Hundreds of thousands of well-wishers for President Obama were streaming onto the National Mall in front of the Capitol early Monday morning in anticipation of the ceremonial inauguration.
Mr. Obama was officially sworn in just before noon on Sunday in a private ceremony, but the public event was saved for Monday.
Obama jackets and shirts were ubiquitous as the crowd navigated through heavy security that has left most of the monumental capital closed down to vehicles.
Officials are expecting up to 700,000 people to come for the ceremony, which would be far less than 2009’s historic inauguration but would still be one of the larger ones in history.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has vowed to try to tamp down on some of the problems that plagues last time, and signs directing folks where to go are far more visible this year.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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