Barack Obama hit the road, the furniture movers loaded up, and Tiger Woods made the cut for an inauguration the likes of which this country’s never seen.
The golf star – who has steered clear of politics – announced that he will speak at the Lincoln Memorial concert tomorrow to kick off the festivities as Obama gets set to take office.
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Other top performers at the show include Beyoncé, U2, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Spingsteen and Garth Brooks.
“I am honored that I was invited to this historic event and look forward to participating in Sunday’s festivities,” Woods said in a statement.
“I think it’s absolutely incredible,” Woods told CNBC following Obama’s election victory in November.
“[Obama] represents America. He’s multiracial. I was hoping it would happen in my lifetime. My father was hoping it would happen in his lifetime, but he didn’t get to see it.”
Obama yesterday took off for the country’s heartland – and a key swing state – to push his economic-stimulus plan as he visited a manufacturing plant in Bedford Heights, Ohio, that builds wind turbines.
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The president-elect has proposed billions of dollars in his stimulus package to help produce green jobs and alternative-energy supplies that would reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.
“Renewable energy isn’t something pie in the sky. It’s not part of a far-off future. It’s happening all across American right now,” Obama told workers at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. just outside Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the White House staff readied a clockwork plan to move President Bush and First Lady Laura out and usher in Obama, First Lady Michelle, their daughters, Sasha and Malia, and the first lady’s mom.
The hand-off of the White House from Bush to Obama will take place during a six-hour window after the new president is sworn in on Tuesday.
Some furniture moving got under way yesterday as a government limo was spotted driving past the State Department loaded with furniture from IKEA.
The trading of occupants begins after Obama comes to meet with his predecessor at the White House late Tuesday morning, and the families head off together to the swearing-in ceremony.
“That’s when everything goes into action,” said Gary Walters, the former long-serving chief butler of the White House, who retired in 2007.
After the swearing-in, Obama and his family head to a luncheon, typically on Capitol Hill, then attend inaugural events all afternoon, Walters said.
When they return between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., “hopefully the residence has been changed from the home of the George Bush family to the home of the Barack Obama family.”