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CNN Live Event/Special
Continuing Coverage from the National Mall; Looking at Inaugrations Past; Algeria Hostage Crisis Ends; Five Hurt In Accidental Gun Show Shootings; The Power Of Michelle Obama's Style; Inside The Oval Office
Aired January 20, 2013 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON RITCHIE, U.S. SENATE HISTORIAN: Apparently that night, some of his colleagues in the Senate woke him up in the middle of the night to ask him to appoint them his secretary of state and --
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: All in good fun, it seems, but out in Kansas they've got their story and are sticking to it and even if you're not a believer in the legend of the 24-hour presidential term of David Rice Atchison. Today of all days you should at least think of his legacy.
CHRIS TAYLOR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ATCHISON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: That's the reason that President Obama isn't taking any chances and is being sworn in on the day of his inauguration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Indeed. President Obama has been sworn in for his second term and apparently the story of David Rice Atchison is history that will never repeat itself. I'm Candy Crowley on the National Mall in Washington. CNN's coverage of the President Obama's inauguration continues now with my colleague, Soledad O'Brien and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there. Welcome back, everyone. It is 2:00 p.m. on the east coast, 11:00 a.m. on the west coast. I'm John Berman.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. We're live in Washington, D.C. today with special coverage of President Barack Obama's inauguration and if you're just tuning in, thanks for joining us on a very historic weekend.
BERMAN: It is a beautiful, beautiful day here and CNN is covering every minute of the 57th presidential inauguration.
O'BRIEN: And the president, Barack Obama, making history today, he was sworn in for his second term as president, just a couple of hours ago. It was a private ceremony at the White House with Chief Justice John Roberts, have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREEM COURT: Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear.
ROBERTS: That I will faithfully execute.
OBAMA: That I will faithfully execute.
ROBERTS: The office of president of the United States.
OBAMA: The office of president of the United States.
ROBERTS: And will, to the best of my ability.
OBAMA: And will, to the best of my ability.
ROBERTS: Preserve, protect and defend.
OBAMA: Preserve, protect and defend.
ROBERTS: The constitution of the United States.
OBAMA: The constitution of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help you God?
OBAMA: So help me God.
ROBERTS: Congratulations, Mr. President.
OBAMA: Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. Thank you so much. Thank you, sweetie. Thank you.
SASHA OBAMA, PRESIDENT OBAMA'S DAUGHTER: Good luck, Dad.
OBAMA: I did it. All right, thank you, everybody. Come on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The president hugging his wife, the first lady, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha after taking that oath. He's going to do it again. He'll take the public ceremony oath and give his second inaugural address tomorrow. He's only the 17th president in U.S. history to make a second address.
BERMAN: President Obama followed the swearing in to today with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. Of course, Vice President Joe Biden was also sworn in for his second term in office today.
O'BRIEN: The ceremony took place this morning at the Naval Observatory, which was the vice president's official residence. The oath was administered by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor using the Biden family bible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT: Mr. Vice President, are you ready, sir?
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am ready.
SOTOMAYOR: Please, place your hand on the bible and raise your right hand and repeat after me.
BIDEN: I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States --
SOTOMAYOR: That I will support and defend the constitution of the United States --
BIDEN: That I will support and defend the constitution of the United States --
SOTOMAYOR: Against all enemies foreign and domestic.
BIDEN: Against all enemies foreign and domestic.
SOTOMAYOR: That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
BIDEN: That I bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
SOTOMAYOR: That I take this obligation freely.
BIDEN: That I take this obligation freely.
SOTOMAYOR: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
BIDEN: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
SOTOMAYOR: And that I will well and faithfully discharge.
BIDEN: And that I will well and faithfully discharge --
SOTOMAYOR: The duties of the office that I am about to enter.
BIDEN: The duties of the office that I am about to enter.
SOTOMAYOR: So help me God.
BIDEN: So help me God.
SOTOMAYOR: Congratulations.
BIDEN: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: And thus, Vice President Joe Biden began his second term in office. He will also take the oath again tomorrow in the public ceremony. The vice president traveled with President Obama afterwards to Arlington National Cemetery and together, they took part in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony there.
O'BRIEN: Dan Lothian is on the south lawn of the White House. Dan, the president is now basically two hours into his second term. I was going to ask, what happens now? Obviously, it's all moving toward the big day tomorrow. What's going on?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, you know this is a little down time for the president after a very busy day next up for the president and the vice president tonight, both of them will be attending a candlelight service at the National Building Museum here in Washington.
