Written by Sommer Mathis, Jen Chung and Aaron Morrissey 10:45 a.m.: Here we go, America. Jill Biden and Lynne Cheney kicked things off by exiting the White House together and entering their vehicle in the motorcade, followed by then Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. Vice President Dick Cheney was then wheeled out in his wheelchair, with Joe Biden by his side. Barack Obama and President Bush got into “The Beast” together, and now the motorcade…

The Detroit Free Press kinda buries the lede in this posting about the announced entertainment line-up for the Youth Ball, one of the 10 official balls happening on Tuesday. In addition to Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy, Kanye West has been named a confirmed performer. Sources close to Kanye tell DCist that his decision to travel to D.C. and perform at the Youth Ball was made at the last minute. We had heard…

Take a look at how DCist’s Flickr contributors have captured what Washington, D.C. looks like this weekend, with two days left until Inauguration Day. Add your inauguration-related Flickr photos to our pool by tagging them with “dcist” and “inauguration.”…

One hundred and fifty artists present their vision for worker’s rights, the green economy, the reform of health care, and celebrate the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama in Manifest Hope. The exhibit contains brilliant artwork laden with hope and high expectations in a strong showing of eclectic work based on the three themes. There is almost an overwhelming number of Obama images in the show. One would think that with our desensitization to buzzwords “change”…

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden arrived at Washington’s Union Station and emerged from the “Obama Express” at just after 6:40 p.m. this evening. The “whistle stop tour” began earlier today in Philadelphia, then stopped in Biden’s home of Wilmington, Delaware, and also in Baltimore for a public event at the War Memorial Plaza. Obama gave speeches at events at each of the stops along the way, but opted to hop directly…

BusinessWeek is reporting that D.C.’s Chief Technology Officer, Vivek Kundra, is on President-elect Obama’s short list for the newly created position of Federal Chief Technology Officer. The choices have been narrowed down to only two: Kundra, and another Indian-born technology executive, Padmasree Warrior, who is the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems. All parties are mum on the selection process. Since taking the District CTO position in 2007, Kundra has developed a reputation for bringing…

Photo by jsmjr When I was in Denver for the Democratic National Convention last August, I wondered if the anti-Coca-cola policies of the Pepsi Center wouldn’t lead the then-Obama campaign to alienate a large segment of the population: Coke drinkers. But with Pepsi’s latest ad campaign popping up all over Washington, in Metro stations, the sides of Metro buses, and even outside Union Station in advance of Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday, the tables have…

Photo by mroczknj Over the weekend we all excitedly talked about President-elect Barack Obama’s impromptu visit to District mainstay Ben’s Chili Bowl. Goofy as it may seem to outsiders, Obama’s choice of a half-smoke before even officially becoming president speaks volumes to his understanding of the symbolic gulf that has existed between Washington and the District. The Politico’s Jonathan Martin delved into the two-sided nature of the nation’s capital in an article yesterday, writing…

The rumors were true: the Presidential Inaugural Committee has released the list of confirmed performers for what’s being called We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, scheduled to air on HBO on Sunday, January 18 from 7-9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. There’s no set start time for the concert itself yet, just a note that it will be taped on Sunday afternoon. (NB: We’ve updated…

By now you’ve seen the front page Washington Post photo, but here’s a few other images of President-elect Barack Obama’s visit Saturday to Ben’s Chili Bowl with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. None of us was lucky enough to happen to be inside when the two men showed up at the venerable U Street eatery, but Flickr contributor goldmember was strolling by and caught the crowd gathered outside and the secret service vehicles block traffic. Amy…