CBS News follows Barack Obama on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, taking notes on his voluntary act and his speech drafting.
- Jan 20, 2009
AceShowbiz - Two things are celebrated on Monday, January 19, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and also the day leading to the inauguration of Barack Obama. Covering of the four-days festivities, CBS' Katie Couric reports that the president-elect took the holiday time to do some final check on his most important speech and volunteer in a shelter for homeless teenagers in Washington.
Obama symbolically paints the wall of the shelter and said, "We can't allow any idle hands. Everybody's gonna have to pitch in and I think American people are ready to do that." He also emphasized that during the economy crisis, the Government can't do it alone without the contribution of America.
D-day minus one, Obama prefers to keep his speeches short in order to spare the important details for his inauguration speech. His team has written the first couple of drafts of the speech and Obama then take turns re-writing almost the entire speech in his own words. It took him two months to finish it, taking inspirations from Abraham Lincoln's and John F. Kennedy's.
The 44th president of United States will read his oath at the West Front of the Capitol at 10 A.M. on Tuesday, January 20. Reporting live the historical moment will be Katie Couric from CBS News who will conduct a comprehensive broadcast and online coverage of the day, including the ceremonies and interviews plus analysis from the CBS News Inauguration Team.
