It was great having a seat so close to the swearing-in ceremony. I saw Dick Cheney get rolled out in his wheelchair, Beyonce getting visibly emotional and cold breath rise out of President Barack Obama as he was getting sworn in.

I was sitting among my media colleagues, high-rolling donors and celebs (I walked out with Crispin Glover).

While cheers were offered to everyone associated with the new administration, George Bush stepped down from behind the red curtain.

Silence fell in my section. We looked around, wondering what kind of reaction to give the outgoing president, who leaves the office with two wars going, an economy that's in the tank and a mess that thankfully, Obama has already started cleaning up.

But from the masses, the hundreds of thousands of people behind me, rose one chant, that at first was faint then bigger and bigger.

"Nah-nah-nah-nah. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye."

It's a chant that often gets shouted at basketball games or when any team wants to say something very specific at the losing team: "Get the heck outta here."

In that moment, I wish I was down there, standing on the National Mall, in the middle of so many people singing in unison.

Whether or not Bush heard that bugger-off farewell at the time, he probably has by now.

He certainly mistook millions of waving hands as a genuine goodbye, as he blew kisses to the National Mall from his helicopter.

It was like the weight of all 8 years vanished for the crowd, which remained in a happy place, calm and slowly inched en masse to their exits. Which, at any other event, could have resulted in a few stampedes.

But smiles carried people to their destinations -- a train station, a hotel, an official Inaugural Ball.

No arrests were made, DC police reported. Not one rogue individual, out of the more than one million people, made incident enough to have any of the 8,000 police put cuffs on.

The celebration continued, as I saw tuxedoed men and women in floor-length gowns peaking under their bulky coats, ride the metro trains around midnight.

I and a reporter friend of mine, Giovanna Fabiano from the Bergen Record in NJ, instead went to the White House. We walked past the parade viewing stand, past the few patrol cars making their rounds.

We walked up to the gates of the back of the White House. There were two young couples who had the idea to sneak a peak, too. We took their photos, they took ours.

We all had the idea to see the home of President Obama at midnight, in the beginning hours of his administration.

While we said a very sarcastic goodbye just hours earlier, waving wildy at a green helicopter, now we are saying hello.

Hello, President Obama.

Make us proud.

Above: Me and Giovanna, in front of the White House gates and the White House after dark.

For a few more pics: go here.

I am at the Denver airport changing planes to Sacramento where I am joining two City Councilmembers at a League of Cities training session. I departed the Washington area from Baltimore Washington Airport (BWI). The airport was not as crowded as I imagined, but seemed almost exclusively full of middle and high school age students. Many were wearing "Obama" shirts and/or buttons and it made me wonder about the impact of "President as Rock Star." No other President in recent memory has had teenagers wearing clothing with the President's name on it. How will they continue to view the Presidency and government in general? What kind of change has begun in the civic life of people under, say, 30? What does this mean for government, newspapers and public discourse?

I am happy to be in the democracy business and get to worry and figure out these issues on the local level. Thanks to the Star for making this platform for blogging available during the Inauguration. You can catch me on my home blog, www.santapaulablog.org

We went last night to one of ten official inaugural balls, the Western States Ball at the Washington Convention Center. We went through airport style security from the Secret Service, checked our coats and entered a very large exhibit hall for the Ball. On stage at the time was Marc Anthony, someone I had only heard about through entertainment news since he is married to Jennifer Lopez. He was very good. Our first stop was one of about ten bars. We of course picked the slowest line and it took about thirty minutes to get our drinks. Patrice and I took turns standing in line and looking around. When Mr. Anthony announced that his wife was going to join him in a song, I hustled back to the bar line to allow Patrice to get a better look of J Lo.

Once we had our drink, we walked around and soaked in the people watching. Many handsome and beautiful people and many people who clearly were a little challenged in a "Black Tie" environment. We were near the dance floor after Marc Anthony perfomed when suddenly there was an announcement of the Vice President of the United States. Joe Biden and his wife appeared for a short speech and a dance.

After the Biden's departed at 10:45 PM, everyone then wondered: when would the President and First Lady appear? Now a second band had appeared an a second stage. No one was really dancing. Instead everyone was milling around waiting for the President. We had heard on the news before we left that the President was going to be out at balls until 4 AM. We weren't prepared to stay until then. We decided to wait until 11:30 PM and see what was happening.

