Chase, throughout asked "What's he saying? Where's Obama? Who's that?"
And, while I tried my best to explain it, I knew I wouldn't be able to impress upon her the importance of this day. After the inauguration, I asked her if she wanted to be President, to which she said, "yes." You go, girl.
CNN Coverage...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama promised to tap the virtues and resiliency of Americans as his administration ushers in an era of accountability and improved dialogue with the world.
Barack and Michelle Obama wave to throngs of supporters en route to the White House on Tuesday.
An estimated 2 million people crowded the National Mall and surrounding area that encompasses the Capitol, White House and Lincoln Memorial. They sang, danced and waved flags as Obama's swearing-in approached.
"This is America happening," said Evadey Minott of Brooklyn, New York. "It was prophesized by King that we would have a day when everyone would come together. This is that day. I am excited. I am joyful. It brings tears to my eyes."
Many in the crowd seemed moved as Aretha Franklin belted out a rousing version of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" before Joe Biden was sworn in as vice president.
Wearing a navy suit and red tie, Obama repeated the oath of office, his hand on the same Bible used in President Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration.
When Obama took the podium, however, the jubilant crowd grew somber and quiet, hanging on his every word. There was only scattered applause -- punctuated by an occasional "That's right" or "Amen."
Obama acknowledged the challenges facing the country and boldly asserted, "Know this, America -- they will be met." He promised to end petty squabbles on Capitol Hill, bring "old friends and former enemies" into the fold, and invoked the Bible, saying, "The time has come to set aside childish things."
He also vowed to leave Iraq to its people, responsibly, and to finish forging "a hard-earned peace" in Afghanistan. To Muslims, he promised "a new way forward, based on mutual interest," and to terrorists, he leveled a threat: "You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."
The challenges are daunting, he said, but anyone who underestimates this nation has forgotten about its past perseverance.
"Greatness is never a given. It must be earned," he said.
His words resounded with spectators and revelers who let out deafening cheers after his address. Spectator L.J. Caldwell likened Obama to some of the most heroic figures of the civil rights movement.
"When you think back, Malcolm [X] fought. Then we come a little further, Rosa Parks sat. Then come up a little further and [the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.] spoke. Then today, President Obama ran and we won," said Caldwell, of Somerset, New Jersey.
After the address, hundreds of thousands remained on the National Mall as Obama went inside the Capitol and signed his first documents as the 44th president of the United States. Among those were his Cabinet nominations. The Senate approved most of those nominations later in the day. 
Watch Obama's grand entrance »
"I was told not to swipe the pen," Obama quipped after signing a proclamation of national renewal and reconciliation.
Obama then lunched with lawmakers at the Capitol's Statuary Hall, telling them, "What's happening today is not about me. It is about the American people.
Americans, he said, "have come together across races and regions and stations. Now we have to do the same. Now it falls to us, the people's representatives, to give our fullest measure of devotion to the cause of freedom and liberty and justice, decency and dignity."
Later, the crowds flocked to barricades along Pennsylvania Avenue as Obama's motorcade crawled by.
Many said before the festivities that they did not have tickets and would be happy to catch a mere glimpse of the nation's first Africa-American president.
At St. John's Episcopal Church, where the Obamas kicked off a packed day of festivities, 9-year-old Laura Bruggerman waited with her mother, Wendy, and father, Jeff, of Bethesda, Maryland. The affable crowd tried to let shorter onlookers and children to the front for better views.
"I want to see Obama. I think that would be really cool. I could tell all of my friends that I got to see him," the youngster said.
Some spectators were more than a mile from the swearing-in ceremony, watching on giant TV screens erected along the National Mall.
Security was tight in Washington. The effort involved the Secret Service, 8,000 police officers from the District of Columbia and other jurisdictions, 10,000 National Guard troops, about 1,000 FBI personnel, and hundreds of others from the Department of Homeland Security, the National Park Service and U.S. Capitol Police.
The ceremony also drew celebrities like Dustin Hoffman, Denzel Washington and Steven Spielberg.
"It's behind the dream. We're just here feeling it with the throngs of people. It's amazing grace personified," Oprah Winfrey said, sitting next actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Obama and congressional leaders formally bade farewell to Bush, and the now-former president took a presidential jet to Midland, Texas, shortly afterward. »
As Obama and his wife, Michelle, made their way to the White House, they stepped out of their limousine amid another round of boisterous hoorahs.
The first couple beamed as they walked down Pennsylvania Avenue, waving to the throngs kept back by police barriers. They walked a few blocks before returning to their vehicle to finish the two-mile parade that took them to the White House.
Obama and his family planned to watch the inauguration parade from a reviewing stand, and they will close the night by attending 10 official inaugural balls.
After a day and night of events celebrating his historic presidency, Obama and his family will officially take up residence at the White House.And.... interesting coverage from CNET...
January 20, 2009 11:27 AM PST
Inauguration Day, by the numbers
Posted by Caroline McCarthy
Updated at 1:30 p.m. PST to reflect streaming problems at CNN.com and CBSNews.com.
From what early numbers are indicating, the historic swearing-in of President Barack Obama was not the biggest traffic day for the Internet. But for many social networks and digital-media sites, Inauguration Day shattered traffic and usage records regardless.
Here are the ones we've heard from so far. We'll be updating this list as we hear more:
Akamai. The content delivery network has some numbers out that indicate traffic on the Web peaked right before noon Eastern time, with about 5.4 million visitors per minute flocking to online news outlets. While this is 22 percent above normal online news consumption, per Akamai, it's not a record. Obama's victory in November pulled in nearly 8.6 million visitors per minute, and the 7 million mark has been broken by both a hotly contested World Cup soccer game in 2006 and last year's March Madness college basketball playoffs.
CNN.com fail notice
Visitors attempting to access CNN.com's live stream of the inaugural address got this message instead (Click image for larger view). CNN was just one of many Web sites that got overloaded during the speech.
(Credit: Screenshot by CBSNews.com)
CNN. It was a big day for the Time Warner-owned news outlet's Web site. It's been continually updating its statistics, but at press time, CNN.com said it has served more than 18.8 million live video streams, including 1.3 million at the same time right before Obama gave his address, since 6 a.m. EST. That's a record: Election Day served up only 5.3 million live streams. Apparently, it wasn't all smooth sailing, though. CBS News reports that CNN.com had a note posted for potential viewers who came to see the historic moment that said, "You made it! However, so did everyone else." (See screenshot at right.)
Facebook. The social network, which partnered with CNN for a live feed of "status" updates (sort of like Facebook's equivalent of a Twitter post) pertaining to the inauguration, has put out some usage numbers and is still updating them. As of 10:15 a.m. PST, 600,000 status messages had been set using the CNN app, and an average of 4,000 Facebook status updates were set every minute during the inauguration. They peaked the minute Obama began his speech, with 8,500 status messages set in those 60 seconds. "Millions" of members logged into the social network during the live broadcast.
Mogulus. The live-streaming service powered online inauguration video streams for C-Span, USA Today, and other newspapers owned by USA Today publisher Gannett (which has a minority stake in the company). Inauguration coverage broke Mogulus' network record, according to early numbers, with 105,000 concurrent viewers and more than 1 million visitors total.
Hulu. The video hub, a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., declined to provide any viewership statistics for Inauguration Day.
Our colleagues at CBSNews.com report that they, too, ran into trouble with their live stream of the inauguration speech, saying that many people could not load the stream around the time of the address due to overwhelming demand.
Disclosure: CNET News is published by CBS Interactive, which also publishes CBSNews.com.
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