The day DC stood still

Deborah Tompkins doesn’t seem to be too bothered by the fact that security vehicles and helicopters have been whipping round her Washington DC neighbourhood since 3am on January 20.

Today is different.

Tompkins, who spent a stint in South Africa working for ActionAid International, spoke to the Mail & Guardian Online on Tuesday, from her home on 8th Street, just inside the cordoned-off security perimeter that surrounds the National Mall, where Barack Obama will later be inaugurated.

‘We’re opening our house to the military and police officials on patrol in the area — they come in to our house for coffee and to use the facilities. That’s the spirit of what’s going on, we’re reaching out to people.

‘The people of Washington DC have always been seen as a little jaded — you know, we’ve seen it all — but today is different. We’re reaching out — there’s a feeling of unity.”

‘Later on we’ll take a walk down a couple of blocks to see the Capitol. Right now Obama is at St John’s Church on Lafayette Square across from the White House. It’s tradition for the incoming president to attend a service there on inauguration day. He’s expected to come out of the service in about 45 minutes time. Right now it’s 9.15am — we were told Obama’s running a little late this morning — about 15 minutes late — that’s pretty unusual.”

‘There are just people and cars everywhere,” Tompkins said.

‘We haven’t been able to move our cars this morning. I was keen on going for a run — but I think even that will be difficult.”

There are about 500 000 people on the Mall at the moment, she said, with the final crowd tally expected to be between one and two million.

‘On the metro system yesterday [Monday] it took an hour just to get an access card for the subway — there was major congestion. But people are all very friendly. I haven’t seen a lot of frustration or impatience. Obama has set that tone. But it is going to be a very long day.”

Tompkins has been in DC for both Clinton and Bush’s inauguration, but she says ‘this one is definitely different, it’s much bigger, more resonant”.

There’s one part of the official agenda that Tompkins is determined not to miss.

‘When Obama gets sworn in, there’s a lunch ceremony and then the official hand-off between Bush and Obama. Then Bush will be escorted out from the east side — which is actually the front of the Capitol — and he’ll be put in the president’s helicopter, Marine 1.

‘We’re going to see Bush exit — I want to have that closure.”

Bush will then be taken to Andrews Airforce Base nearby and will then take his last ride in Airforce 1 back to Texas.

‘We even have a big Barack sign that we made for the campaign trail,” says Tompkins.

‘On the back of it reads: ‘Heck of a job, Bushie’.

‘Let me explain the significance of this message,” she adds. ‘In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there was a famous press conference. Now the whole country was upset with Bush and the way he handled the disaster — people were also very upset with the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Mike Brown. At this press conference Bush defiantly stuck up for Brown, saying: ‘Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job’.”