ABSTRACT
Precisely at Noon on January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. Obama’s inauguration ceremonies extended over several days, culminating in the formal swearing-in, the inaugural speech, and the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. About two million people, the largest inauguration crowd ever, attended the events. The day concluded with a round of ten offi cial inaugural balls with the new president and fi rst-lady attending, briefl y, as many as possible.
