In Philadelphia, a Singular Passenger Boards a Tra
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Date: 1/17/2009 10:57:23 AM
Sender: Blackman
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In Philadelphia, a Singular Passenger Boards a Train for the Capital
President-elect Barack Obama waved as his train pass through Claymont, Del., on its way to Washington on Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA — President-elect Barack Obama stepped onto a train car built in 1939, a time when his presidency would not have been possible in America, and set off for Washington on Saturday in a three-day prelude to his inauguration as the country’s 44th president.
As he did throughout his campaign, Mr. Obama evoked imagery of Abraham Lincoln, in word and deed, as he embarked on an abridged version of Lincoln’s journey by rail to the capital before his own inaugural festivities in 1861. The trip offered Mr. Obama a segue from celebrating his victory to confronting the daunting challenges that await him in office.
“While our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not,” Mr. Obama said. “What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed. What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives — from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry — an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.”
Mr. Obama opened his inauguration celebration here at 30th Street Station, where supporters gathered to send him off. He was joined by his wife, Michelle, their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and a contingent of friends from Chicago and beyond who have been by the Obamas’ side throughout their two-year odyssey to the White House.
Mr. Obama was heading from here to Wilmington, Del., where Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his family were set to climb aboard. The whistle-stop tour also was scheduled to stop in Baltimore, as well as to slow down at several points along the way to greet the expected crowds of supporters.
Jacqueline Tinsley, 56, arrived to see Mr. Obama as he began his journey to Washington. She volunteered throughout the course of his campaign, well before even she believed that his quest would be a success, and said she could not miss this moment, which she believes will be etched in the nation’s history.
“In all my life, I never thought that there would be a black president,” Ms. Tinsley said, taking her seat in the hall of the train station. “When he first started, I didn’t know how much of a chance he had, but over time, you could see it within him. I know he can’t live up to every expectation, but he has something that we need at this time.”
Mr. Obama and his family were riding a private rail car called the Georgia 300, which has carried former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. The same blue vintage rail car carried Mr. Obama on a tour through Pennsylvania during his primary campaign.
While Mr. Obama did not mention the 16th president, by name, the idea behind the train trip to Washington came from Lincoln, whose presidency Mr. Obama turned to again and again as he explained his own candidacy.
“We should never forget that we are the heirs of that first band of patriots, ordinary men and women who refused to give up when it all seemed so improbable; and who somehow believed that they had the power to make the world anew,” Mr. Obama said. “That is the spirit that we must reclaim today.”
In his weekly radio address, released before his trip began, Mr. Obama paid respect to the presidents who have gone before him and reminded Americans not to take for granted the peaceful transition that is scheduled to take place just before noon on Tuesday. He began by invoking the inauguration of George Washington 220 years ago, which took place in New York City.
“Difficult days are upon us, and even more difficult days lie ahead,” Mr. Obama said. “But as we approach this time-honored American tradition, we are reminded that our challenges can be met if we summon the spirit that has sustained our democracy since George Washington took the first oath of office.”
He added: “Since then, inaugurations have taken place during times of war and peace, in depression and prosperity. Our democracy has undergone many changes, and our people have taken many steps in pursuit of a more perfect union.”
Mr. Obama, when he assumes office next week, faces each of those challenges — and more. But there was little specific talk on Saturday of the tasks that lie ahead; instead the day was choreographed to take note of the historic nature of the coming days.
“We recognize that such enormous challenges will not be solved quickly,” Mr. Obama told several hundred people gathered in a great hall of the train station. “There will be false starts and setbacks, frustrations and disappointments. And we will be called to show patience even as we act with fierce urgency.”
An entourage of guests, most of whom Mr. Obama met throughout the course of his presidential campaign, were invited to come along.
“As I prepare to leave for Washington on a trip that you made possible, know that I will not be traveling alone,” Mr. Obama said. “I will be taking with me some of the men and women I met along the way, Americans from every corner of this country, whose hopes and heartaches were the core of our cause; whose dreams and struggles have become my own.”
There was the Fischer family from Beech Grove, Ind., whose home Mr. Obama stopped by for lunch one day last spring as he sought to show his connection to working families. There were the Girardeaus, a family from Kansas City, Mo., whose living room Mr. Obama sat in to watch his wife deliver her speech at the Democratic convention. And there was Lilly Ledbetter, a woman for whom the Fair Pay Act was named, after her long struggle with Goodyear to receive equal wages with men.
“Theirs are the voices I will carry with me every day in the White House,” Mr. Obama said. “Theirs are the stories I will be thinking of when we deliver the changes you elected me to make.”
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