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January 27, 2009 12:40 PM

Behind The Scenes: Inauguration Day

If you missed our marathon coverage from Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day, we compiled a little reel of highlights - and a bunch of behind-the-scenes moments from our set in Washington that you definitely didn't catch last week.

You'll see some cameos from Colin Powell, Russell Simmons, Jesse Jackson and more! It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun. Check it out below:

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washington ,
barack obama ,
inauguration day
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Behind The Scenes
January 21, 2009 5:14 PM

Katie Couric's Notebook: Can Washington Grow Up?

In his Inauguration speech, President Obama referenced a passage from the New Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "when I became a man, it was time to put away childish things."

President Obama faces some very grown-up problems, and his speech contained a call to his colleagues in Washington put away childish things like partisan bickering, and come together to make the nation strong.

The olive branch tends to be a popular party favor on Inauguration Day. President Bush spoke of being a uniter, and President Clinton challenged Congress to work as one with him. Neither man got much love from the other side when the parties were over.

But President Obama is beginning with an advantage. He has the highest favorability rating of any president for the past 30 years. That can be used as capital in the Capitol.

The road to recovery needs to be paved by Democrats and Republicans, and it is not child's play.

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katie couric ,
notebook ,
barack ,
obama ,
inauguration
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Katie Couric's Notebook
January 21, 2009 12:48 PM

In Case You Missed It: Inauguration Night Webcast

After being on live air for, what, 12 hours (we lost count!), Katie anchored one last CBS News hurrah last night: our special Inaugural recap Webcast. If you missed it, you may want to click below to check it out, lest you miss Katie's interviews with Jon Bon Jovi and Jordin Sparks live from the Commander-In-Chief ball at the Building Museum. She also spoke with will.i.am over Skype and Politico's Mike Allen over sattelite. Just click below:

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webcast ,
katie couric ,
inauguration ,
ball ,
mike allen ,
bon jovi ,
sparks
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In Case You Missed It
January 21, 2009 12:43 PM

Katie Couric's Notebook: Inauguration

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our apologies for getting more-than-a-little busy last night. Here's Katie's Notebook from Inauguration Day, just a day late.

Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States.

As we watch the inaugural parades and parties, White House staffers are moving his belongings into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the Obama family's home for the next four years.

Among all those crates is a package full of wishes from the American people. "Help our economy ... find us jobs ... bring my son back safe from Iraq." It's too big a load for any one man to lift.

This weekend on his train tour, then President-elect Obama stopped in Baltimore to greet a crowd of more than 40,000. Maryland was once a slave state, and interracial marriage was illegal there until 1967.

Today all Americans can celebrate: red or blue, black or white. This the kind of progress that brings us closer to the "more perfect union" our founding fathers envisioned. But tomorrow, President Obama begins to unpack that enormous crate of burdens...and he'll need all the help we can give him.

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katie couric ,
notebook ,
barack ,
obama ,
inauguration
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Katie Couric's Notebook
January 20, 2009 11:56 AM

Inauguration Morning Highlights


Complete Inaugural Coverage



(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)




After it was noted in the broadcast that William Henry Harrison, America’s ninth president, caught pneumonia during his lengthy inaugural address in 1841, KatieCouric noted that he is a distant relative of hers. Also, she said his story “is a cautionary tale to every president following to keep it short when it comes to the inaugural address.”



When speaking to Gen. Colin Powell, Bob Schieffer asked what he thinks the inauguration of Barack Obama will do for America's reputation abroad.

“I think it’s already helped. It’s really been a remarkable event in terms of getting everybody to stand back and say ‘look at what we have seen here in America. The America we remember is back again.’ So I think it was a reaffirmation of American principles and values that will help us overcome some of the difficulties of recent years with respect to the attitude of the world towards us.”



At the inaugural platform: "We saw Denzel Washington, we saw … Sen. Jim Bunning, a former hall of famer," said CBS News Capitol Hill correspondent Chip Reid said. "Governors, senators, you name it, we got it."



Looking at a view of the crowd of millions attending the inauguration, Schieffer said: "The star of this show is the wide shot."


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inauguration morning ,
highlights ,
barack obama ,
katie couric
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Capitol Notes
January 19, 2009 5:15 PM

D.C.'s Unwritten Rail Rules: A Metro Etiquette Guide


Complete Inaugural Coverage


Christina Ruffini is a CBS News broadcast associate based in Washington.
(AP)
During Tuesday’s festivities, when cabs are scarce, limos are expensive and buses are downright confusing, everyone from the Metro police to the sandwich artists at Subway seem to agree that if you can’t walk it, the rails are your best bet for inauguration transportation.

As someone who rides the train for an hour everyday, twice a day, five days a week and occasionally on weekends, I have become nauseatingly familiar with the unwritten rules of the rails. They are not difficult to figure out. Anyone who is paying the slightest bit of attention to their surroundings or has a modicum of respect for their fellow human beings should be able to deduce the basics.

