Fifty years ago today, the 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy uttered the following words at his inaugural address: 

"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Why did JFK’s words strike a cord with so many? And how did his inauguration foreshadow what was ahead for the young president’s time in office?

The 20-year-old single "Don't Believe the Hype" by hip-hop icons Public Enemy has been a constant thought of mine in days up and through the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. The seminal political rap tune instructs black Americans, and others, to look beyond contrived media stereotypes to explore the complexities of black males and the negotiation of social and political spaces.

Having this lyrical tome — however dated — as a backdrop in considering the celebration of so many blacks on the election of President Obama can be helpful.

In cutting to the quick of Obama, there is an appreciation of him as articulate (I hated that reference to me by condescending teachers in school), self-disclosing and a brilliant, disciplined political mind. His list of personal and professional positives represents much of the best in the black community. And to see him appreciated so grandly gives us, and obviously many others, a sense of hope that we can be seen beyond the boxes that so often separate us from being seen as whole.

This is not to say that Mr. President is all-the-way on point. He is a politician. One who has manipulated circumstance, situation and stakeholders in ways that politicians do, and that's OK as long as there is an understanding of it all.

Just before the election of Mr. Obama to the presidency I opined that I'd sipped the Kool-Aid. I explained that I was a true believer, but only halfway. As with many who experience marginalization in this country, I believe in the ideal of American democracy — I dare say many black folk do. However that ideal has not been, nor is it now bound in one individual, no matter how cool and competent.

So, with President Obama there is true belief. His social standing and thoroughness gives us an opportunity to bet on black. He has allowed Us to step forward in this pivotal point in history.

Nonetheless, 'politics' is still 'politricks,' and we'd be wise to consider the words of Chuck D.

When he listed the diverse faiths of our nation in his inaugural address, President Obama chose to include nonbelievers, a group rarely acknowledged in official discourse. Randall Balmer, professor of American religious history at Barnard College and author of "God in The White House" joins John and Adaora to discuss the implications of the President's inclusion of atheists and agnostics as part of our spiritual community.

The conclusion of the presidential Inauguration marks the end of what may have been the biggest party in U.S. history. Tens of thousands of people head back home today and the real work in the Capitol begins. The Takeaway checks in with two reporters who covered the inauguration. Josh Rogers is a political reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio and Ben Calhoun is a political reporter for Chicago Public Radio.

Follow Takeaway Political Director Andrea Bernstein to her prime, second-row seat at the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, in Washington, D.C.
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"I'd rather get a stimulus than a recovery."

"Look at this mob. It looks like a Will Smith movie here."

"Don't forget this is the city that greenlighted a trillion-dollar bailout and two days later couldn't figure out where the money had gone."

"Log cabin republicans? There are six, and they all hate themselves."

Watch Mary Beth Williams' collection of images from the Inauguration.

When President Obama was sworn in yesterday, he was surrounded by family. That family was a rainbow of colors and ethnicities including his Kenyan step-grandmother, his Indonesian-American half-sister, Michelle Obama's black cousins and brother, his Chinese-Canadian brother-in-law, and a rabbi. It is quite a change from the typical white Protestant presidential family. To discuss this changing American portrait we are joined by New York Times' writer Jodi Kantor.

For more, read Jodi Kantor's article, In First Family, a Nation’s Many Faces, in today's New York Times.

Now safely inside and thawed (minus about seven layers of clothing) I’ve been listening to NPR, where the consensus seems to be that the speech was dark. But I found it strangely hopeful. After all, the revolutionary warriors made it through the icy waters, the soldiers whispering from Arlington are calling a nation to serve “something larger than themselves.” I find these encouraging words for dark times. But on the metro line waiting to leave the Capitol area, the emotional highlight of the day seems to have been the words “so help me God.” As one eight-year-old told me, on her way to the parade, “I liked it when he read the Bible.”

Read a transcript of President Obama's inaugural address and discuss it in The Takeaway's "user-annotated" document viewer.

Countless hours to arrive in Washington, six hours in sub-freezing temperatures, and some folks with tickets couldn’t even get in after the blue gate was shut down. Then it was a two-hour line just to get in to the Capital South metro station. Did it matter? Nope. A family from Rochdale Village, Queens, had a Plan B — they went to Cong. Gregory Meeks’s office in the Raeburn House Office Building — heated, with snacks — and watched it on TV. A young man from Scranton slipped in by walking around the crowd, but his friends were not so lucky. One woman from Philadelphia was relegated to the streets, far from the jumbotrons, where she clung to the event by listening to the cheers for the mall. She didn’t care, either. “We came a long way to get here,” she explained. “Oh,” I asked “Where are you from?” “No,” she corrected, “I mean a long way, in years.”

Read a transcript of the Inaugural Address of President Barack Obama, from January 20, 2009, and discuss the speech in The Takeaway's "user-annotated" document viewer.

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Two rows from the band, which is right in front of the podium. Dressed in four layers, rode a (full) metro at 4:30 a.m. By 4:45 a.m. the mall was filling with a crowd that just wanted to be a part of history — I met people from Alabama, Indiana, California, red states, blue states, the United States. People that just decided to come and people that bought tickets a year ago. They wanted to be part of something larger, and today they are.

