Inauguration Trivia: Speeches, Weather, Poems, and More
Posted: January 20, 2009
An Important Day
Did you know that the President was not always sworn in on January 20? That’s right. Before 1933, Inauguration Day was held on March 4. A long time ago, the electors needed more time to cast their votes following Election Day.
Record Speeches
The shortest speech was given by George Washington in 1793 (133 words). William Henry Harrison gave the longest speech at 8,445 words. The speech lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. Harrison delivered his speech in a fierce snowstorm. A month later he died of pneumonia.
People, People Everywhere
Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration in 1965 drew about 1.2 million people. Barack Obama’s inauguration brought in about 1.8 million people.
Highs and Lows
Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985 was the coldest at 7° F. Reagan also claims the warmest inauguration (his first in 1981) at 55° F.
Inauguration Poetry
In 1961, John F. Kennedy asked Robert Frost to write a poem for his inauguration. Frost wrote “Dedication” but was unable to make out the words on paper, so he read “A Gift Outright”—a poem he’d written in 1942. Thirty-two years later in 1993 Bill Clinton asked Maya Angelou to recite a poem. Four years later he asked Miller Williams. This year Barack Obama asked Elizabeth Alexander to write and give this year’s inauguration poem.
First in Technology
• Newspaper illustration—James K. Polk in 1845
• Photograph—James Buchanan in 1857
• Camera recording—William McKinley in 1897
• Radio broadcast—Calvin Coolidge in 1925
• Television broadcast—Harry S. Truman in 1949
• Internet—Bill Clinton in 1997
Inauguration Day 2009
Visit the Inaugural site below to learn more about today’s events, past inaugurations, and other interesting inauguration facts.
http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/video/video-2009-obama.cfm
While you’re at it, you can also check out the new White House Web site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/.
Posted by: Jill
It's Election Day!
Posted: November 4, 2008
For Senators McCain and Obama this is the end of a long campaign. One candidate will be our next President. Who’s it going to be?
Tonight, I will follow the end of the race and report the major polling results of the night. Perhaps before the end of the day we’ll have a new President.
First Polls to Close
7:00 p.m. (Eastern time) Here are some of the first poll closings of the day: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
Virginia and Indiana are considered two important toss-up states for both candidates. Indiana and Virginia have not voted for a Democratic candidate since 1964.
Results Are In
7:05 p.m. Kentucky and Vermont are the first states to report their results. Kentucky goes to John McCain. He gets 11 electoral votes. Vermont, with 3 electoral votes, goes to Barack Obama.
The Keystone State
8:45 p.m. Obama wins big in the state of Pennsylvania. For those of you who are counting, that’s 21 electoral votes! Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin campaigned heavily in the last couple of days in the state of Pennsylvania, hoping to take votes away from Obama.
More Wins
9:05 p.m. You just can’t take a break, or you’ll miss out on some key wins for the candidates! Right now, reports are coming in that Obama has won in Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin are huge wins for Obama even if they were expected to go to the Democrats.
Meanwhile McCain wins Arkansas, Wyoming, and Alabama, adding 18 more electoral votes.
Big Upset
10:15 p.m. It’s official. Obama has taken the state of Ohio from the Republican Party. Ohio was a must-win state for John McCain. Ohio has voted for the presidential candidate since 1964. Without Ohio, McCain will have a really hard time winning the election.
I can also report that McCain has won in the states of Texas, West Virginia, Utah, North Dakota, and Louisiana. That gives him 56 more electoral votes.
If you’re trying to keep track of the votes, right now it looks like Obama has 207 electoral votes. McCain has 114.
Another Big Upset
10:50 p.m. After voting for the Republican candidate for the last 44 years, the state of Virginia is going to Obama. In the past this was a solid state for the Republicans, but today, it looks like Obama is taking the lead. That gives him a total of 220 electoral votes for the night. John McCain has 135 votes.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding
10:58 p.m. If this were a boxing match, the state of Florida would be the knock-out punch. Today, Florida is a blue state. This was a close match with Obama taking around 51% of the vote. Without the major battleground states of Ohio and Florida, McCain does not have a chance to win.
