Editor’s Note: You can read more Jami Floyd blogs on “In Session.”

Jami Floyd
AC360° Contributor
In Session Anchor

The inauguration was almost a week ago; by now you have heard all about the pomp and the circumstance, the parade and the parties. Since I was there, I’m tempted to give you my take on all of that too, but I won't. Because, now that I’m back from what I’m calling my “Inauguration Vacation” – that is, my week in Washington DC - I want to share with you something less tangible and much more meaningful: The spirit of the whole thing. Never before have I seen so many Americans, from all class backgrounds and ethnic groups, from cities and suburbs and rural areas, from places near and far, in one place and so full of the spirit of democracy.

We met a family of six from Ohio. The elderly parents had marched on Washington forty years before. This time they came with their four adult daughters and woke at four am to see Dr. King's dream fulfilled. There was the Tuskegee Airman who had received his special invitation to sit with Barack Obama on the dais. We even met a group who came from Kenya to see this distant cousin take the oath of office in America. There were the grandparents with their grandchildren from Santa Barbara and a wonderful couple from New Mexico, tru TV/In Session fans, they told me. We chatted with a little boy from Arizona who had never experienced cold weather. He was only ten and said his feet were numb but that it was worth it to be a part of history. And the list goes on and on, as you know, into the hundreds of thousands - people from all walks of life crowded together in the cold, sensing their collective strength.

Our new president said it best: "[O]ur patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Somebody say Amen.

Performer Will.i.am shares his inauguration experience.

Jack Gray
AC360° Associate Producer

Finally, this week has come to an end. I had no idea how exhausting hope and optimism could be. Say what you will about pessimism and disappointment, but they lend themselves much easier to naps.

Some of you have e-mailed me asking, because I hadn’t written anything this week, if I had stopped blogging and/or died. The answer is neither, though the latter is not for a lack of effort by a certain cab driver distracted by his dashboard full of Chicken McNuggets. I just needed a little time to detoxify from all the warmth and fuzziness. I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say it involved dry heaving into Aretha Franklin’s giant hat.

This is not to say I’m unhappy that the country is overcome by joy. Heck, I’m an American and I want President Obama to succeed, too. And what wasn’t to love about the inauguration? I mean, the pageantry of the peaceful transition of power, the emotional crowds – to say nothing of the esteemed dignitaries like Colin Powell, Sandra Day O'Connor and Ashton Kutcher.

But as wonderful as it was – and it was wonderful, especially when Chief Justice John Roberts messed up the oath of office and lapsed into “Green Eggs and Ham” – I’m ready for the country to come down off its collective high. Because, I don’t know about you, but when I see strangers smiling at me on the streets of New York, I assume they’re about to kill me and sell my organs on Ebay.

And besides, even the president will tell you, it’s time for important things like fixing the economy, improving national security and watching The View.

Speaking of substantive issues facing the country, you may have noticed that the Oscar nominations were announced yesterday. The Curious Case of Brad Pitt’s Moustache got the most nods. That’s the only Best Picture contender I have yet to see, so I guess I know what I’m doing this weekend. That and, of course, going clubbing with Gov. David Paterson and Caroline Kennedy.

Ah yes, Sweet Caroline. Whether you like her or not, her brief foray into New York politics should never have ended like this. Maybe it would have turned out better had she not begun her meeting with David Paterson by saying, “Look, Neil Diamond never wrote a song about those other losers.”

But anyway, back to the Oscar nominations, I want to remind you that I’ll be live blogging the Oscars Sunday night, February 22nd. Our Golden Globes Live Blog was a big success so I’m looking forward to doing it again. And yes, I will try to get Anderson and Erica to make cameo appearances.

As long as they don’t insist on actually coming to my apartment. Because, between you and me, they steal things.

Have a good weekend. And wipe that grin off your face. You're freaking me out.

Actor Val Kilmer attends the Post Pre-Inaugural Ball hosted by The Huffington Post and MySpace at The Newseum on January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Leslie Sanchez
CNN Contributor and Republican Strategist

Washington was a constellation of Hollywood stars and starlets this week, but one seemed to be moving in a particularly well-defined orbit - and he was clearly one of the most interesting people making the rounds.

