Obama Issues Call to Service to Help Repair Nation (Update3)
By Kristin Jensen and Hans Nichols
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama issued a “call to service” to Americans a day after telling hundreds of thousands, gathered for a concert to celebrate his inauguration, that he needs their help to confront the nation’s problems.
Obama’s family today joined with the family of Vice President-elect Joe Biden to do community service work in the Washington area. Obama, 47, used his extensive mailing list to help spur Americans to take on more than 11,000 projects throughout the country as a way of marking the annual national holiday honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
“Given the crisis that we’re in and the hardships that so many people are going through, we can’t allow any idle hands,” Obama said today as he helped paint the walls at a local shelter for homeless teenagers. “Everybody is going to have to pitch in, and I think the American people are ready to do that.”
The president-elect, who will be sworn in tomorrow, began the day by visiting 14 wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He then helped in the renovation of a Sasha Bruce Youthwork home.
“Don’t underestimate the power for people to join together and to accomplish amazing things,” Obama said, as he worked alongside Martin Luther King III on the boys’ dormitory room.
Care Packages
Obama’s wife, Michelle, and Biden’s wife, Jill, brought their daughters this morning to Washington’s Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and helped make care packages for the troops. Organizers expect 14,000 volunteers working in shifts to help break the record for the most care packages put together in a single day, a mark that currently stands at 75,000.
Working on the assembly line, Michelle Obama handed bottles of 45 SPF sun block to volunteers walking by with care package bags; Jill Biden gave out foot lotion. Both women smiled and greeted people as they came by.
As Obama supporters took part in community projects, President George W. Bush’s team began its last full day in power, taking care of some of its final pieces of business.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush, with Obama’s support, named Defense Secretary Robert Gates as the Cabinet member who will remain in a safe place away from tomorrow’s Inauguration Day festivities. Gates, who is staying in his post to serve Obama, will take part in a tradition designed to preserve the continuity of government in the case of disaster.
Bush also made farewell calls to global leaders, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy.
Infused With History
The festivities leading up to the inauguration of Obama as the nation’s first black president have been infused with history. Yesterday’s two-hour concert took place at the memorial to Abraham Lincoln, the president who led the U.S. through the Civil War and ended slavery. It was the same site chosen by King for his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech.
“Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King, and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character’s content,” Obama told the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial. “And behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible.”
During his remarks, Obama referenced the staggering economy, saying he knows Americans are struggling with lost jobs and rising bills. Still, he said he remains “as hopeful as ever” about the future of the nation.
‘True Character’
“The true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard,” Obama said. “I ask you to help reveal that character once more.”
Many of the people at yesterday’s “We Are One” event, some of whom traveled hundreds of miles, said they have confidence in Obama even as they recognize the challenges.
“We as a people can do and be anything that we put our mind to,” said Carla Owens Martin, 40, a day-care provider from Rochester, New York. “I’m hoping he can turn this economy around and just make the world a better place.”
Her friend, Sharon Davis, 38, said she and Martin wanted to witness the historic celebration for the first black president.
“We’re excited about seeing the people of all creeds come together,” Davis said. “I had to be here to feel it -- for my kids’ kids to say grandma was part of the movement.”
Concert
People gathered hours in advance for the concert, which included performances by singers Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Beyonce and Mary J. Blige and the rock group U2. Martin Luther King III spoke, along with celebrities such as actor Denzel Washington and golfer Tiger Woods.
The program called for performers to cross traditional lines. Pop singer Sheryl Crow and rapper will.i.am sang reggae accompanied by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, while country singer Garth Brooks offered up “Shout,” an oldie that had thousands of concert-goers jumping up and down and shaking their hands in the air across the National Mall.
People who attended said they were hopeful and realistic about the work that Obama will do as president.
“He’s got a difficult road ahead of him,” said Mike Martin, 31, a doorman from New York City. “He’s leading us to see the hope in our hearts, not some miraculous hope that comes out of nowhere. To have this coming from such a high place, it’s like a big bear hug.”
Last Updated: January 19, 2009 12:06 EST |