History in the Making
11:00 p.m. Senator Barack Obama is our new President-elect. That means that voters across the country have elected Barack Obama to be our next leader. Later tonight, we’ll hear from both Obama and McCain. Right now, people across the nation are celebrating this historic election. The people have elected our first African-American President. The road to the White House was not an easy one for Barack Obama. He first declared he was running for the Democratic nomination in February of 2007. Since then, he has been on the campaign trail. His running mate, Joe Biden, also ran for the Democratic nomination but dropped out of the race early in the primaries.
Senator McCain proved to be a tough opponent. He persevered to the last minute, never once giving up his dream to become our next President. He and his running mate, Sarah Palin, were in Phoenix, Arizona tonight.
Go to Meet the Candidates to learn more about the candidates.
Electoral Results
Posted by: Amir
Is Your State a Swing State?
Posted: October 28, 2008
Swing state!
Battleground state!
Toss up state!
I am sure that you have heard these phrases recently—maybe even about your state. A swing state is a state where the votes are so close for both candidates that either candidate can win in that state. If the candidate wins the state, he also gets the state’s electoral votes. Remember, it takes 270 electoral votes to win the election.
Here is a list of the key swing states and their electoral votes.
• Florida: 27
• Ohio: 20
• North Carolina: 15
• Indiana: 11
• Missouri: 11
• Nevada: 5
Swing states are the opposite of safe states. In a safe state, the majority vote can be predicted long before an election. For example, New York and California are considered safe states for the Democratic candidate. They are shown in blue on an Electoral College map. Texas and Alabama are safe states for the Republican candidate. They are shown in red.
A swing state is also called a battleground state or a toss up state. They are known as battleground states because both candidates will spend a lot of their time and money in these states. Senator Obama and Senator McCain are very busy traveling all over the country. They are visiting these battleground states so they can talk to citizens and persuade voters to vote for them. If they can do that, then they may win the electoral vote for that state.
These battleground states, or swing states, are so important because they can decide who wins the election. Want to keep track of the electoral votes for each candidate? Visit the link below. See if you can predict who will be the next President. And don’t forget to check back here for the election results!
2008 Election Map
Posted by: Emilio
A Game Changer?
Posted: October 16, 2008
Imagine for a second the race to the White House. Right now, Senator McCain is behind in the polls. That means that more people are considering a vote for Senator Obama. With 19 days left until the election, McCain still has a chance at the presidency. Last night was his final opportunity to reach millions of Americans and explain why he should be our next President.
The stakes were very high for Senator McCain in last night’s final debate. For starters, his supporters wanted him to “take off the gloves” and fight Obama on the issues. For McCain’s part, he started off strong, beginning with the first of many attacks of the evening.
Meet Joe the Plumber
McCain immediately challenged Obama’s tax rates on small business owners. Obama has said that he will increase taxes on those people who earn more than $250,000. That’s where Joe the plumber comes in. Joe is from Toledo, Ohio. He wants to buy a business. He is worried that Senator Obama’s tax rates will hurt his chances of buying the business.
Senator McCain argued that he would not raise taxes on small business owners and criticized Obama’s plan, saying, “. . . what you want to do to Joe the plumber and millions more like him is have their taxes increased and not be able to realize the American dream of owning their own business.”
Obama responded by saying that he wants to help those who do not have enough money now—the plumber, the teacher, the nurse, the firefighter. He added that 98% of small businesses do not make more than $250,000.
The Gloves Come Off
McCain also challenged Obama about comparing him to President Bush. When Obama stated that McCain would extend the last eight years of President Bush’s policies, McCain fired back at him. “Senator Obama,” he said, “I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.”
Negative Ads
By now you’ve probably seen or heard a few of the candidates’ ads. One of the things that came up during the debate was the negative tone that these ads have taken over the past few weeks. Senator Obama’s ads have used words like “out of touch,” “lie,” and “angry.” Senator McCain’s ads have used words like “dangerous” and “dishonorable.” Both candidates were scolded for the negative campaigns. Both agreed that it has been a tough campaign. As viewers, we have to do our part to analyze these ads and not just accept the things we see and hear.
Not a Game Changer
At the end of the night, it was clear that Senator Obama remained calm, cool, and collected. Nothing seemed to throw him off his game. Not even Joe the plumber. While this was Senator McCain’s best performance, it may not have been the game changer that he was looking for. Still, he has 19 more days to the election. Anything can happen!
