Obama's Week
From the wee hours on the Mall to The Daily Beast and Morning Joe brunch, to a jubilant evening in Kenya, the inauguration was a panorama of memorable images from start to finish. A look back at the historic week.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
People gather on the National Mall in the early hours for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
Washington’s power players greet the president-to-be.
Jim Bourg, Pool / Getty Images
Malia Obama, 10, and Sasha, 7, are all smiles as they arrive at the Capitol to see their father sworn in.
J. Scott Applewhite, Pool / Getty Images
People bundle up against the cold to watch the “We Are One" concert, one of the bigger events of inauguration weekend.
Robyn Beck, AFP / Getty Images
Obama takes the oath—incorrectly, it turned out—from Chief Justice John Roberts.
Chuck Kennedy, Pool / AP Photo
Michelle Obama holds the Lincoln Bible that Barack Obama chose for the occasion.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Residents of Kibera, a poor neighborhood in Nairobi, gather around a TV set to watch a half-Kenyan half a world away.
Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP / Getty Images
The Daily Beast and Morning Joe celebrate with a pre-inaugural brunch on Jan. 20.
Although the oath needed a do-over, Sasha, 7, offers her father a high-five.
J. Scott Applewhite, Pool / Getty Images
Soldiers in the dining hall of the Forward Operating Base in Kalsu, Iraq, watch Obama inherit their mission.
Chris Hondros / Getty Images
President George W. Bush looks wistfully over the capital as his helicopter leaves Washington.
Eric Draper, The White House / Getty Images
Wheelchair-bound Dick Cheney, sitting beside Bush, checks his watch during Obama’s inaugural address.
Robyn Beck, AFP / Getty Images
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.”
Win McNamee / Getty Images
Sharon Schneider, of Decatur, Georgia, celebrates after Obama takes the oath.
The new administration bids adieu to the Bush helicopter on the east steps of the Capitol.
Public Affairs Specialist 1st Class Kyle Niemi, U.S. Coast Guard / Getty Images
Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama step out of the “Beast,” the presidential limo, at the Inauguration Parade.
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
A Navy officer performs the official portrait swap in the lobby of the headquarters of the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Brennan Linsley, Pool / Getty Images
Fresh off the plane from D.C., former President George W. Bush greets the crowd during a celebration in Midland, Texas.
Tom Pennington / Getty Images
Bush left the traditional outgoing president’s letter for Obama on the Resolute desk of the Oval Office.
Eric Draper, The White House / Getty Images
President Obama leads the first lady onto the dance floor at the Commander-in-Chief Ball on the night of the inauguration.
Saul Loeb, AFP / Getty Images
Michelle Obama, dressed in Jason Wu, listens to her husband speak at the Midatlantic Regional Inaugural Ball. “First of all, how good-looking is my wife?” Obama asked the crowd.
Jim Young / Reuters
The couple share their first dance at the Neighborhood Ball, where Beyoncé Knowles performed Etta James’s “At Last.”
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo
“We got the idea for the Neighborhood Ball because we are neighborhood people,” Obama told the crowd.
Tim Sloan, AFP / Getty Images
Cheering on the president from Singapore.
Wong Maye-E / AP Photo
“Michelle may be a better dancer than me,” Obama once said. “But I’m convinced I’m a better dancer than John McCain.”
Emily Barnes / Getty Images
Among the many calls he placed on his first day on the job, Obama reached out to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Pete Souza, The White House / Getty Images
President Obama signing a series of executive orders on January 22., including one to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
Photographers crowd around the table to photograph the pen that President Barack Obama would use to sign executive orders in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Ron Edmonds / AP Photo
Vice President Joe Biden, left, clasps hands with Obama on Jan. 21, after he signed several executive orders on expectations for ethics and conduct.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo
President Obama is re-sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts after they fumbled the first attempt.
Pete Souza, The White House, Rapport Press / Newscom
Obama’s signature after he signs his first act as president.
Molly Riley, Pool / Getty Images
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