January 21, 2013
The Press Enterprise: OBAMA INAUGURATION: Inland Rsidents, Representatives React
Inland residents attending the inaugural ceremony for President Barack Obama’s second term Monday, Jan. 21, joined nearly a million people to hear the president call for a renewal of optimism.
Members of the Inland congressional delegation, meanwhile, spoke about the need for cooperation and to face challenges the nation faces.
Among the Inland residents gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol were a 19-year-old Riverside college student and a mother and daughter from Corona.
In his inaugural address, Obama defended the role of government in fixing the nation’s problems, advocated for gay rights, spoke up for the poor and called for action on climate change.
Inland residents spoke by telephone after the inauguration.
Rosemary Danelski watched the ceremony near the reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The 19-year-old Riverside native is a 2011 graduate of Poly High School and a sophomore studying economics and French at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.
Danelski got a ticket to the inauguration from Takano after working on his congressional campaign. She described the Inauguration Day audience as respectful and the atmosphere as “not as crazy as I thought it would be.”
Compared to four years ago, Obama’s speech was “more somber,” Danelski said. “It’s definitely a ‘We have to keep going’ message as opposed to ‘Everything’s going to change right this second.’”
She added she was pleased to hear the president support gay rights and equal pay for women. “I was surprised he mentioned that in an inaugural address,” Danelski said.
Linnie Frank Bailey, of Corona, watched the ceremony with her 14-year-old daughter. The two also attended Obama’s first inauguration.
“Four years ago, I think it was really about him” and the historic significance of an African-American becoming president, said Linnie Bailey, a writer and blogger who was a Democratic National Convention delegate in 2008 and 2012. “This time I think it’s more about the people … who came together and stood in long lines to make sure he was re-elected.”
The Inland congressional delegation also listened to the president’s 18-minute inaugural address. Among their reactions:
Takano, whose district includes Riverside, Perris, Moreno Valley and Jurupa Valley, said he was struck by the president’s remarks on equality and how he weaved three historic moments — Selma for the civil rights movement, Seneca Falls for women’s rights and Stonewall for gay rights — into one sentence. Takano is gay.
Obama’s defense of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — “They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great” — “struck a chord within many in our caucus,” Takano added.