Caps off again a very busy day that started with the president and the vice president laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and also the president attending an African-American church in the district and then, of course, the swearing in ceremony that you pointed out a few seconds ago where the president surrounded by a few close family members and friends that taking the oath in about 30 seconds.
The interesting moment I think came at the very end, where the first daughter Sasha said to the president. That he didn't mess up. The president acknowledging some relief saying that quote, I did it. This of course is in reference to four years ago when there was a flub during the very public official ceremony swearing in ceremony at the capitol.
There were some questions about whether it was legitimate, so they had to redo it again here at the White House so no flubs today. Now the big push comes to tomorrow, where that big ceremony happens at the capitol, where hundreds of thousands of people will be able to watch the oath being administered there.
BERMAN: Sasha was simply hilarious. Your kids, they never let you forget.
LOTHIAN: That's true.
BERMAN: What's up for the rest of the day?
LOTHIAN: Sorry, can you repeat that?
BERMAN: Dan, he's got a lot of time this afternoon now. What's on schedule for the rest of the day? What do you do before you speak before 800,000 people?
O'BRIEN: And is the speech done? Maybe you spend the rest of the day working on your inaugural speech.
LOTHIAN: That's right. You know, the last time I checked, I was told by a White House official that the president with a in the final stages of his speech. This is something that he has been working on for so many hours.
And it's been described by aides that the president has been sitting down and doing this longhand, with a lot of those yellow notebooks, writing it out, John Fabro, the president's chief speechwriter working with the president on this speech. We don't know how long the speech will be.
I know that four years ago it was about 18 minutes or so. So we're expecting it will be somewhere in that neighborhood. But again, this is something the president still working on and will be making tweaks on the speech we're told by White House aides' right up until the time of delivery.
O'BRIEN: And then once he does deliver it, we'll be parsing it for a long, long time. Dan Lothian for us this morning. Thanks, Dan. Appreciate it.
BERMAN: That's right. Two hours into the second term right now. The center of much of the activity this weekend has been right here where we're sitting on the National Mall. It's where many folks have been performing volunteer service and gathering to celebrate this 57th inauguration.
O'BRIEN: You can see the crowds, they're still sparse. Tomorrow, of course, it will be absolutely packed, but it's much bigger than it was yesterday and even this morning. A part of that is because the day is so beautiful. It's a perfect day out here.
CNN anchor, Washington native, Suzanne Malveaux is also on the mall today. Suzanne, it certainly seems that the excitement really is building leading up, of course, to tomorrow's big day.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so what's interesting here about a camera, what's exciting is people always love to be around you. And of course, they can see our camera position. They see the screens, there's a whole bunch of excitement here, little bit of feedback.
We've got folks from all over the country here. It's not the same kind of crowd as last go-round. There were a lot more people. But these folks, there's so much enthusiasm. Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Washington, D.C.
MALVEAUX: Washington, D.C. a home-grown here, right. You were here last go-round?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last go-round, yes.
MALVEAUX: And who's this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Knox.
MALVEAUX: Was he here last go-round?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was pregnant with him. He was in my belly at inauguration.
MALVEAUX: Now tell me what that was like. You know, it was freezing and you were pregnant. How did that go?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was pregnant, so it was cold, but once we got off the metro, we were stuck in L'Enfante plaza for an hour and a half. But after that, the inauguration was great.
MALVEAUX: And you're come back for a second go-round, what does it mean to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's great. We love Obama and we love the inauguration. We're just great that -- and excited that D.C., our home city, gets to celebrate this.
MALVEAUX: OK, let's talk to some folks from out of town. Now you and I, we were talking before. Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New Jersey.
MALVEAUX: You guys are all bundled up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time it was cold. It was cold the last time.
MALVEAUX: We were expecting like below freezing weather and now it's all beautiful and sunny. Do you remember the inauguration from last time?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I kind of do.
MALVEAUX: You do, how old are you now?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Twelve.
MALVEAUX: You're 12 now, what's your name?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Rob Taylor.
MALVEAUX: What do you remember from the last time?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I remember it was really cold and we were walking a lot.
MALVEAUX: You were walking a lot. And this one, I'm told, she was in a stroller, is that right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had her in a stroller, it was so cold, but we had to be part of history and we enjoyed being here as a family and we're glad to be back.
MALVEAUX: And where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beaumont, Texas.
MALVEAUX: Texas fans in here and love the outfit here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why, thank you.