Critically-acclaimed actor Val Kilmer (Tombstone, Batman Forever, The Doors and Heat) showed himself to be wonderfully personable, thoughtful about public policy issues and extremely inquisitive about the process.

Maybe too inquisitive.

What couldn't be missed was Kilmer's high-powered networking with several Democratic governors, including Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association. The two met at Monday's unity dinner honoring Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

During a discussion about the role of Democratic Governors in the new Obama administration, Kilmer invited Schweitzer out trout fishing on his 6,000-acre ranch in Pecos, New Mexico.

My guess is we'll be hearing a lot more from Val Kilmer in the days ahead – and not just on the big screen, either. His roots in New Mexico run deep (his family has lived in the Land of Enchantment for almost a century), and this is clearly a guy with politics and public service very much on his mind.

Call it a hunch, but I think this may be another case of an actor turning politician. Either way, it's bound to get more interesting.

President Obama, pictured, giving his inaugural speech.

Erin Evans
The Root

Some say President Obama’s inaugural speech fell short of expectations. But history may reveal that it shifted expectations for us all.

Some say President Obama’s inaugural speech fell short of expectations. But even Lincoln’s best speeches were better in the reading than in the reciting. History may reveal it shifted expectations for us all.
Some say President Obama’s inaugural speech fell short of expectations. But history may reveal that it shifted expectations for us all.

“Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.”
—Elizabeth Alexander, “Praise Song for the Day”

African Americans comprised nearly half of the audience at Lincoln’s second inaugural address. As Lincoln spoke to the crowd, he made the astonishing suggestion that perhaps God had willed that the Civil War would continue, “until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s 250 years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.” It was the day that Lincoln became the black man’s president.

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Gary Tuchman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

1.
The lack of panic, or even concern when people started getting squeezed tightly by throngs of other people on narrow streets as they tried to get closer to the Capitol to view the Inauguration.

2.
The immense number of children, the elderly, and the disabled dealing with the mass crowds and the cold to be part of history. (How many more people would attend inaugurations if they were held in May?!)

3.
The respectful, utter quiet during portions of the ceremony. Hearing nothing from 1.8 million or so people is awe inspiring.

4. Hearing some inaugural attendees start singing "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye" when they saw George Bush on the Jumbotron. Pretty uncool, whatever your political feelings.

5.
The plethora of pitiful Presidential potpourri sold on the streets; from questionably edible Obama candy bars to Obama condoms.

6.
If you think the fur industry is suffering, you would have thought differently after hanging out in Washington the last few days. Democrats may think they're more environmentally aware than Republicans, but the huge number of fur coats among women and men was notable. Some of the coats were so extravagant that if the people wearing them wandered into the woods, they might have been at risk of being shot by a hunter.

7.
Inaugural balls are often a bit cheesy. But the youth ball was one of the most hopping parties I've ever seen. Kanye West, Kid Rock, and of course, Barack Obama were among the attendees. But even when they were all gone, the party kept growing. Fire marshals had to stop more people from coming into the Washington Hilton ballroom because it was too crowded with more than 2,200 revelers. When the DJ played Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" to end the night at 1:30am, the 18-35 year olds wanted to keep partying.

8.
The lack of taxis at Washington's hotels. People waited for up to 90 minutes when balls ended to get into cabs. Two hotel executives told me that because many taxi drivers are illegal immigrants, they felt uncomfortable waiting in hotel taxi lines with so many government officials present. (The taxis were plentiful the day after the inauguration.)

9.
The exorbitant prices at Washington hotels. We know there is a lot of demand. But in this economy, gouging tourists is not exactly a goodwill gesture that encourages return visits.

And 10.
The amazingly good spirits among the Republicans attending the inauguration. After months of covering intensely competitive and often venomous campaign rallies on both sides, it was a remarkably different kind of political gathering.
_________________
Written on blackberry during cab ride from Washington to Baltimore airport.

Photographer Peter Turnley covered Obama's inauguration for CNN. He says it was like nothing he's ever witnessed.

A group of African-Americans ride a bus from Brooklyn, New York to Washington DC on Sunday, Jan.18,to attend the inauguration.