Fortunately, shortly after 11 a Navy band appeared on stage, followed by a full military color guard. We moved up as far as we could to the stage. Then the President and First Lady appeared for their dance. They must have been there five minutes. I just snapped photos as fast as I could (you can find them here). Looking at them this morning, they turned out better than I expected.

It was worth the wait.

With a bit of nervousness and lots of excitement, Patrice and I left for The Mall from her condo in Columbia Heights a little after 6 AM. We met up with her friend Mandy and began walking south. I looked for taxis as we walked, but finally Patrice decided we should try and hop a bus. We did. The bus was only 3/4 full as we made our way south. The bus stopped when security would not allow it to go further. We walked the rest of the way. No problems as we walked to the Washington Monument. At that point we had a decision to make. Should we sit on the hill of the Monument facing the Capitol (on the far end of The Mall) or see how far we could move forward. It was about 7 AM and it seemed that there was still a far amount of room. We continued forward. As we were walking, the crowd remained steady, but not overwhelming.

As we walked, I passed a news crew from Syracuse, NY and couldn't resist to say hello. One of my extracurricular activities is being President of the Syracuse University Alumni Association and I took the opportunity to say how proud we all were of alumnus Joe Biden becoming Vice President. They did a short interview with me.

We finally went as far as we could at about the middle of The Mall, in front of the Hirshhorn Museum. It was 7:30 AM. The ceremonies were still at least three and a half hours away. It was cold (15 degrees) and we were standing. The jumbotrons replayed the concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial from Sunday, so we watched that. We also became part of a little neighborhood. While it was too cold and too early for a wild sense of community, people became territorial very quickly. It was OK to leave and go to the porta pottie and return, but new people who inched their way forward were not welcome.

At about 9 AM, I tempted fate and went looking for a porta pottie. No problems getting there and the potties seemed plentiful enough. Coming back, I didn't immediately see Patrice. I moved quickly, quietly and agressively through the crowd. I soon realized that I was the interloper in someone else's community. I was questioned by an older woman who didn't want to let me through. I finally convinced her I was going back to Patrice (people felt better when I used a name). However, one women would not move. She was reading "Benjamin Button" on an electronic ebook. There was room just beyond her. I finally just pushed forward and didn't look back.

At that point, I felt I was in the right place, but still no Patrice. As Anna mentioned below, the Inauguration was not a high point for wireless technology. After sending on "Tweet" upon arrival, I did not have a data connection on my phone until 2 PM. Phone calls didn't work very well either. I tried calling Patrice five or six times. I also tried text messages. I finally got through and told her to hold up her hands. She did and I was about ten feet in front of her.

As the ceremony began, the jumbotron became my best friend. We were able to watch the whole ceremony comfortably from there. The mood of the crowd was festive, excited, but not jumping up and down excited. I think all of us getting up early and the cold, dampened the outward emotion of the day. The oath of office for me was the most moving part of the day when my heavily gloved hand joined with Patrice's mittened hand. We knew at that moment we truly were part of history.

After Obama's Inaugural speech, we started to make our ways to the exits. It was a long, tense process getting out. There was no apparent right way to get out. We tried to go back the way we came toward the Washington Monument, but one of the main streets we used was closed. We finally got around the Monument and starting heading toward to a luncheon held by the City's Washington lobbyist firm. When we arrived, we were tired and our feet were very sore. We enjoyed coffee and sweet potato fries. Most of the rest of the food was gone, eaten by those who watched the ceremony from the restaurant instead of The Mall.

We made our way back to the condo and Patrice headed for a nap. One more Inaugural event for us tonight: the Western States Inaugural Ball. More pictures from today here.

After a little technical difficulty -- I wasn't able to connect to the internet during the inauguration because of network overload -- I am now in a warm but crowded cafe, and have a steady connection.

The full impact of what today means hasn't settled in, I see President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama take their final steps to the White House. They are followed by a restored 1961 Metro bus representing Rosa Parks and the struggle for civil rights.

In the enormity of this moment, our country's imperfections seem to fade for now.