MALVEAUX: What do you want from the president? What are you hope to feel, or expect from him a second go-round.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I enjoyed what I felt in the first go-round, some more of the same, some more of the same. This is a wonderful day, we're so proud to be here again this year. My family, my son and my husband and all of us are just so happy to be here together. And see something, another historic moment.
MALVEAUX: Does it feel the same? Is it history being made a second go-round?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: As much hope and change as we had? You know, a lot of people --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No doubt about it. Any time, 2008, 2012 13, it's still feels wonderful.
MALVEAUX: It feels like four years ago?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes, absolutely.
MALVEAUX: A little bit warmer? Yes. For all of you guys. Well, where are you all from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Philadelphia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tennessee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New Orleans.
MALVEAUX: They're from all over and they've come here and obviously a little bit better than the last go-round. You know, as much as enthusiasm as last time, but a lot better weather.
O'BRIEN: The weather is nicer. It's much easier to be happy about standing out on the mall. When it's freezing, it makes it a little bit challenging.
BERMAN: It's a great crowd out there. They're so fun to be with here today. It is a beautiful day. We want to look at some of the other news making headlines today.
Right now, U.S. lawmakers say Algerians, quote, "Decided they were going to handle it their way to end the deadly hostage crisis. Twenty three hostages were killed in that number is expected to rise. Algeria has not released the nationalities of the dead. Eleven freed hostages received medical treatment at a U.S. naval base in Italy.
Back here in the U.S., five people are recovering after being wounded in accidental shootings at gun shows in North Carolina, Indiana, and Ohio. In North Carolina, three people were hurt when a shotgun went off as a gun owner unfastened a case. A sheriff's deputy was among those injured.
In Ohio, a man is in stable condition after being accidentally shot by his business partner. And in Indiana, a man shot himself in the hand while loading a firearm.
Turning to what a lot of people here are thinking about now -- sports, two games today in the NFL will determine who goes to the Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons will host the San Francisco 49ers. After that, the Baltimore Ravens go to New England, to play the Patriots. The winner of each of these games goes to the Super Bowl in two weeks.
O'BRIEN: The Patriots.
BERMAN: I try not to think about it.
O'BRIEN: How are you managing --
BERMAN: I get too nervous if I start thinking about it don't bring it up.
O'BRIEN: OK. An estimated 800,000 people are expected to attend tomorrow's inaugural ceremony. Next, we'll take a behind-the-scenes look at the measures to keep visitors like those behind us today, safe. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: So security in Washington is always tight, but you know, for inaugurations, things are being done on just a completely different scale.
O'BRIEN: Joe Johns joins us now here to talk a little about some of the security measures, some are seen, some are unseen, talk a little bit about what we can see, as they start shutting down. We've already experienced road closures, with no one necessarily warning you in advance.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right, well, 3:00 in the morning is when it gets really crazy here, but it's actually very crazy right now because what a lot of people don't realize is that not only do we have a non-bureau preparations going on, which are right behind us, we also have Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations happening, too.
So right out here on Constitution Avenue, there is just traffic snarl all over the place. So that's what the police have to deal with and by the way. Just want to show you some pictures of the deputization of something like anywhere between 2,000 and 2500 law enforcement officers from all over the country.
As far out as California, as far south as Florida, they're brought here, they volunteer and then they are deputized as United States marshals for the period of the inauguration. They have police powers, in the city, they also have arrest powers and they're basically going to be doing crowd control and such.
So I, tweeted out a picture of this, a sea of police, that's just the beginning of it you also have something like 6,000 National Guards. You have 4,000 from the D.C. Police Department and then you have the unseen as you were talking about just a minute ago. BERMAN: You're talking about seen and unseen. We also talk about stuff that will be implemented no matter what. There are a lot of stuff they're prepared for just in case.
JOHNS: Absolutely. There's tons of it. Obviously, there are cameras all over the place, they're watching us and we're watching them and they're watching television. At an undisclosed location, there are all sorts of law enforcement agencies, a veritable alphabet soup of organizations sitting by telephones, watching monitors waiting for something to jump on. Of course, huge crowds expected here, but nothing like last year probably one half of one third.
O'BRIEN: The last time around, it was --
JOHNS: Record-breaking.
O'BRIEN: Nearly 2 million, by some people's count now, we're told maybe 800,000, which from a security perspective --
JOHNS: That's still a lot of people.
O'BRIEN: But a lot fewer people.