Posted by: Shelby
Taking It to the People
Posted: October 10, 2008
On Tuesday, October 7th, Senators McCain and Obama met for the second time to debate in a town hall format. That means that everyday citizens were in the audience and could ask the candidates some tough questions.
This was a very important debate for both senators. Right now, the most critical issue facing Americans is the economy. Many people are losing their jobs. Many are also losing their homes because they can’t pay their mortgages. Others are seeing their retirement savings disappear. Because of all this bad news, it is very important that both candidates focus on what’s important to the American people and to the future of our country. So how did they do?
Early in the debate, a 78-year-old woman from Chicago asked, “. . . As President, what sacrifices will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream. . . ?”
Senator McCain said that he would examine all government spending. Here’s what he had to say, “I recommend a spending freeze that except for Defense, Veterans Affairs, and some other vital programs, we’ll just have to have across-the-board freeze.” What Senator McCain is saying is that he would cut those programs that are not working properly and are costing taxpayers money.
Senator Obama said that we need to come together as a unified country like we did after September 11 and think about ways that we can help our country once again. He suggested that one way to help is to save more energy in our homes and at work.
The candidates answered many more tough questions about the economy. Later in the debate, they tackled questions about healthcare and foreign issues like the war in Iraq.
This debate was supposed to help undecided voters decide who they will vote for in November. Voters will have one last chance to see how they feel about the candidates after next week’s debate on October 15. This will be the third and last time the senators debate before the election. It’s your last chance to see them debate. Don’t miss it!
Posted by: Amir
Don't Count Her Out
Posted: October 6, 2008
If you were one of the many people who saw the vice presidential debate last Thursday, you were probably not disappointed. I know I wasn’t! More than 70 million people watched Joe Biden and Sarah Palin debate. That’s more than those who watched the season finale of the last American Idol.
Sarah Palin had a lot to prove going into the debate. After a pretty embarrassing television interview, some people went as far as asking for her to resign. Many people wondered if she would fail in the debate. But Palin surprised everyone. From the minute she stepped onto the stage and shook hands with Joe Biden, Sarah Palin appeared confident and ready to debate. She was focused and driven.
The audience was reintroduced to the Sarah Palin we met back in August when McCain announced her as his running mate. Her job was to prove that John McCain did not make a mistake in choosing her as his running mate. There is no doubt that many people feel she came through for her party.
Joe Biden also had a mission. He had to prove that he is not a know-it-all as so many people have labeled him. He, too, had to stay focused and not ramble as he is known to do. Did he deliver? Well, according to a CNN poll, 51% of people thought he won the debate while 36% thought Palin won.
Biden also came through for his party. Unlike Palin, his job was not to defend his nomination. He had to stay focused on the issues and convince viewers why they should vote for Obama/Biden in November. I think we would all agree he succeeded in his first mission. As for the second one, we’ll have to wait until November to see what happens.
Up next: the 2nd presidential debate tomorrow night. Here’s where viewers get the chance to ask the candidates important questions facing our country.
Posted by: Jill
Close Match
Posted: September 29, 2008
So who do you think won last week’s debate? If you support John McCain, you might insist he won the debate. But if you support Barack Obama, you might feel that he clearly won. Well, it seems that both sides would be right since many experts believe that round 1 of the debates was a toss up.
The purpose of the first debate was for both candidates to share their vision (or plan) on how they will deal with other countries (that’s called foreign policy for anyone who’s interested). But because of all the recent economic problems facing our country, the candidates spent the first half talking about how they plan to deal with the economy.
Both candidates appeared knowledgeable and well-prepared, but there were a few signs that Obama had an edge early on. He seemed to be at ease while McCain seemed annoyed. But once they began talking about war and terrorism, McCain showed his knowledge and expertise.
While both candidates threw a few jabs and punches, no one really delivered a knock out blow. Now, they’ll go back to their campaigns and prepare for the next round of debates. This time we, the citizens, get to ask the tough questions!
Don’t miss the VP debate this Thursday. It’s the only chance we’ll get to see Joe Biden and Sarah Palin debate the issues.
Posted by: Emilio
Don’t Forget to Register!
