Last one: the frenzy has subsided and hunger has set in. The contents of the mall are now in the city's restaurants. Obama's presidency is only two hours old. But the economic stimulus is already underway.12:36 Poet and benediction play to massive exodus for bathroom etc.12:26 Crowd dispersing. No respect for poets!12:25 This guy can really work an audience. This is an amazing substantive speech given the occasion. Hope abounds. 12:19 Hindus get shout out! People's heads are bowed. 12:07 Smiles all around. Feeling is catharsis. 12:05 The crowd is frenzied. 11:57 Love the grin on Biden. Stevens is not young. He called him president! 11:54 I am a cynic but this is pretty fucking amazing. 11:52 Sync is off on jumbotron. Awesome echoes as sound travels back from capital to Lincoln memorial. Aretha! 11:48: Uneasy silence and a few boos for Warren. 11:43 Obama introduced. Peeps are losing it. 11:37: Bush formally introduced. More boos. 11:35: We made it! We're on the Mall, where it's packed but not actually that dense. We're outside that classic looking Smithsonian building. The red brick one. A second ago we saw Bush's face on the Jumbotron and everyone started booing. Then the guy next to me said "You can't boo the number 1 hustler in the world." 11:27: We're trying to sneak onto the Mall from inside the African History Museum, where people are sleeping and lounging around. The Mall is stuffed. 11:00: We're two blocks away from the Mall now, trying to sneak in closer. But this is insane. I have never seen anything so densely packed in my entire life. 10:47: At the base of the Washington Monument, people dressed as hooded detainees are calling for the closing of Gitmo. 10:19: At the Mall now. Nothing to report just yet. 9:53: A mile from the Mall. Dense crowds walking west on 17th Street. Like a zombie march! 9:15: Today, history will be made. People are already on the Mall covered in blankets, sleeping bags, and, more than likely, hopeful cheer. I am heading out to join them. Stay tuned for (hopefully) real-time reports from within the throngs.
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