JOHNS: Absolutely. And they have scaled back just a little bit on the number of law enforcement people here but not so much. They're prepared pretty much for anything that is to arise in the District of Columbia today. You may be watching them. They're watching you, too.
BERMAN: How long does this go on for when does it end? Tuesday morning we all wake up here and it disappears?
JOHNS: Well, to some extent, yes, but there's still the job of clean- up. You know, around 3:00 tomorrow morning there will be a security fencing, you see at all of these national special security events. That goes for all the way up to the capitol, almost, all the way around the mall and all the way back down.
You can only get in through special areas. They have to take all that stuff down. Then, of course, you have the people who have to just clean up, which is gigantic mess in and of itself.
There are three subway stations that are shut down completely because they're like underneath the big inaugural ball or a variety of other important locations, they have to reopens those. So there's a lot of returning the city to normal and that's a mess, too.
BERMAN: It's really a party for the entire country. Some people in Washington maybe can't wait for it to be over. Joe Johns, great to see you here today. Thanks for that. So President Obama enters his second term with a country and a Congress divided.
O'BRIEN: White House officials say his inaugural address tomorrow will be hopeful. We'll ask a former speech writer for President Reagan what the president needs to say to set a positive tone for the next four years. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Everybody, President Obama was sworn in for a second term earlier this afternoon. He got some big hugs from his wife and his two daughters. There are some people who are not so happy that he won the election.
Take a look at these poll numbers, a new CNN/"Time" magazine/ORC poll, shows the president's approval rating is 55 percent, 43 percent disapprove of the way he's doing his job. Take a look at the breakdown, 92 percent of Democrats say they approve and 13 percent of Republicans say the president is doing a good job.
BERMAN: Just 13 percent of Republicans say the president is doing a good job. So how does he begin to bridge that gap? Clark Judge is with us right now. He's a speech writer who worked in the Reagan White House. He's the founder and managing director of the white house writers group.
So Clark, you think the president needs to do something to reach across the aisle, to talk about the common themes that unite us. How do you do that?
CLARK JUDGE, OPINION JOURNALIST, "WALL STREET JOURNAL," NYT.COM AND "NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE": Well, a good model for him would be Bill Clinton's inaugural address, or Ronald Reagan's second inaugural, both of those were similar kinds of political environments.
Congress was in the hands of the other party or one House was, at least. And each of them was very gracious towards the other party, reached out, said things about the goodwill of the other party.
BERMAN: The difference there though is Reagan could look back and talk about how the Republicans worked with Democrats to fix Social Security, Bill Clinton could look back and talk about the deficit reduction plan. Other things they had done a little bit together. It's harder for President Obama to do that because there's been so much polarization.
JUDGE: Well, polarization has been on both sides. It would be a good step for the president, I actually don't expect him to take it, to try to put that behind, to have at least a rhetorical frame for being more enveloping. Now obviously in the last few days, last week or so, he hasn't taken that tact.
He's, he had his press conference about a week ago. He's had some -- they've floated some stories about how they're going to have a more confrontational stand. And that seems to be the direction they're planning to take.
Nevertheless, at least if I were in their position, I would be saying, you need to rhetorically try to put that behind the country. If the opposition then doesn't take, reach out and pick up the mantle that you've offered to them, that's their problem.
O'BRIEN: Does the president have to refer to the bitterly divided country and Congress? I mean, you saw those poll numbers, they really reflect I think how not just people feel about their elected officials, but people in the country are feeling about some of the big issues, should he in the speech give a nod to I understand, that we're -- we're having this hostile partisan time?
JUDGE: I would try to frame it in terms of where both, both sides are looking for a way to deal with some very difficult problems at if viewing through a glass darkly. No one of us has the full answer and it's by working together that we'll find an answer that works for the country as a whole.
That's the way I would frame it. I would do it a bit like in a sense, Thomas Jefferson did with his first, first inaugural. At that time, he had won after a long and bitter fight in the House of Representatives.
Because there had been a tie in the Electoral College and his first words as president, in his inaugural address were -- we are now all Democrats, we are now all Republicans. In other words, he was doing just what I'm talking about.
BERMAN: How much do you write for the now in an inaugural address and how much do you write for history?
JUDGE: Both. You don't separate them. You're talking about the now in terms of what you, where the country is and where it needs to go usually presidents in their second inaugurals and I've read them all, look back a bit, with satisfaction on the first term, but they also look forward.
And there are some exceptions who draw more divided line, FDR in '33. I'm sorry, in the 1937 inaugural, after the '36 election, had a very polarizing inaugural. But that is, he was in a different political situation than President Obama is now.