A New Yorker on his way to the inauguration.

On the eve of the inauguration of President Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States, and on Martin Luther Kings' Birthday, thousands of citizens arrive in Washington DC and visit national monuments and historic sites.

Peter Turnley
Photojournalist

On Sunday morning, I boarded a bus in Brooklyn with a group of approximately 40 citizens from New York, all African-American, each of whom, would not have missed for almost anything, the inauguration of President Barack Obama. I have been a photojournalist for the past 25 years, and have had the incredible opportunity to witness many of the worlds’ defining moments of modern history; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989; the end of apartheid in South Africa and Nelson Mandela walking out of prison in 1991; and most of the worlds’ conflicts of the past three decades. When our bus pulled into Maryland, on the eve of the inauguration, I knew after hearing the words of my fellow passengers, in some sense fellow pilgrims, that I was in the midst of a moment of history like maybe no other in terms of its historic magnitude, that I had ever witnessed and certainly not in America.

It is the words of these passengers, and those of many others that I have met in the past two days, that are representative of some degree of what this moment means. I would prefer to let them speak for themselves.

Yemaya Hayes, a resident of Brooklyn, who rode to Washington DC on the bus on Sunday reflected on the moment and the trip and said, "This is a pilgrimage. We all say-if he can do it –I can do it. We are going from Brooklyn to Washington to make history. Our stories have always been told not written. Our ancestors couldn’t read or write-our stories were told my word of mouth. The only way out is to go back through-to relive the past. I like being on a bus because you can see everything-it is leading up to the triumph-it is like riding up to the future and saying bye to the past."

Another passenger, Reverend Clifton Phillips Mandrane, 79, born in Harlem led the passengers on the bus in prayer before the trip. He was in jail in 1962 in Albany, Georgia for protesting without a permit. He was jailed with Dr. King for six days with no food, "This trip is a fulfillment of time. I believe that Americans have achieved the goal of liberty and freedom for all. I couldn’t attend Dr. Kings speech and the million man march-this is a great opportunity because I am aging. I used to have to ride the back of the bus-but we fought it through protest and the courts-this is about change. I’m still in college pursing my BA degree. Today the battlefield of the civil rights movement is in the public schools. If we don’t help young people-we won’t have future leaders. Justice for all-that is what democracy is!"

Denise Orisha Suares lives in Harlem. "I'm here representing my mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother-the women that raised me. It is sweet sadness. They never thought they would see this in their lifetime. For them, being safe, and getting a good job was the best they could ask for-never being president. Michelle reminds me of them . Sometimes you are not appreciated for being a strong black woman. She has made it positive for being who you are. The transformation of change for the black race has always been on a bus. I now feel like I'm an American. I believe there is hope that we could be one people-I've never felt that possibility before. We can step out of our skin color. Every man is going to be able to take off their costume. I don’t know how I am going to feel when I get to Washington. But I feel that I have already won!" When asked if riding to Washington on a bus had any particular significance for her, she replied, "the bus is so reflective of the people it is carrying-it breaks down and gets fixed-something always going on." At one point the bus stopped for a mechanical failure and Denise commented, "the bus is like our collective experience- a little resistance-but we’re going to keep going."

Colette Winlock, a friend of Denise Orisha, reflected as we rode towards Washington and said, "back in the day-the bus was a way we left home and the way we got sent back-how we stayed in touch with our families."

At one point during our bus trip, the group played a trivia question and first person getting an answer right received an Obama pin. One of the first questions caught my attention by its' irony, "What country could Sarah Palin see from her house?"

Arnold Freeman, from New York, brought along five boys on this journey to Washington and commented when asked about this trip, "I was at the million man march. I never experienced a spiritual feeling like that. I brought 5 boys with me-I wanted them to experience the power of this collective gathering. Being on a bus gives me the feeling of being with people that feel the way I feel. I worry that people expect Obama to solve their problems of their own community. We shouldn’t depend on him to do what we need to do. This is destiny that was set up by Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Shirly Chisholm, Dr. King. I teach my sons that this is a collective experience. This election represents this. We can no longer say that because we are black that we can't! This frees children of a sense of limitation."

