Moores witness Obama magic

For over 30 years Bruce and Debbie Moore of Linton and members of their family have traveled to Washington D.C. to be a part of history.

But what they witnessed Tuesday at the inauguration of Barack Obama was nothing like they've seen before.

"It was a wonderful get-together and unity for our country ... we felt like we were all in it together," Debbie said. "He is a fantastic speaker ... the high of it was marvelous. We felt a camaraderie with the country like no other time before.

"It was probably similar to when we won World War II. The country was in it together. We were devastated over the deaths, but there was a marvelous feeling that we're free."

The Moores also took their son, Christopher, and two of their grandchildren, Tiffany Plann and Noah Woodard, to Washington D.C. They left Friday and returned early Wednesday.

Christopher is a journalism major at Vincennes University and co-editor of The Trailblazer newspaper.

"Each one (inauguration) is different, but just the size of this one was unbelievable," Bruce said. "With (President Ronald) Reagan, the first one, it was a blowout in '81. But the size of the crowd with that one, was nothing like (Tuesday).

"We went to Promise Keepers, the Million Man March (in Washington D.C.), it was no comparison. This was much bigger. No matter what direction you looked, it was a sea of people. Not just the mall ... back through all the streets people were still lined up."

The Moores and their family watched the events from the base of the Washington Monument.

"We watched on the jumbo screen," Debbie said. "You couldn't get anywhere near (the mall) ... even some people who had tickets couldn't because of safety issues."

Estimates on the amount of people who were in Washington D.C. for the event have varied from just over a million to nearly 2 million. CNN reported Tuesday night that the largest crowed before this year was when Lyndon Baines Johnson was inaugurated.

"There were many, many more people this year. It was jam-packed," Debbie said. "The camaraderie was just a friendly, huge family."

Bruce agreed.

"The diversity was the big thing that struck me. The ages ... there were so many babies in backpacks. Of course they won't remember, but their parents and grandparents wanted them to be a part of it and look back at the pictures so they can say they were there."

The Moores and family visited Arlington Cemetery and John F. Kennedy's grave, and were there when President Obama made an appearance.

"When he rolled the window down, it was like he was a rock star," Bruce noted.

The Moores booked their motel rooms a year in advance, and they paid $65 per night at a Days Inn.

"When we got there, they were going for $500 per night," Debbie noted.

Though the Moores have been to several inaugurations and know their way around Washington, D.C., this past weekend was a different story.

"We pretty much know the lay of the land, but that was all out the window this year," Bruce said because of the massive crowd and security.

Bruce was struck by the number of young people in the crowd.

"A lot of times, junior high and high schoolers are not impressed with things. You spend $1,000 and they roll their eyes. But they were into it. I don't know if they had a sense that this wouldn't be replicated ... you could see it in their conversations and attitudes."