O'BRIEN: How do you write? I mean, for President Reagan, did you write the first draft and then he went through it and marked it up? Did he spill his thoughts and interests to you and you wrote around that? How did that work?
JUDGE: Well each president does it differently.
O'BRIEN: How did Reagan do it?
JUDGE: I was not involved in the Reagan second inaugural, but there was always an interaction. I want to see these broad themes. And then he would look at it, sometimes with texts he'd look at it before anybody else did. He would add whole sections of texts.
I can point to any number of speeches where he did that. And other speeches he would do editing. In the inaugural, it's a big speech and he would have spent a fair amount of time with it.
O'BRIEN: Clark Judge, it's nice to have you with us.
JUDGE: It's nice to be with you.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.
BERMAN: So interesting.
O'BRIEN: So how does the public opinion of President Obama at the start of his second term stack up against his predecessors? We'll take a look at that coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: The crowds are building here. The energy level is so high here. It's a beautiful day here on the National Mall. Welcome back to our special coverage of the President Barack Obama's inauguration, live from the nation's capitol. I'm John Berman.
O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. If you're just tuning in to join us, we appreciate you being with us. Barack Obama was sworn in this afternoon for a second term as president of the United States.
BERMAN: The ceremony took place at the White House with the chief justice of the United States, John Roberts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear.
OBAMA: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear.
ROBERTS: That I will faithfully execute.
OBAMA: That I will faithfully execute.
ROBERTS: The office of president of the United States.
OBAMA: The office of president of the United States.
ROBERTS: And will, to the best of my ability.
OBAMA: And will, to the best of my ability.
ROBERTS: Preserve, protect and defend.
OBAMA: Preserve, protect and defend.
ROBERTS: The constitution of the United States.
OBAMA: The constitution of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help you God?
OBAMA: So help me God.
ROBERTS: Congratulations, Mr. President.
OBAMA: Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: He went off without a hitch this time around.
BERMAN: I feel like there was the most knowing glance ever between those two men right there.
O'BRIEN: The president of course going to be sworn in again tomorrow. The ceremony will be the public ceremony and protocol dictates when the inauguration day falls on a Sunday, another public swearing in is to be held the very next day.
BERMAN: So you know the spirits may be high on the National Mall behind us, they most certainly are, but the mood in the nation is a really a little more mixed. The president enters his second term facing a fragile economic recovery in a nation deeply divided on some key issues.
So what do the polls say about American sentiment at this critical time. CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser is here with some answers. Hi, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: How are you guys? You know, I think right now the crowd behind us would give the president about 100 percent approval rating.
O'BRIEN: I think so.
STEINHAUSER: We want to look at how he stacks up with his predecessors who also were inaugurated a second time. Take a look at these numbers. It's interesting. In our latest poll, the president has 55 percent. That's his approval rating. How does that stack up?
Well, it's a little bit better than George W. Bush four years ago at the start of his second term and it's a little bit better than Richard Nixon. But you can see the president's approval rating is a lot lower than some other predecessors like Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, Eisenhower and Truman, another way to see how he stacks up against his predecessors.
Look at this number, how things going in the country right now, 49 percent say things are going well in the country right now. How does that stack up against President Bush four years ago? The people said -- 58 percent said things are going to well. You could see a higher number for Clinton in his second term and Reagan in his second term.
O'BRIEN: So then when you look at how the country is divided, one has to imagine and we've been told, that he's going to talk about a hopeful speech, a unifying speech. But not many more details than that. What kind of statistics do you see when we look at the divisions within the country?
STEINHAUSER: Brand new numbers from CNN/ORC out today, national pool. Look at this. We asked if the country was more deeply divided now than in the past, three out of four say yes. That's a lot of people, 76 percent right there, only 22 percent say no. Here's another way to visualize it. Look at this the next number. We ask, do you hope that the president's policies will succeed. Well, Democrats, of course, overwhelmingly said yes. Only four out of 10 Republicans hope that the president's policies will succeed, in fact, the majority of them want him to fail.
BERMAN: Interesting and the president will be reaching out in some way tomorrow. We hear he will acknowledge the divided nature of the country and Congress. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much for being here.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Soledad, John, thank you.
BERMAN: We talked about the president being sworn in already, well, Vice President Joe Biden was also sworn in for a second term in office today using the Biden family bible, a very large bible, by the way. The oath was administered by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
O'BRIEN: The ceremony took place this morning at the Naval Observatory, which is the vice president's official residence. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOTOMAYOR: That I take this obligation freely.
