chairman Ralph Sampson Jr. "We're seeing a little bit of history," he said.

Sampson was in town for the inauguration and a meeting of the National Congress of American Indians. They were earlier briefed by the Obama transition team. "It's good to have Democrats in office," he said.

As for the crowd, Sampson said, "It's kind of like a stockyard here."

Rep. Don Cox, who served 8 years in the House, was selected to replace Rep. Steve Hailey, who died last month.

Cox will be back in town today or tomorrow.

Cox takes office as new 9th District state representative

Shortly after his appointment Monday by 9th District county commissioners, Colfax Republican Don Cox took the oath of office from Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier, and at 1 p.m. became the newest member of the Washington State House of Representatives.

Cox was chosen from a field of three finalists to succeed the late Rep. Steve Hailey, who announced his resignation Dec. 11, 2008, and succumbed to colon cancer Dec. 28.

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