incredibly exciting

For Obama, MLK day of service on inauguration eve

WASHINGTON – On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama talked with wounded troops at a military hospital and then visited an emergency shelter for homeless teens. Grabbing a paint roller to help give the walls a fresh coat of blue, Obama said there can't be any "idle hands" at a time of national hardship.

Obama appealed to the nation he will soon lead to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. through service to others. "It's not a day just to pause and reflect — it's a day to act," Obama said on King's national holiday. "I ask the American people to turn today's efforts into an ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of others in their communities, their cities, and their country."

Ever-growing crowds thronged to the capital city on the eve of Obama's elevation to the presidency. "Tomorrow, we will come together as one people on the same Mall where Dr. King's dream echoes still," Obama said.

A day away from becoming the nation's 44th president, Obama visited 14 injured vets from Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Then he visited Sasha Bruce House, a shelter for homeless teens in the District of Columbia, chatting with volunteers who were helping to repaint rooms and then pitching in himself.

"We can't allow any idle hands. Everybody's got to be involved," Obama said. "I think the American people are ready to do that."

Obama, whose presidential campaign made extensive use of the Internet to rally support and gather contributions, said, "The Internet is an amazing tool for us to be able to organize people together. We saw that in our campaign. But we don't just want to use if for winning elections; we want to use it for rebuilding America."

"Don't underestimate the power for people to join together to accomplish amazing things," Obama said.

As to his own painting efforts, Obama said: "I think I've got this wall covered." He once was immersed in such work as a community organizer in Chicago.

Michelle Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden's wife, Jill, were visiting RFK Stadium where people were at work wrapping care packages and writing letters to troops overseas.

On the National Mall, a party atmosphere was already evident by midday even though it had started snowing. Several of the large-screen televisions had begun rebroadcasting Sunday afternoon's concert, while in a corner near the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Boy's Choir of Kenya performed an impromptu selection for the crowd.

At the Capitol, hundreds of people pressed up against the blocked-off seating area in hopes of getting as close to the inaugural stage as possible.

"Everybody's excited," said Donald Butler, 20, a student at the University of Washington. "There are smiling faces everywhere, and it's a nice, diverse crowd. It's history. I didn't think I would see a black president in my generation. I just had to be here."

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It is truly incredible what MLK helped to bring about!
I don't think that there has been this much excitment about a presidency in decades, if ever. This is thrilling!

It is funny - 8 years ago people were pissed about bush stealing the presidency, but Clinton had left the country in such good shape that most people didn't really think that even this simpleton could screw things up. I'm sure it was assumed that he would be a puppet-place-setter in the fashion of Gerald Ford for 4 years until the repugs found a real leader. But bin Laden was smart enough to attack during this moron's presidency and won beyond all of his wildest dreams.

Now we have 8 years on mind-bogglingly bad policies to clean up so thank goodness we have a real leader now!