All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Despite the huge crowds and the cold weather, hundreds of thousands of inauguration visitors began their journey early Tuesday on Washington's mass transit system.

CBS News' Arden Farhi got up early and got on the train, where even in the wee hours spirits were high.

Bob Schieffer, CBS News' chief Washington correspondent and anchor of Face the Nation, has been covering inaugurations since L.B.J. In 1965, but he's never seen anything like this.

"It's impossible to overstate the atmosphere," Schieffer says. "There's this feeling of good will that seems to have settled over the capitol. I've never really seen anything like it. I did an interview with Bill Safire who wrote speeches for Richard Nixon and he said to me in the interview 'I really want him to succeed.'

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As the festivities began for Barack Obama's inauguration, Washington's mass transit system carried a record number of passengers on Sunday.

Hundreds of thousands of people attending the Inaugural Opening Ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial used Metrorail, the District's subway system, helping to set a new Sunday ridership record.

Riders took 616,324 trips, smashing the previous all-time high ridership day for a Sunday by 75,000 trips.

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From the Obama transition office:

Michael Smith has been chosen as the White House decorator by Michelle Obama to help make the White House residence their home.

The selection of White House decorator is a tradition for new first families. A native of California, Smith studied interior design at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and continued his studies in London. He returned to California to open a home furnishings store and launched his own design firm in l990.

Smith serves on the Board of Trustees for the Otis College of Art and Design. He takes particular pride in his family-focused clientele and approach.

“Laura Bush has been a wonderful steward of the White House and created a beautiful residence for her family. I look forward to adding our own touch to the East Wing and creating a living space where our family feels comfortable, happy and settled," Michelle Obama said. "Michael shares my vision for creating a family friendly feel to our new home and incorporating some new perspectives from some of America’s greatest artists and designers.”

Smith said he appreciates “the [Obama] family’s casual style, their interest in bringing 20th century American artists to the forefront and utilizing affordable brands and products will serve as our guiding principles as we make the residence feel like their home.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley will host a dinner tonight for their likely replacements, Hillary Clinton and Gen. James Jones, a senior state department official tells CBS News State Department producer Charlie Wolfson.

Clinton's conformation hearing takes place tomorrow. She and Rice have met previously at the State Department and at Rice's apartment at the Watergate. Rice, Hadley, Clinton and Jones are the only four people expected to attend the dinner.

President-elect Obama will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderone on Monday, Maria Gavrilovic reports.

Though he has spoken frequently about the economy since winning the election and laid out his ambitious economic agenda in a speech today, Mr. Obama has had far less to say about foreign affairs, stressing that there is only one president at a time.

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CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer has covered all of the former presidents who joined George W. Bush and Barack Obama at the White House today.

Schieffer said that Mr. Obama was apparently struck by the current president’s graciousness at the Oval Office photo-op with Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton.

“I got a hold of a friend of Obama's who said that he really took it to heart when the president said that they all wanted him to succeed,” Schieffer said. “He, according to this friend, has been very impressed with how gracious President Bush has been. He told the President today that he thought that graciousness was one of the reasons that his transition has gone so smoothly."

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When President-elect Obama and Vice president-elect Biden take a pre-inaugural tour across the northeast, they’ll be joined by a group of what the Presidential Inaugural Committee calls “everyday Americans.”

“These everyday Americans from all walks of life have made extraordinary contributions to the life of this country - the worker who became a champion for workers' rights, the soldier who became an advocate for servicemen and women suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; those who have lost their jobs and struggle bravely to cope in economic turmoil, and those who work tirelessly to make real the dream of a better future for their children,” the committee announced.

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