'It's Really Real'

It didn't go off without a hitch, but the day was still grand.

NO, EVERYTHING didn't go smoothly. By 5:20 a.m., the line of cars outside the Vienna Metro station stretched two miles. Minutes later, the New Carrollton Station parking lot filled up, and some drivers abandoned their cars. There was a water main break near the Archives-Navy Memorial Station that brought crowds to a standstill. A rider fell on the tracks at Gallery Place Station, bringing service on the Red Line to a halt. Some barriers were torn down, people complained about being misdirected, and the 14th Street Bridge was closed because of overcrowding hours before the swearing-in. Dozens of people were treated for hypothermia.

And yet, it was an amazing day. Even if you were stuck on the periphery of the crowd, it was hard not to share in the excitement as Barack Obama was inaugurated as the nation's 44th president. A crowd that could well have exceeded 2 million, and that included a mix of local residents and travelers from thousands of miles away, was mostly on its best behavior. When a woman had an asthma attack near the Mall, the crowd reportedly parted to give her room to breathe. On a packed train at Dupont Circle, riders willingly squeezed tighter together, spurred on by chants of "Yes, we can." The chilled throng, roused at the sight of the presidential motorcade, erupted in cheers.

Even the weather, cold but not impossibly frigid, cooperated. The sun shone. By 9 a.m., an estimated 500,000 had gathered on the Mall, and an estimated 400,000 had traveled on Metro. The previous ridership record, about 850,000, is likely to be shattered. Authorities handled the crowds with aplomb, and inauguration-goers didn't let the long waits or weather trump the spirit of cooperation or the sense of grandeur inspired by the day. Uncounted hosts worked overtime to pull this all off: police officers, soldiers, Metro operators, inauguration volunteers. They deserve our gratitude.

But perhaps it was 18-year-old Darianne Allen who summed up the moment best. Ms. Allen, who journeyed to Washington on a 16-hour bus ride with a group from Selma, Ala., of civil rights-era infamy, cried when she reached the Mall yesterday. "The moment just hit me," she said. "It's really real."