Obama Inaugural Photos From The Top Of The Washington Monument
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Some 2,000,000 people attended the inauguration of Barack Obama. I’ve lived in Washington since the 1960s and in all that time there has never been anything like the crowd seen on January 20th. It was vastly-larger than any prior inaugural turn-out and despite its size there was not a single arrest.
The world must look at this with awe: America has this election stuff down. A fiercely-contested election, open debate, strong arguments and at the end of the process the peaceful transfer of power from one Administration to another, from the entrenched to the opposition, without a shot being fired.
Below are four photos taken from the top of the Washington Monument. The first looks toward the east and Capitol Hill. The second looks west to the Lincoln Memorial. The third looks down and shows the crowd at the foot of the Washington Monument. The fourth photo shows the crowd which gathered at the World War II Memorial.
These crowds are immense, unprecedented. The views are truly historic.
Our thanks to the National Park Service and photographer David Barna for providing these images.
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