BIDEN: That I take this obligation freely.
SOTOMAYOR: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
BIDEN: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
SOTOMAYOR: And that I will well and faithfully discharge.
BIDEN: And that I will well and faithfully discharge --
SOTOMAYOR: The duties of the office that I am about to enter.
BIDEN: The duties of the office that I am about to enter.
SOTOMAYOR: So help me God.
BIDEN: So help me God.
SOTOMAYOR: Congratulations.
BIDEN: Thank you. Thank you so very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Had a chance to speak with Justice Sotomayor. She's written a new memoir and I asked her about some of the experiences that have made up who she is as a Supreme Court justice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: You write about your years in the D.A.'S office. And you figure out that the difference between winning and losing came down to the appeal by a motion rather than fact alone. It was something Abuelita would have told me without ever having gone to law school.
And you say it was a breakthrough for you that to figure out putting passion and emotion into what you were arguing was in some ways I guess more important equally important, as the facts?
SOTOMAYOR: Equally as important. You know, it happens even now. When you have a discussion with a person, if you just give them the facts, it may lead them to your conclusion. But will you actually get them to take a step they may not want to take?
In my experience, if you want to convince people, like juries, to do something that their gut might not want them to do, A, sit in judgment of another human being. And B, potentially send -- have that person sent to jail.
You have to convince them not only is this the right outcome under the law, if you don't have the facts proven in your case, they're never going to get there anyway. But you have to take them that extra step to make them feel it's OK what they're doing because it's the right thing to do.
O'BRIEN: Is there a place for that philosophy at the Supreme Court?
SOTOMAYOR: But that's how we write our opinions. Read every single Supreme Court opinion. It's not nearly as direct as I've just said it. But I can tell you the structure of every Supreme Court argument, of every Supreme Court not argument, but opinion. This is what the law means.
And these are all the reasons it's that way. And then we turn to the arguments by the other side and we explain why those don't hold weight. And in that explanation we explain why they also don't make sense.
And that's almost every opinion that you'll read by the Supreme Court, whether it's in the majority or in the dissent, it's the same, I don't want to call it a formula because each of us writes slightly differently.
But it's the broad outline of what we're doing. We're trying to convince and we're trying to convince that what we're doing is the right thing to do as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Supreme Court has several big cases ahead of it this year. On Friday, the high court announced they're going to hear appeals in the case of a massive Ponzi scheme.
Also ahead, designers from around the world are paying very close attention of course, to the presidential inauguration especially what the first lady is wearing.
BERMAN: That's the understatement of the century. That's because an apparent appearance by the first lady in a specific dress is like winning the lottery for a designer. We'll tell you all about it when we come back.
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BERMAN: It is the inaugural weekend here, there's a lot going on and we have full coverage here on CNN. But first, a few other headlines, in Bulgaria, a man is in custody after he ran up to an opposition leader and pointed a gun at his head.
Ahmed Dogan grappled with the attacker and then security rushed in. Dogan was speaking at a meeting in Sophia yesterday when the incident occurred. That gun did not go off. It's an amazing picture there.
Here in the U.S., the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is announcing the arrest of a chemist who worked at the state crime lab in Amherst. Sonia Feric is charged with possessing drugs and tampering with drug evident. The Amherst Laboratory stores and analyzes alleged controlled substances seized by police.
And baseball great, Stan, "The Man," Musial has passed away at the age of 92. He died Saturday evening of natural causes according to his grandson. Musial played 22 years in the majors, each and every one of them with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He retired in 1963, and he is a legend of the game no question, one of the best ever to play and one of the classiest. He was never thrown out of a single game in 22 years. In 2011, Barack Obama awarded Musial the presidential Medal of Freedom.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, there's no red carpet, but there is a very long parade route and in fact the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration kind of takes on a Hollywood feel. The anticipation is growing over what Michelle Obama will wear. Up next, we'll talk to an author who has written a book about Mrs. Obama's unique style that's ahead.
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O'BRIEN: The First Lady Michelle Obama is known for many, many things, very calm demeanor, her dedication to health and fitness, her fantastic and enviable arms and of course, her style.
BERMAN: And as she celebrated her 49th birthday this past week, she was shorting a new hair style. It is all about the bangs. The nation simply abuzz after this photo was posted on Twitter. She also turned some heads in a stylish Tracy Reece dress, at the Democratic National Convention, I don't know what that means, but I can't wait to find out. What will she wear on inauguration day?
