An Inaugural View From the Good Seats
ABC's Donna Brazile came away from the inauguration with Obama's blanket.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2009— -- Nearly 2 million people crowded the National Mall today to be a part of history; Donna Brazile, one of the lucky few to get a front-row seat, also got a piece of history.
After the swearing-in of President Barack Obama, when just about everyone was gone, Brazile -- an ABC News political commentator -- was able to nab a possession belonging to the new president.
"Barack Obama had this fleece," she told ABC News anchor Charles Gibson. "You know, we were all given this blue fleece and someone took it. When it was over with, I went over to the president's chair and I took it.
"It's somewhere around here," she said. "If he wants it back, I'll give it back, but I have that. This is the blanket that was at his chair in case he got cold. He left it, I took it. I was looking for George W. Bush's blanket, but someone took that and Dick Cheney took a couple blankets, so this is Barack Obama's blanket."
Sitting on the second step of the platform on the inaugural stage at the Capitol, close enough for Obama to come greet her, Brazile had one of the very best views of the pageantry at the historic inauguration.
After the program concluded, the images fresh in her mind, Brazile explained to an audience of millions watching ABC's live coverage of the inauguration how the close seat got her access to some of the VIPs and special guests attending the inauguration.
She said it was an incredibly moving experience for the black political operative who grew up in an impoverished household in the segregated South.
The inauguration of the first black president, and the majesty and spirit of the moment is something that Brazile said she will forever cherish.
"This was a tremendous day, it was an emotional day. And yet, I think it will take us perhaps days, months, years for us to really understand just how powerful this moment was for the country and the world," she told Gibson.
So what did Brazile see on stage, in the exclusive seating area reserved for dignitaries, ticket holders and VIPs?
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