Pretty funny imo. Cornyn didn't get the post-partisan unity memo:

The confirmation of Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state will be held up for at least a day due to the objection of a single senator. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he wanted "a full and open debate and an up-or-down vote on Sen. Clinton's nomination."

Cornyn makes a political blunder here imo. Clinton will be confirmed tomorrow by a 90-10 vote and Cornyn will look petty and partisan forever. Bad political tradeoff imo.

Speaking for me only

Update 8:29pm MT (TL): Obama in an ABC interview tonight said:

“We were up there, we’ve got a lot of stuff on our minds. He actually, I think, helped me out on a couple of stanzas there,” the president said. “Overall, I think it went relatively smoothly and I’m very grateful to him.”

Update (TL): Video here.

ABC:

Chief Justice John Roberts is a man who has made very few public missteps in his life -- but he appears to have made one when swearing in Barack Obama. After Obama stepped on the first line of the oath, Roberts then slightly flubbed the next bit--which then tripped up Obama.

[ More ...]

Check out the new White House website. It even has a blog.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

12:08 pm: President Barack Obama begins his inaugural speech, expected to last 20 minutes.

The full text of the speech is here.

On challenges: "Know this America, they will be met."

He acknowledges the different religions, including "non-believers." Followed by tough talk against those who need to "unclench their fist."

12:26 p.m. Speech over. We have a new President. What a relief.

This is a thread for your reactions. I'll be back tonight to cover the televised inaugural balls.

Best seats in the house...in front of the tv, watching in HD

10:45 am: The Clintons, Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama and Dick Cheney (in a wheelchair) are arriving.

President Bush and soon to be President Barack Obama are walking into their car to cheers.

Update 11:01 am: Michelle Obama and Laura Bush just entered, Michelle looking happy. GW and Obama entered next. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd watching, with the Washington Monument in the background. John Roberts is arriving.

Interesting tidbit: Roberts will be swearing in a new president who voted against his confirmation. More updates below:

Grace Slick uttered her most memorable line at Woodstock, coming onstage Saturday at 6:00 am, saying:

Alright Friends, you have seen the heavy groups, now you will see the morning maniac music. Then she walks out to the stage with the music playing louder and she yells, Good Morning People. Believe me, it's a new dawn.

She and the band then launched into "Volunteers" (a theme that fits nicely with Obama's emphasis on service.)

Of course, we're not getting a revolution, just change, which after 8 years of Bush is just fine with most of us. The point being, there never was going to be a revolution in Washington, but I'm thrilled as could be to get even a sea change. And we will get that.[More...]

A Georgetown source forwards over an email from that school's administration, reporting that Professor Marty Lederman's class will be canceled -- because he's joining the Obama administration.

Lederman, another former Clinton Office of Legal Counsel lawyer, is perhaps the most prominent of several high-profile opponents of the Bush Administration's executive power claims joining Obama, a mark that he intends not just to change but to aggressively reverse Bush's moves on subjects like torture. . . . Lederman has been . . . an early and vocal critic of torture, and has suggested Bush Administration officials have committed specific crimes in that regard.

Bob Shrum must be upset about this development. I on the other hand am incredibly pleased.

Speaking for me only

So many sources of information out there, so little time to read them all. Here's the official Presidential Inauguration Committee and the Joint Congressional Committee on the Inauguration websites .

If you're at work tomorrow, you can watch the actual inauguration online here. All networks of course will broadcast the event, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET It takes place on the National Mall at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. No tickets required, open to the public, starting at 8:00 am.

After President Obama takes the oath of office and delivers his Inaugural address, there will be a departure ceremony for George W. Bush.

Following that, Obama will be escorted to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol for the traditional Inaugural Luncheon. The menu is here and the recipes for them are here. The herb-roasted pheasant and molasses whipped sweet potatoes look pretty good and easy to make. [More...]

Via CNN: No moving trucks will be needed for soon to be former President George W. Bush. He and Laura have already moved their things out of the White House. They are "Already Gone."

Goodbye to 8 years of Republican rule and the W.P.E. (Worst President Ever.) To ring in the new, I'll be following Jane, Marcy, John and the rest of the bloggers in D.C. and the HuffPo Ball -- from my perch in Denver where it's an uncharacteristically warm 60 degrees. Forget the Louboutins, this inauguration will be a time for Uggs.

Arianna's got the video up that will show just before midnight at the HuffPo Ball. Also check out HuffPo's Obama Inauguration Page.

Update: Here's Bettye Lavette and Jon Bon Jovi and singing Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." It's great. The replay just started. Bruce Springsteen and the choir on The Rising is amazing, the visual is as good as music. I think I'm hooked for the whole thing. Updates to come, if you're by a tv, turn it on. HBO is free if you have cable or satellite.

More faves: James Taylor, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles singing "Shower the People." Joe Biden was a downer after that. Mellencamp really rocked out in the second half of Little Pink Houses. They all look so cold out there. [More...]

Kevin Drum points us to a NYTimes magazine gallery of photos of faces of the incoming Obama Administration (faces you know and some you do not.) Kevin's post is good so go read it, but I was struck by his observation about Hilda Solis' photo:

Hilda Solis looks pensive and sad.

She does. It's my favorite in the series. There is a lot to be pensive and sad about, even in the midst of this historic inauguration.

Speaking for me only

President-elect Barack Obama will enter office on Tuesday with the American People strongly behind him and willing to give his efforts to fix the country time to work says a NYTimes poll:

President-elect Barack Obama is riding a powerful wave of optimism into the White House, with Americans confident he can turn the economy around but prepared to give him years to deal with the crush of problems he faces starting Tuesday, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Mr. Bush is leaving office with just 22 percent of Americans offering a favorable view of how he handled the eight years of his presidency, a record low, and firmly identified with the economic crisis Mr. Obama is inheriting. More than 80 percent of respondents said the nation was in worse shape today than it was five years ago. By contrast, 79 percent were optimistic about the next four years under Mr. Obama, a level of good will for a new chief executive that exceeds that measured for any of the past five incoming presidents.

Time to be bold.