My first White House experience

A photo of me inside the East Room of the White House

When I had the email confirming me for a journalism internship in Washington D.C., I was excited because I knew I would be covering events at the White House, but when and which event was another issue.
I covered the inauguration, but covering the White House and inauguration are two different things. When the event appeared on Monday’s schedule of news events, I knew my colleagues and I were going to jostle for who was going to cover it.
I was surprised my colleagues were not interested in covering it. Not because they were not excited to cover the White House but because it was sports.
The Miami Heat basketball team was being honored by President Barack Obama.  Thank God, I love sports.
Indeed, basketball is quite a popular sport in Ghana, and Lebron James has a huge following in Ghana. My editor finally credentialed me and I was set for my first official White House event. After going through the security checks, I was bound for the East Room of the White House.
For a first time reporter at the White House, I surprisingly felt at home because I was lucky to have some experienced reporters who engaged me in conversation. I therefore had no problem setting my tripod in place during the “preset,” as some of the experienced reporters were kind enough to show me a spot where I could get the best pictures.

President poses with the triumphant Miami Heat team at the White House

When Obama visited Ghana in July 2009, the closest I came to meeting him was on television. I took pictures of Obama at the inauguration but from a distant angle.
When he entered the East Room, I made sure I was not overwhelmed by his personality into becoming a spectator, but as my editor tells me all the time, “Take as many pictures as possible.” I did, and it helped. The event took less than 15 minutes, and so I never had the opportunity to take notes. I listened and was lucky to be sent a transcript of the president’s speech by Scripps Howard News Service reporter Bart Sullivan. I was also lucky to have one of the photographers take some shots of me in the White House.

Lebron James presents an autographed basketball to Obama

Even though it was a very short event, I took photographs of the man people call “the most powerful man on Earth,” and he was less than 20 feet away from where I was.
One lesson I learned was to always engage people in a conversation when I get to a place for the first time. They were of tremendous help to me.
I don’t know when I will be there to cover an event again. Even if I don’t, one thing is certain: I was at the White House, and Obama stood 20 feet from where I was. I never paid to see the Miami Heat, neither did I have to travel to Hollywood to see actress Gabrielle Union, who has been dating Heat player Dwyane Wade. Don’t I love this job?

The U.S inauguration from a Ghanaian eye

President John Mahama is sworn in by Chief Justice Georgina Wood

I missed the opportunity to cover this month’s inauguration in Ghana because I arrived in the United States the very day Ghana’s new President John Mahama was being sworn in. It would have been my first inauguration.

Indeed, Mahama was sworn in and the event was over by the time I stepped out of the plane. Ghana is ahead of D.C. by five hours. I arrived here at 10:45 a.m., and it was 1:35 p.m. in Accra, the capital.  By that time Mahama had left Independence Square, the venue for Ghana’s event.

I missed the opportunity in 2009 because I was in Kumasi, Ghana’s second city, gathering reactions from residents on then President John Mills’ inauguration.

I was, however, lucky to cover President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. 

I have watched and followed inaugurations in Ghana since 1992 when the country returned to constitutional rule. I have followed U.S. inaugurations during same periods, too. There are quite a few differences. More than 1.2 million people gathered on the Mall and along Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House in 2009 to watch history unfold as the first black president of U.S. was sworn in. Even though that number dropped for his second swearing in, the crowd this week was significant enough.

By law, elections are held in the U.S on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and the president is sworn in Jan. 20. This was pushed from March after the 20^th Amendment to the Constitution. This is unlike Ghana, where the constitution mandates that the election take place Dec. 7 and the president be sworn in Jan. 7.

 President Barack Obama makes his inaugural address

In the United States, the inauguration is a big deal. Even though the U.S. Constitution does not bar presidents from being sworn in on a Sunday, six presidents before Obama deferred their public swearing-in ceremonies to Monday when Jan. 20 fell on a Sunday, and Obama was not going to change that. So the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, the committee appointed by the U.S. Congress to plan the ceremony, decided to hold the public ceremony on Monday. Obama had the private swearing-in at the White House on Sunday. The joint congressional committee begins planning before the election, so the president usually has little to do with planning the ceremony, even though he could.

There is also the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which is private, and raises money to pay for its events. It is responsible for organizing the inaugural parade – along with a military committee – presidential balls and other celebrations. The joint congressional committee sponsors only the public swearing in, while the PIC organizes the other events. Four years ago, Obama attended 10 balls, but this year he attended only two.