O'BRIEN: And Tracy Reece is just a very, very fabulous designer. We want to talk a little bit more about Michelle Obama's book, with Kate Betts. She is the author of "Everyday Icon, Michelle Obama and the Power of Style."
Hi, Kate. It's nice to see you. Kate is in New York today. So we're sorry you're missing out on the festivities here. Usually I know we get a hint about what the first lady is going to wear on inauguration day. But this time around, no one knows, right?
KATE BETTS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "TIME": No. No one knows. She keeps us waiting until the last minute. I'm sure there are about 10 or 20 designers who are on pins and needles tonight or you know, kneeling down and saying a prayer, please let Michelle Obama wear my dress tomorrow.
It's very exciting, we saw her this morning as you can see wearing a Reed Kraikoff dress at the swearing in. I've heard there's about 10 or 20 designers who were asked to submit ideas to her for tomorrow.
BERMAN: Wow. That's like a competition here. What's -- why are they all going for this? What is the power of Michelle Obama's style?
BETTS: Well, you know, I think every first lady makes an impression, whether she intends to or not. And Michelle Obama has really embraced style as a way for her to express the sort of emotional tenor of the White House.
And you know, whether she's wearing something really glamorous, like the Michael Kors gold lame dress she wore to the Kennedy Center recently or this great bright color that she always wears, she sends a really strong message of optimism, of you know, her own personal femininity and power.
And I think it's -- it's great. And people look to her as, as a role model, obviously on so many levels, but I think people look for the kind of signs that come from her style.
O'BRIEN: It's not only of course which designer do you end up picking, right? It's also the price point. It's also is it something new or something you've worn before because all of these things send messages, right, Kate?
BETTS: Yes, I mean I think very, if you think back to the last inaugural swearing in, when she held up the J. Crew glove and waved. And you know, that's something that everybody has either heard of or seen at the mall or has bought something at J. Crew.
So it was really a sign that she was accessible and she was somebody that people could relate to. Not wearing something that nobody could afford or nobody had ever heard of before. And I think she's done a really beautiful job of balancing that out -- being both glamorous -- sorry.
BERMAN: When we talk about style with Michelle Obama, how does that compare with the discussions we've had about other first ladies?
BETTS: Well, it's interesting because first ladies either embrace this as a way to sort of send a message to people or they shy away from it and they wear a very formal kind of Washington dress code. The thing about Michelle Obama is that she dresses to stand out.
Many first ladies have dressed to fit in. So we don't remember their style. And therefore, I think you know, we live in a very visual culture. If we don't remember their style, we don't have a visual image of them. It's sometimes hard to remember exactly what they did in the White House or what their contribution might have been.
O'BRIEN: You know, it's a beautiful day here. I know it's been nice in New York too. But tomorrow it's supposed to be much, much colder, and that's got to play a role in what the first lady picks because if you're not dressed appropriately, it could have serious consequences.
BETTS: Yes, I think -- I know for a fact at the last swearing in, she had picked something by a young designer that wasn't lined or made of a fabric that was very warm. So she wasn't able to wear it and she wore the Isabelle Toledo coat and dress that we know so well now. That's a very important lesson for designers. Line the clothing that you submit to the first lady for the inaugural swearing in.
BERMAN: Can we ask about the bangs? Because I feel like the bangs is one of the most major developments to hit Washington in months here. What do you make of that?
BETTS: Well, maybe she wanted to take the focus off what she's wearing. I have a theory that she might repeat something that she's worn before. Not necessarily what she wore four years ago, but maybe she wanted to use her new hairstyle to kind of take the focus off the actual clothing that she's going to be wearing.
Or maybe she wants to take the focus of the actual designer's name of the clothing that she's wearing. I think it's a great look. It's very youthful. It's very on trend because this hairstyle is the hairstyle of the moment. It's called the chop or the bob or you know, this very blunt cut with the bangs. So I guess she's trying to embrace her trendy side.
O'BRIEN: Maybe she just wants bangs.
BERMAN: You mock me, but there's an entire theory around the bangs.
O'BRIEN: I kind of mock you because I think she's just beautiful. She looks good in bangs, too. I love it. Kate Betts, nice to see you, Kate. Thanks for talking with us. Appreciate it.
BETTS: Thank you, Soledad.
BERMAN: All right, so what about this question now. It's great to see you, Kate. This question now, what is it like in the White House around inauguration day?