Laura Hunt, a surgical nurse in New York shared her feelings about her ride to Washington, "this trip means hope in general. We finally have great role models.

Hope sums it up for me. It makes me want to aim higher personally. It is inspirational. I'm feeling energy among other people-unity. This bus trip stands for unity. I feel more connected to the political process because of their being black leadership. I think the inauguration will be even more dynamic than election night. I feel more empowered as an American than previously. I feel that certain needs will be addressed. The needs of the under-served and the undeserved, I mean that in terms of the people that have been in power previously-that saw the world between those that have and those that have not.

The fact that 47 million white people voted for a black president means they know the deal. What is unique about Obama is that he has been so many places-has seen so much. Some things that are based on money won't change unless programs are put in place-like education. The way things are set up-presently only certain kinds of people have access to certain kinds of things."

After spending the night with my new friends in Maryland, I said goodbye and got up early and arrived in Washington DC on Monday morning. Throughout that day, I wandered public areas of Washington where I saw thousands of citizens that had made their way to DC for this momentous occasion. I continued to photograph many people I encountered and continued to try to ask the subjects of my images questions about their feelings and emotions surrounding their visit to the nations capitol.

"I came to be part of history-to know where you were when it happened. This represents hope for future generations. It is an opportunity to aspire to whatever you want to. We still have a ways to go. People have opened their minds to having the same rights. It changes how I feel about myself. The sky is the limit. More people can now raise the American flag."

In front of the Vietnam Memorial Wall, I encountered Jose Oakley, from Hernando, Miss., who was looking for the name on the wall of his brother; "I came here to see Obama for history and to see my brother who died for his country. All of those before us sacrificed so we could be here."

Another teen age boy standing at the wall being photographed by his friends holding his hand in front of his heart, Michael Hope from Keller, TX. replied when asked what the election of Barack Obama as president meant to him, "this means pride, confidence, joyfulness!"

At the Lincoln Memorial, I discovered many visitors being photographed in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln. Felicia Taylor, from Macon, Georgia, who stood in front of the statue holding he daughter, Kenedie Harris, commented, "It’s a moment for our whole family to see a historic moment for our nation."

Finally, this morning, on this exceptional day of American, world, and human history, Utha Knox, 89, from Virginia, one of the of the famous all black squadron of flyers in World War II, the 332 Fighter Squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen, summed up much of what this day could mean when asked what the election of Barack Obama as president meant to him, "Everything, everything possible."

A U.S. soldier plays with a boy Monday while on patrol in Babil province, Iraq.

Peter Bergen
CNN National Security Analyst

What should President Obama do to build on what is widely acknowledged to be Iraq's fragile peace?

As Obama has frequently observed, the United States needs to be "as careful getting out of Iraq as it was careless getting in" because, unlike the case of Vietnam, the United States has substantial strategic interests in Iraq.

The country sits on the world's second largest oil reserves, is close to Israel, plays a lynchpin role in regional stability in a part of the world that sets global energy prices, and its reversion into a failed state would be a prelude to al Qaeda regrouping there.

Keep Reading...

Peggy Noonan
The Wall Street Journal

Teddy Kennedy is gallant. He attended the swearing-in of the new president on Tuesday in the midst of serious illness, white-haired and frail—in his jaunty fedora he looked like his father, old Joe Kennedy, in 1939, when he first burst on the scene as the new American ambassador to the Court of St. James. The senator smiled as he walked toward his seat, sweetly blowing a kiss to a friend in the stands. Later, at the congressional lunch, he collapsed.

Four years ago it was Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who rose from his sickbed to swear in George W. Bush for a second term, and who died 7½ months later of the cancer from which he'd long suffered. Such personal gallantry has long graced our national life, and in its way makes that life possible. And so it should always be noted, with gratitude, and a tip of the hat. As I write I can hear the ambulance that is taking Sen. Kennedy to the hospital. He is a courteous person, much like the Bushes in being an old-school writer of notes and maker of calls, and one suspects very soon we'll be hearing that he called the new president to apologize for stepping on his story.

