(Crossposted at C4O Democrats)
The President and the First Lady had a very long day. After prayer at St. John’s in the morning, coffee at the White House, the inauguration, the President’s speech, the Congressional Luncheon, and the parade, President and Mrs. Obama attended into the wee hours of the morning the 10 inaugural balls.
Fortunately for the President and the First Lady, six of the balls occurred at the Washington Convention Center, located just a few blocks from the White House. The four not at the Convention Center were scattered from near Dupont Circle in the west of the city to the DC Armory in the city’s east side:
Neighborhood Ball (Ballroom D, Washington Convention Center)
Obama Home States Ball (Ballroom E, Washington Convention Center)
Biden Home States Ball (Grand Ballroom, Washington Convention Center)
Mid-Atlantic Ball (Ballroom A, Washington Convention Center)
Midwestern Ball (Ballroom C, Washington Convention Center)
Western Ball (Ballroom B, Washington Convention Center)
Eastern States Ball (Union Station, a couple of blocks from the Capitol)
Southern Ball (D.C. Armory, located at the far end of Capitol Hill from the Capitol)
Youth Ball (Washington Hilton, a few blocks north of Dupont Circle)
Commander in Chief Ball (National Building Museum, close to the Convention Center)
The first ball, the Neighborhood Ball, required just a $25 ticket. The Washington Post reported:
At the first of the balls, the Neighborhood Ball, the new first couple basked in the crowd’s euphoric response as “Hail to the Chief” announced their arrival. The president, wearing a tuxedo with a white bow tie, and his wife, in a sequined white dress with one strap over her right shoulder, waved and smiled. They two-stepped while Beyoncé sang Etta James’s classic tune “At Last.”
“Hello, America!” Obama bellowed. “First of all, how good-looking is my wife?”
The crowd loved it. . . . But Obama, ever the organizer, refused to let the moment pass without a quick speech: “We are going to need you, not just today, not just tomorrow, but this year, for the next four years and who knows after that, because together, we are going to change America.”
Here the first couple danced their first dance accompanied by a live performance by Beyonce of “At Last”:
I hope the Obamas can get some sleep.
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