O'BRIEN: We'll talk to a man who has been there. We're back in a moment.
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O'BRIEN: Welcome back everybody as we bring you some special coverage of the presidential inauguration weekend. You can see some of the crowds out there. We know that the security has been beefed up in the city here and the crowds are out behind us this afternoon.
They've been growing steadily because it's actually a very beautiful day. I mean, four years ago, not so much. It was freezing cold, but today it's a balmy 50-something degrees. That will not be the case tomorrow.
We are seeing, though, this weekend, the public face of the president as he is sworn in. But what's life like behind closed doors in the oval office right now. Van Jones has been there. He's a CNN contributor, former Obama White House official. It's nice to have you with us.
VAN JONES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Glad to be here.
BERMAN: We always talk about the president being a cool customer, when there are these big events, big speeches doesn't get any bigger than an inauguration, what's he like?
JONES: He loves it. I think everybody knows, the big game days, that's when he's at his best and I think it's not just about the inauguration. I think it's found his game. He's like a Michael Jordan mode.
Remember back in the 1990s, Michael Jordan would go on a tear, he would keep scoring the same way and nobody could stop him. And the announcer would say, my God, he's going to score every time.
I think he's like that now. I think he's figured out how to play the role well. It showed today when he was getting sworn in.
O'BRIEN: There's an article that Jody Canter has written in the "New York Times," talking about the Obamas, saying that they were isolated and sort of more of Washington than when he came in and were very aggressively were not of Washington. We're going to make change because we're not of Washington. Do you agree with her assessment?
JONES: Well, you know, I haven't read that piece. I think that they have grown into the role. And I think that that happens, you know to any president, I think this president had a steeper hill to climb. He had less experience with bigger problems.
Yet he was able to face very different circumstances, he first came in he had massive majority in Congress, that's gone away. He's been able to figure out even with divided government to be effective, look at how he handled the, the fiscal showdown. I mean, he was in command of that discussion.
He didn't move. He made the country move toward him, debt ceiling, same way, now his appointments, same way. David Gergen wrote a great piece on cnn.com about Obama 2.0, tougher, stronger. And I think he's found his stride again. I think you're going to see it tomorrow on the podium.
BERMAN: Let's talk about the appointments right now because you brought that up. You were at the White House at the beginning of the first term. How does it differ from what we're likely to see in terms of the personnel at the beginning of the second term?
JONES: Well, you know, when you first go in there's a complete turnover. All the civil servants are still there, but all the political appointments are brand new. You're trying to figure out where do you get the tape dispenser? I mean, that's not going to be the next situation.
You're going to have more continuity and I think that you're going to have you're going to have a better sense of what the president is able to do with his hand. I think people are missing the big story here. It's not just the people who are going to be working in the White House.
There are a lot of people who used to work in the White House, that are now going to be out of the white house, helping to move the agenda forward. There's an alumni situation that can help plead the case and the new group organizing for action.
I think you're going to see a much more effective outside game to support this president. I think you're going to see a very different, much more confident, much more effective, much tougher, more successful second term.
O'BRIEN: A sense of urgency four years ago around jobs and fixing a crisis, now it seems like jobs even more so. It can't just be fixing a crisis.
JONES: Yes, well there are a number of crises. One crisis we haven't talked enough about is the climate crisis, there's a fiscal cliff and there's a climate cliff and our scientists are warning us over and over again.
You're going to have more Sandy Hook massacres. You're going to have more sandy storms, like the Superstorm Sandy. This president has not done enough on climate and it's always number three to him. I think 20 years from now it's going to be number one on the assessment of his legacy. I think he's got to step up to the plate.
One thing he hasn't done and nobody has put forward yet, he could call for a bilateral summit with China on climate. The two biggest carbon polluters have never sat down and talked. I think he's got to be bold on immigration. He's bold on guns. If he can get bold on climate he would be a transformational president.
O'BRIEN: That's bold on a lot of things?
JONES: If anybody can do it, Barack Obama can do it.
O'BRIEN: Van Jones, it's always nice to see you. Thanks, Van. We appreciate it.
Ahead, we're going to talk to Cyndi Lauper. You remember her song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."
BERMAN: I sure do.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, she actually says she's also an activist and she's very politically engage. Her purpose in tomorrow's inauguration ceremony is solemn and serious. We're going to talk to her ahead about her role. That's in the next hour. Stay with us. You're watching our special inauguration coverage here on CNN.
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