We return to the New York Times' Marcus Mabry who has been with us all morning for his final thoughts on this Inauguration. He discusses mandates, votes, and race in America.

Our national conversation continues with Joe Hicks, talk show host from Los Angeles on KFI. He may just be waking up, but he woke up excited for today's events and renewed global goodwill. He also lets us know all the best spots to view the Inauguration, even from 3,000 miles away. Marcus Mabry is still with us and offers his insights from Washington, D.C.

We return to The Takeaway's Femi Oke who is staked out on the crowded streets of Washington, D.C. She is shoving her microphone in front of anyone who will talk to her (and some who won't) in order to get the pulse of the scene.

Our conversation with the nation continues as we look for reactions to this historic Inauguration. We now turn to Chicago where WBEZ reporter Tony Arnold tells us how Obama's political home town is preparing to watch their Senator become President. The New York Times' Marcus Mabry rides along to give his thoughts on the events.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern
11:00 a.m. Pacific
Musical selections (The United States Marine Band)

9:30 a.m. Eastern
6:30 a.m. Pacific
Official video stream begins

11:00 a.m. Eastern
8:00 a.m. Pacific
Official audio stream begins

11:30 a.m. Eastern
8:30 a.m. Pacific
Takeaway Live Blog with John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji

Approx. 11:30 a.m. Eastern
8:30 a.m. Pacific
Call to Order (Sen. Dianne Feinstein), Invocation (Rick Warren), Music (Aretha Franklin)

Approx. 11:45 a.m. Eastern
8:45 a.m. Pacific
Vice President-elect Joe Biden receives oath of office (Associate Justice John Paul Stevens), music (John Williams (composer/arranger), Itzhak Perlman (Violin), Yo-Yo Ma (Cello), Gabriela Montero (Piano), Anthony McGill (Clarinet))

Approx. 11:56 a.m. Eastern
8:56 a.m. Pacific
President-elect Barack Obama receives oath of office (Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts)

Approx. 12:01 p.m. Eastern
9:01 a.m. Pacific
President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address (expected to last about 20 minutes)
Poem (Elizabeth Alexander), Benediction (Rev. Joseph Lowery), the National Anthem (The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters")
President Barack Obama escorts outgoing president George W. Bush and outgoing vice president Dick Cheney to a departure ceremony

Approx. 1:05 p.m. Eastern
10:05 a.m. Pacific
President Barack Obama attends an Inaugural luncheon

Approx. 1:25 p.m. Eastern
10:25 a.m. Pacific
Outgoing president George W. Bush speaks at Andrews Air Force Base

Approx. 2:20 p.m. Eastern
11:20 a.m. Pacific
President Barack Obama reviews the troops, the Inaugural Parade begins

MORE INAUGURATION 2009 »

While Washington, D.C. is the center of attention today, we are gathering reactions to these historic events from across the country. The conversation continues now as we turn to Adam Arlington at KWMU in St. Louis and Susanna Capelouto, news director at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta.

With all the coverage of the inauguration and all eyes on the president-elect, you would think the whole country was behind the new president. But that's definitely not the case in Oklahoma, where not one single county voted for Barack Obama. Joining us to discuss how Oklahomans are viewing this day is Michael Cross, the State Capital Bureau Chief at KOSU in Oklahoma City.

Hours before Barack Obama was to take the oath of office, a CD of his speeches set to techno music blared out of a boom box sitting on a pile of T-shirts. "How much for the Shepard Fairey watch?" said a customer, leaning over the sidewalk table full of Obama merchandise. The greatness and gravity of the presidency, conjured up today under the Capitol dome, will sit starkly against the moat of junk that has never been seen before for a president.

Obama's popularity and personality have inspired designers and hawkers to take his rock star status to new marketing heights. The new president's smiling face sits behind the hands of clocks. A towel features the former senator dunking a basketball in a Superman suit, with the scoreboard reading "1:20:09." Regular campaign buttons that would have satisfied collectors and politicos of past ages are now neon, handmade and outfitted with glowing backlights.

Norris Gibson knew this would be big business eighteen months ago. "Win or lose, he was going to be a legend," he says. On Monday, he was busily manning tables outside Union Station that are extension of his Web site, myobamashop.com ("The New Presidential Obama Hoodies and Long Sleeves are now available!") He's created more than 150 designs with Obama's likeness, and boasts that he was the first to celebrate the young president using rhinestones on clothing. Caps and ski caps with "OBAMA" in white plastic stones are selling for $12; T-shirts at his stand go for $26.99. The devoted throng stood two or three deep, calling out sizes and styles, while a CD switched to a Gospel-backed version of Obama's Grant Park victory speech.

Just outside the Greyhound Bus Terminal, Darin White was pushing sequined T-shirts for $45. "I think there will be enough folk here that there will be nice sales all across the city. It'll be a great Obama Day," he said, further reinforcing his brand.