All this did have a somewhat subduing effect on the day. But then the Inaugural Address itself was somewhat subdued.

Read more...

A collage of newspapers from around the world covering the inauguration and the historical day.

Hollywood legend Cher joined other celebrities at the RIAA inaugural bash in Washington Tuesday night.

Kay Jones
Coordinating Editorial producer

Forget the "official" balls, it's the RIAA/Feeding America party that had all the action on Tuesday night. This party brought awareness to Feeding America while celebrating the next chapter in American history. And it didn't disappoint. If you weren't lucky enough to snag a ticket to one of the 10 balls the new President made an appearance at, then this was the place to be.

David Arquette and wife, Courtney Cox Arquette, made the media rounds, telling our Jessica Yellin about their inauguration experience. They are also very involved in Feeding America and filled us in on why filling our food banks is so important.

Next up, Shakira stopped by. Her excitement over our political process was infectious. She was quite lovely and I got a hug after it was over, which made fmr 360° producer Ted Fine insanely jealous.

Josh Grobin stopped by, still beaming from ear-to-ear over his performance at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday.

And the evening's headliner made time to tell us about her performance, as well as what it was like to be on another continent on election night.

That wasn't all the star power in the room, as Toby Maguire and wife Jennifer, Leo DiCaprio and Cher all made it out to see Rihanna perform at her best while celebrating the inauguration of Pres. Obama.

Oh, and a little side note: I made it to 3 parties this weekend, and at all 3, I saw former Clinton spokesperson, Joe Lockhardt. Just a fun little tidbit there!

That's it from me for this trip. Hope you enjoyed some of the behind the scenes stuff as well as the reports from the parties. It's been fun sharing with you.

Now I'm off to sleep for a week!!!

Gloria Steinem, Bio
Feminist organizer, writer and lecturer

Watching this Inauguration, I thought of Jack Kennedy, the first President I could imagine talking to - though I never did - the first who might read the same books, even laugh at the same jokes. He stood in the cold, insisting on not wearing a coat as he took the oath of office. He seemed to be class levels above us, the distant master of an enviable world.

After he was assassinated, I remember a friend on the White House staff saying, “Now what do I do with the subscription to the village voice?” It was the killing of the future, and Nixon and Reagan would take us back to the past.

Even when Kennedy was still alive and I sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial listening to Martin Luther King Jr. speak - after a peaceful March on Washington that we had all been warned away from because it was sure to be violent - he was addressing outsiders, looking toward the time when they would be invited in.

The big question of that day was whether President Kennedy would override his political advisors, and come stand beside King in front of the crowd. Whether or not Kennedy said a word, it would have been a signal that the insiders were listening. But he never came.

Today was the first Inauguration in my lifetime without that feeling of insiders and outsiders, the leaders and the led. Even the media seemed as likely to remark on the spirit and enthusiasm of the crowd as they were to report on the principals.

Despite Obama's brilliance, he didn't try to outshine the crowd. His speech called on everyone, asked for their help, appealed to their best selves. By the end of his Inaugural address, Bush and the seated figures from the last administration seemed isolated and very old-fashioned; like a vanishing breed who still believed in power from the top-down, and had been outdated by the truth that, as Obama often says, lasting change comes from the bottom-up.

I looked at the two little girls who would sleep inside The White House for the first time. Seeing their shining faces, I couldn't help thinking about the enslaved workers who built much of that structure; the West African men born of enslaved women who somehow raised them while being forced to work themselves.

Perhaps there is some way that the molecules of the distant past can combine with the present and bridge the distance. After all, we can still see stars shine from billions of years ago.

Rihanna tells CNN's Jessica Yellin what it was like to be in another country when President Obama was elected.

Shakira tells CNN's Jessica Yellin why she thinks President Barack Obama is different from other politicians.

Josh Groban talks to CNN's Jessica Yellin at the RIAA/Feeding America inaugural party Tuesday night.

David and Courtney Cox Arquette talk to CNN's Jessica Yellin about the Feeding America party on Tuesday night.

President Obama hit the dance floor at one of the many inaugural balls he attended.

The Obamas and Bidens attend many Inauguration Day parties.