Obama Embarks on Symbolic Train Ride to DC

Barack Obama undertook the final leg of his inaugural journey today, embarking on a whistle-stop train tour from Philadelphia that retraces Lincoln's journey to Washington a century and a half ago. Big crowds are expected along the way, and VP-elect Joe Biden comes aboard in Wilmington, Del. "Only a handful of times in our history has a generation been confronted with challenges so vast," Obama said in Philadelphia before boarding.

"Starting now, let's take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union," he said. "Let's build a government that is responsible to the people and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable. ... Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the beginning and the hope for the future." The momentous day for Obama also happens to coincide with Michelle's 45th birthday.
(More Barack Obama stories.)