Posted: September 24, 2008
Can you believe there are only 41 days left to the election! And there are even less days to register to vote. Those who have not registered won’t have a chance to vote in November. In most states, people have until the first week of October to register. Do you know anyone who has not registered to vote? Send them an e-mail reminder with your state’s deadline, or pass along this link from Rock the Vote. It gives each state’s deadline. Rock the Vote gives each state’s deadline.
Also, don’t miss the first presidential debate this Friday. The debate will give voters a chance to see how the candidates will deal with other countries. But last week the economy became the #1 issue in the election. Many people will want to hear how the candidates plan to rescue our economy. Stay tuned.
Posted by: Shelby
The Race to the White House Heats Up!
Posted: September 10, 2008
During the Democratic National Convention in Colorado, Senator Joe Biden accepted the nomination for vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. The next night, August 28, Senator Barack Obama accepted the nomination for the Democratic presidential candidate. This date marked the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” Speech. Senator Obama was two years old when Dr. King spoke on that date in 1963. Senator Obama is the first African American to be nominated for President by a major political party.
On September 4, during the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, Senator John McCain accepted the nomination for the Republican presidential candidate. The night before, Governor Sarah Palin wowed the convention delegates and the crowd with her speech accepting the nomination as the vice presidential candidate. She is the first woman to be nominated as vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party.
Now that the conventions are over, both presidential candidates and their running mates are ready to begin the campaign trail to the election. They will visit many cities and towns across the country and talk to people from all walks of life. They will meet with factory workers, teachers, nurses, farmers, people who are unemployed or retired, and many others. They will discuss their plans for the future and ask people to vote for them.
With less than two months before the election, the race to the White House is on!
Posted by: Amir
McCain's Surprise Pick
Posted: August 30, 2008
What a week! While the Democrats ended their national convention in Denver, John McCain announced his running mate. On Friday, August 29, 2008, McCain named Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his Vice President.
McCain’s announcement surprised many people. Until last week, the three candidates on everyone’s lists were Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Palin’s name was nowhere near the radar (at least not the media’s radar). So when McCain announced his decision in Dayton, Ohio, many people were shocked that he did not choose one of the three more well-known candidates.
Sarah Palin might have been unknown to millions of Americans before last Friday, but she became an instant celebrity overnight. If you googled "Sarah Palin" Sunday night, you got almost 2.5 million hits. That was up from less than half a million Saturday night. And those numbers will continue to rise as we learn more.
So who is Sarah Palin? She is the current governor of Alaska. Before that, she was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Palin is only the second female vice presidential nominee for a major party. The last woman was Geraldine Ferraro who campaigned with Walter Mondale in 1984. It’s about time we had another woman on the ticket! Don’t you think?
Posted by: Jill
Obama chooses VP
Posted: August 25, 2008
If you happened to be awake at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, you might have been one of the first few people to learn who Barack Obama chose as his running mate. That is, if you had signed up on his Web site to receive a text message with the name of the VP.
With little time to spare before the Democratic Convention, Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden met in Springfield, Illinois. There in front of thousands of supporters, Obama named Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Biden comes from the state of Delaware where he has been a senator for more than 30 years. You may also remember him as one of the candidates who ran in the primaries for the Democratic presidential nominee.
So what’s next for Obama and Biden? The Democratic Convention, of course. It begins later tonight and runs through August 28th. The Democrats will officially announce Barack Obama as their candidate for President. On the last night of the convention, Obama will give his acceptance speech. You can catch all the events of the convention, including Obama’s speech, on television.
Check back here to get the scoop on the convention and the presidential candidates. Remember, we still don’t know who will be the Republican VP.
Posted by: Emilio
Let’s Explore the Election
Posted: August 18, 2008
Hi. I’m Shelby. Welcome to the Project Presidency 2008 election blog. Jill, Emilio, Amir, and I will follow the election and report all the news back to you.
This is sure to be one of the most exciting presidential elections of our time. So don’t miss out!
Here’s what to look for in the coming weeks. Barack Obama and John McCain have yet to name their running mates, and the clock is ticking. With the conventions just weeks away, they will have to make a choice soon! Who do you think will be the first to name his running mate? Check out our election blog for information about the VPs and other weekly updates.
Posted by: Shelby