Walking around D.C. -- the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capital and of course the White house -- I feel closer to these imposing marble buildings and monuments than I did yesterday.

And seeing the waves of crowds cheering on Obama, they are also reclaiming their Nation's Capital, not only in sheer numbers.

As Obama walks into the White House to his gift of a Whiskey bottle and a note from former President George Bush, he works on the dream that we all need fulfilled so badly -- to be a united country, by the people and for the people, so we all can be proud of how far we've come.

It's a tall order, given everything else he faces. But he will take it on. For now, let's give ourselves this day to celebrate.

First picture: Here I am with Beverly Davies, wife of Frank Davies, White House correspondent with the San Jose Mercury News. Second picture: Almost President Barack Obama places his hand on Lincon's Bible for the swearing-in ceremony.

We stopped into a local sandwich shop and one of the women behind the counter mentioned Obama's speech.

"It brought tears to my eyes," she said.

Mine too.

George Bush is no longer in charge.

He was escorted to a Marine One look-alike helicopter by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Dick Cheney was in a trailing helicopter. He threw out his back while moving boxes out of the White House yesterday and attended the ceremony in a wheelchair.

"That chapter has ended," said one person, looking at the Jumbotron screen, as he inched his way to the Inauguration's exit, like the tens of thousands around him.

"I could have just come for this," said another, as the helicopters flew overhead.

It's a beautiful morning. The mall is filling up fast under an indigo sky, as all the cities main arteries are streaming with people. Those without tickets, so far an estimated 500,000 by 7 a.m., have filled in the east end of the mall, and will stretch all the way to the Lincoln Memorial.

CNN is predicting about 2 million people.

I have a ticketed seat in the "green section," and will enter from the south side of the Capital Building.

There are 240,000 tickets available to the inauguration. That includes about 3,000 members of the media.

I am in the green area, section 7. Take a look at how close I will be to the swearing-in ceremony:

Guest sections and map

I am hoping there won't be any last-minute changes to security. As of now, I will be able to bring in my laptop and will be blogging from the front of the action.

Send warm thoughts, as it will be a high of 30 degrees by 12 noon, when Obama will stand at the podium, place his hand on the same bible that Lincoln was sworn in on, and a new era will begin.

Patrice and I are getting ready to leave for The Mall at 6 AM. We have been watching TV coverage and crowds seems to be, at least, not overwhelming, at this moment. It is expected to be 15 degrees by Noon.

I signed up yesterday for my first Twitter account. I will attempt to do updates from my iPhone. You can follow the posts here.

Wish us luck....

I met Chenai through a friend of mine last night. We sat and talked over a glass of wine in a quaint corner called "Kramerbooks & Afterwards: A Bookstore and Cafe," far from the ticket-only parties and balls. I was fascinated by her story. Here it is:

Chenai Seltzer was at an art gallery opening in Chicago in 2003. She was looking at an abstract painting when a tall, lanky man sidled up beside her.

The two discussed the painting in front of them.

At first Seltzer thought he was flirting with her, but ended the long conversation amazed at his intellect.

Her friend later that night told her it was Barack Obama, who just began his campaign to be an U.S. Senator.

She knew his name, but never saw him before.

"That was Obama?" she said. "I thought he would have been older."

Their paths would cross his again.

Seltzer, 37, works with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the nation's hub of labor unions, based in Chicago.

Seltzer would often see Obama coming into the labor union offices to broker relations between the unions and the community. But in those early campaign days, Seltzer said he was worried he wouldn't win the state election.

"He was so nervous. I would see him outside when I'd come into work, sucking down cigarettes," Seltzer said.

She would walk by and tsk-tsk him for smoking.

Years later, when she heard Obama would be running for president, she didn't hesitate. She told her colleagues at the AFL-CIO the union needed to endorse Obama.

She said most of her decision came from the conversation she had with him, years previously, standing before an abstract painting. And his grassroots work as a community organizer.

Now a Los Angeles resident, Seltzer was at a fundraising event for Obama last year. She was worried Obama wouldn't remember her.

Instead, he sought her out of the crowd, came over, patted her hair -- which she wears in an afro -- and said, grinning widely:

"Where have you been?"

Seltzer, surrounded by friends, showing support for Obama