For example, when heading into a station - or trying to escape from one - people usually stand on the right side of escalator. This is not some en mass form of street performance art. It is so that the lazy, the high-heeled, the elderly and the injured can get out of the way of the running-lates, the highly caffeinated, and the ambitious showoffs who feel the need to climb what are literally some of the tallest moving stairways in North America. Stand right, walk left, and keep you luggage, purses or overcoats on your side of the stair. Nobody likes an escalump.

Once on the train, please do hold on. There is nothing worse than ...

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metro ,
washington ,
inauguration ,
transportation ,
barack obama
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Capitol Notes
January 15, 2009 1:20 PM

The Hitchhiker's Guide To Inauguration Weekend In Washington


Complete Inaugural Coverage


Christina Ruffini is a CBS News broadcast associate who works in Washington, but lives in Maryland. Also a starving graduate student, Ruffini has become an expert in a variety of parasitic behaviors that include grocery shopping in the kitchens of friends, scrounging for paper products in public restrooms and finding free places to crash.
When it comes to lodging in the land of Lincoln, your chance of finding a decent, well-priced place to stay during Barak Obama’s inauguration are getting slimmer than Amy Winehouse on a weekend purge.

More than 95,000 hotel rooms have been booked in the greater D.C. metropolitan area, private apartments are being rented out in droves, and couch-surfing has reached near epidemic levels. Even roach-riddled broom closets are going for $600 a night.

However, if you are one of the many procrastinating patriots still in desperate need of a dwelling, you are not completely without options.

You could go on Craigslist and agree to pay an exorbitant fee to lease the flat of some random district denizen who will probably show up in the middle of the night and throw you into his basement well.

Or, if you've seen "Silence of the Lambs" too many times, you could take a cue from the city’s many residence-less residents, and think inside the cardboard box. Oversized Rubbermaid containers also make excellent ...

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Tags:
barack obama ,
washington ,
inauguration ,
guide ,
housing
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Inauguration Guide
January 13, 2009 5:14 PM

Ode Of Office

(CBS)
Meet Elizabeth Alexander. The 46-year-old American poet and Yale professor was plucked from relative obscurity by President-elect Barack Obama last month, when he invited her to compose a poem for his inauguration.

On Jan. 20, Alexander will deliver her ode to Obama in the form of an "occasional poem," verse written for a specific, well, occasion.

Alexander, who was born in Harlem and raised in Washington, has known Mr. Obama for a decade. She believes her poetry “attends to history,” according to the New York Times, including “sometimes thorny and difficult American history.” You can check out a couple sample poems here.

Our chief national correspondent, Byron Pitts (one sidenote: tremendous congrats, Bryon, on the new gig!) sat down with Alexander, and tonight on the Evening News, he'll show you a slice of this remarkable woman's life that will come full-circle next week. She'll be a part of history – again ...

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byron pitts ,
barack obama ,
inauguration ,
poetry ,
elizabeth alexander
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Culture Watch
January 13, 2009 4:34 PM

Introducing ... Our Inauguration Webcast

Hey, everybody!

Just a quick note to tell you about our plans for Inauguration Day, January 20th. In addition to daylong coverage on CBS, I'll be anchoring a live prime time special beginning at 9 p.m. And then, it's time for what we call our "After Party," our live Webcast. It begins at 10 p.m. ET.

The Webcast is live from a ball, so we're your all-access pass to the party and you don't even need a tuxedo!

But more importantly, our political team and guests we'll be answering your questions about the transition of power and the challenges facing the new administration in the coming months. If there's anything you want to know or a question you'd like to ask, just drop us a line at questions@cbs.com.

The video explains it all.

Thanks and see you at the Inauguration!

Tags:
barack obama ,
inauguration day ,
webcast ,
katie couric
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CBS Stuff
January 9, 2009 2:00 PM

Just Launched: Inauguration Section

(CBS)
It's a new year, and we're counting down - again. Inauguration Day is just 11 days away. And, as the folks over at Hotsheet remind us, we have a little announcement to make. As Kevin Hechtkopf writes:
For now through January 20, CBSNews.com will be bringing you the most up-to-date news and information on the preparations, the ceremonies and the parties as Barack Obama is sworn-in and takes office.
Check out the new section here.
Also, we want to bring your attention to CBS News' special coverage plans for Inauguration Day. CBS News anchor Katie Couric will anchor live coverage from Washington on Jan. 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. In addition, Couric will anchor a primetime special Change And Challenge: The Inauguration Of Barack Obama from 9 to 10 p.m. The primetime special will be followed at 10 p.m. ET by a live Webcast hosted by Couric on this site and on CNET.com. CBS Radio News will also provide special coverage throughout the day.

Our coverage will also incorporate CBS EyeMobile users who will be able to submit videos of their first-hand experiences from the events for use on broadcast, online and on mobile. More information to come on how to do that.
You can read a full release from CBS News on the coverage after the jump.

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inauguration ,
section ,
news ,
barack obama
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