President Obama takes his second (or fourth, if you’re counting) oath of office

Original Post, 6:15 a.m.: An estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people are expected to descend on the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue NW this morning for the public swearing-in of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Metro opened well before the crack of dawn, beginning rush hour service at 4 a.m., and already the platforms are filling up with a mix of locals and visitors.

“It’s exciting,” Terri Hamilton, a teacher from Indianapolis, said aboard a half-full Green Line train. She in D.C. on Saturday with her colleague, Blanche Edwards. The women were not among the 1.8 million who trekked to Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, but Hamilton said the second go-round was worth the trip. “He won. When will we ever again get to see a black president?”, she said.

Edwards, bundled up for the mid-30s temperatures in a light brown fur coat, said her visit to D.C. had been surprisingly pleasant, with “friendly” locals helping her and Hamilton navigate the city. “Just to get to see the diversity,” she said.

They exited at L’Enfant Plaza and headed out to the Mall.

6:45 a.m.: Alexis Hauk reports the Columbia Heights Metro station is nearly empty, though it’s still quite early.

8 a.m.: Metro spokesman Dan Stessel says that 89,000 riders had boarded as of 7 a.m.

10:15 a.m.: Near the front of the U.S. Capitol’s lawn seating, I meet Anne Seymour, a former Obama campaign volunteer who today is festooned in apparel and accessories bearing the president’s name and photo. She’s got no fewer than 12 pins, including several that she says are “vintage” from Obama’s 2008 run.

“It’s history that we got a wonderful person reelected,” Seymour says. Seymour, who works as a crime victims’ advocate in D.C., adds that she’s hopes Obama’s second term will include passage of new gun control laws.

With Seymour are about 20 if her friends from around the world, including Sue McDiarmid, a New Zealand native who flew in from Los Angeles. “There’s nothing like this [in New Zealand],” she says. “It’s a celebration of freedom in a grand style.”

Seymour says she bought Obama-branded scarves for all her friends. “You can never have too much Obama cha-cha.”

10:22 a.m.: Due to crowding, the security checkpoint at Seventh Street and Constitution Avenue NW has been closed. Head to Ninth Street instead.

10:30 a.m.: So far, it looks like most inauguration-goers are reporting relatively smooth rides on Metro and quick trips through security. Those additional cell phone towers seem to be failing, though—we’ve heard complaints from our roving reporters that they can’t place calls, send text messages or use data. One thing you’d might want to avoid: the food kiosks on the National Mall, where we’ve heard of waits approaching an hour. – Martin Austermuhle

10:35 a.m.: Just how much smaller are the inauguration crowds this year? Metro is reporting that 266,000 people have entered system as of 10 a.m., just over half the amount that did at the same time in 2009. – Martin Austermuhle

10:40 a.m. The D.C. Department of Transportation reports: “Approximately 950 tour buses now parked at RFK, Buzzard Point, Nats Stadium and other lots.” – Martin Austermuhle

10:45 a.m.: Senators are taking their seats to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” No one seeme to be applauding because, well, it’s Congress.

11 a.m.: For those of you who mocked the relative importance of President Obama’s recent decision to put the city’s “Taxation Without Representation” license plates on his limo, consider this: NBC and CNN mentioned them during on-air broadcasts over the last 20 minutes. – Martin Austermuhle

11:30 a.m.: Watch the inaugural festivities here:

11:45 a.m.: The National Park Service reports that the National Mall is closed, and overflow crowds are being directed to the Washington Monument.

11:50 a.m.: Metro tweets: “As of 11am, 308,000 people have entered the Metrorail system. About 60% of 2009 levels.”

11:54 a.m.: And there it is! President Obama has started his second term. Well, it officially started yesterday when he sworn in under the terms of the Constitution, but still…

12:00 p.m.: Obama says during his inaugural address, “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.” Here’s full text of his speech, which some are calling the most progressive speech (MSNBC’s Chris Matthews says there’s a lot of Lincoln in the speech)—”We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.”

DCist will be out and about all during today’s events. It’s going to be a long day, so check our inauguration answers guide before you leave the house. Feel free to email us any tips or pictures or tweet us @dcist.

Filed Under: barack obama, inauguration, joe biden, metro, president obama, vice president biden, wmata,