In Ghana inaugurations have been held Jan. 7 since 1992, regardless of which day of the week it falls. It has never been rescheduled for any reasons. The committee that arranges the inauguration is usually set up by the president after winning the elections. There are no official balls.

One thing is common, though; people troop in their numbers whether to the Capitol or Independence Square.

Vice President Joe Biden is sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor

One other common thing is the use of the Bible at inaugurations. In Ghana, the president and his vice president have the opportunity to use the Bible or the Koran to be sworn in. The only person in the history of the 1992 constitution to have used a Koran was the late former Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama in 2001 and 2005. U.S presidents are noted for using historical Bibles for their swearing-in ceremonies. In 2009, Obama used the Bible that Abraham Lincoln used. This year, he used both the Lincoln Bible and Martin Luther King Jr.’s family Bible at the public ceremony. The King family Bible is the one that King used for his first sermon at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where he was pastor in 1950. The president in Ghana holds the Bible or the Koran himself and is sworn in, but the U.S president places his hand on the Bible held by his wife.

A section of the crowd that was at Obama's inauguration

In Ghana after the president is sworn in, he sits on the big beautifully designed chair made specifically for the occasion. His vice president also sits on one also designed for that purpose. The only time the president and his vice president get to sit on these chairs aside inauguration days are when he goes to Parliament to give his state of the nation address.

He is also given a sword specially designed as a sign of power. It is called the sword of office. He holds and shows it to the whole world. It also has some traditional meanings, as most traditional rulers have these swords as a sign of power and authority. The day is officially over for the president of Ghana after he displays the sword of office and gives his speech.

But in the U.S, the day has just begun, as the president is expected to review the parade held in his honor and attend the balls organized for him. Perhaps that is the reason why heads of states from other countries are not invited but their diplomats. The U.S president is a busy person on inauguration day.

Obama's Second Inauguration; And they came for various reasons

President Barack Obama waves to the crowd

  President Barack Obama’s second inauguration did not have the same size crowds that gathered at the Capitol to watch him sworn in four years ago.

More than 1.2 million people gathered on the Mall and along Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House in 2009. Even though that number dropped, the crowd that turned up was significant enough, and they spoke.

And so people from all walks of life attended Obama’s second inauguration, albeit not in the millions as they did in 2009 but enough to make Capitol and the National Mall feel small.

Lisa Fisher and her daughters, Kate, Samantha, Grace and Roxanne

Lisa Fisher, 45, from Alexandra, Virginia, was attending her second inauguration. She came to Obama’s first inauguration in 2009. This year, she brought her four daughters including triplets.

Fisher said it was very important to bring her daughters to be part of history. “I want them to listen to the speech and absorb it. It will help them in future,” she said.
Two of Fisher’s children, Roxanne and Grace, followed their mum, not only to watch but also to document. Roxanne, 12, and Grace, 11, brought their small camera and were shooting a documentary. They initially wanted to enter the documentary into a competition but decided against it because they would lose the rights to their work if they entered. “We want to keep it for the future,” Roxanne said. Grace said she was surprised to see the huge number of people. The girls, who are being home schooled by their mother, said they were excited to be asking everyday Americans about the inauguration and what they were expecting. Asked whether she intends to become a journalist in the future, Grace said, “Maybe, I don’t know”.

Grace Fisher, 11 and Sister Roxanne,12, interview Brian Bressler

Brian Bressler form Portland, Oregon, who came with his wife, Leskie, said he was giving himself a good 80th birthday gift. Bressler turned 80 on Inauguration Day and said he could not have given himself a better birthday gift than attending the inauguration. The comedian, who flew in from a business trip to Brussels to the inauguration, said he was given the ticket by his representative, Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon. He said he was very excited to be at his first inauguration. “The funniest thing that was special and important to me was being interviewed by two kids,” he said, referring to Roxanne and Grace.

Nelson Troche and daughter Brooklyn Michelle

Nelson Troche, 35, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said it was important for his 5-month-old baby to be a part of history. Troche was at the inauguration to support a president who supports gay marriages and believes it is important to raise children in an environment of equality.

Troche came with his gay partner, Tiyale Hayes, and their adopted daughter, Brooklyn Michelle.

Daniel Kuol, 25, from South Sudan, said he was at the inauguration to be a part of history. The government and international relations student at Bunker Hill College in Boston, Massachusetts, expects Obama to use his high office to promote world peace. “For someone who comes from a war-torn continent, all I can ask from the president is for him bring peace to Africa,” he said.  Kuol flew from Boston to D.C a week before the inauguration and spent much of the time exploring the city and its rich history.