And here was Barack’s full speech in Baltimore:

As the reporter and my friend K both noted, it’s almost as if Obama is still campaigning. And as I replied, it strikes me that this because he truly wants a sea-change in the country. He genuinely wants Americans to reach out and help each other more, to look after each other and work together; to change the mood of a nation beyond doing so with intangible feelings like hope and optimism. As Obama said on the night of November 4th, his election is just the beginning. And as a result he will, perhaps, have to keep drilling his vision – or rather: the practical application of his vision – into the American people. I doubt he will ever let up. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

*Update* Just found footage from Delaware, including Joe’s full introductory speech. Gotta love around 5 minutes, where all the white secret service agents appear, followed by their black President. Magical :

Read this.

And then tell me that Cindy or John McCain would be taken aback by the price of a glass of champagne.

So it’s no surprise that his team are encouraging us all – or rather: all Americans – to do exactly that, and get off our collective butt on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Monday 19th January (a national holiday in America), for a national day of service.

It’s also no surprise that Obama’s team are organising it amazingly well. Just go to usaservice.org and enter your zip code to find out what events you can help out at (they generally run Saturday 16 – Monday 19, but most seem to take place on the Monday) – or indeed, to organise an event yourself and post details about it.

And look – here’s Michelle herself asking you to do it:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m currently investigating events in the area of DC I’ll be in. Hopefully an ageing American granny won’t be too shocked when a girl who sounds like Mary Poppins arrives with her meals-on-wheels.

It’s confirmed: Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, will be moving into the White House, too.

Yes, like many of us, the new First Family and Vice-First Family will be travelling to Washington by train on the weekend before the inauguration. Let’s hope they at least put up a few balloons and a bit of bunting in their carriage.

Here was yesterday’s press release from the Presidential Inauguration Committee:

President-Elect and Vice President-Elect to Host Events in Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore on Weekend Before Inauguration

Obama, Biden and Their Families Will Travel to DC by Train on Jan. 17th

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that the President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will travel – via railroad — to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 17th and host events along the way in Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore.   The trip marks the final leg of a journey that began on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Illinois and will culminate on the steps of the United States Capitol.

“As part of the most open and accessible Inauguration in history, we hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can’t be in Washington,” said Emmett S. Beliveau, Executive Director of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.  “These events will allow us to do that while honoring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys.”

In the tradition of past Presidents-elect, the daylong trip will include a series of events on the way to Washington, DC. Saturday morning, President-elect Obama and his family will hold an event in Philadelphia before boarding a train bound for Wilmington, Delaware, where he will be joined by Vice President-elect Biden and his family.  Together, the families will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, and hold another event, before finally arriving in Washington, D.C. on Saturday evening.

In keeping with the theme of the 2009 Inauguration, “Renewing America’s Promise,” the President-elect and Vice President-elect will hold events in some of the cities instrumental to that promise: Philadelphia, where that promise was realized; Baltimore, where that promise was defended, then immortalized in our national anthem; and Washington, where Americans of all backgrounds will gather over four days, united in common purpose and resolved to renew that promise once more.

A dozen inauguration balls to go to, and Michelle Obama hasn’t got a thing to wear!

Or at least: a dozen designers are assuming she hasn’t got a thing to wear – because they’ve essentially pitched for the job of dressing America’s new First Lady by sketching inauguration fashion ideas for WWD.

You can see the designs – from the heavyweight likes of Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera, Cristian Lacroix, Diane von Furstenberg, Zac Posen and Karl Lagerfeld – in a 42-picture slideshow here. Yes, 42. Well, she has got daytime outfits in there, too, you know:

Lovely! Actually, for what it’s worth (male readers may want to look away now), DvF’s designs are the ones I like most. As in: they’re both gorgeous, and seem most suitable for Michelle. Here’s her sketch for the evening gown:

Not too shabby, eh? Y’know, I’m planning to go to a few inauguration parties, too… Anyone want to dress me? Anyone? *Tumbleweed blows down the street. Which is highly unusual for East Dulwich*.

*Insert Eddie Izzard’s “little small yappy dog” routine here*

You can watch the full Barbara Walters ABC News interview (sans laughter track) in parts on YouTube, starting with part one here.

Using the recent 60 Minutes interview as an example, they draw attention to the fact that Barack actually looks at Michelle when she’s talking. No, really! Apparently, this is a complete rarity among First Couples:

“With Michelle and Barack’s relationship, their level of ease, affection and respect carries a deep sense of authenticity about it. After nearly 40 years of counseling couples, individuals, business executives and others, we’ve seen just about every form of concealment, subterfuge, defensiveness and guile there is to see. If you’ve been watching presidential couples for a few decades, you’ve also seen just about every form of concealment, subterfuge, defensiveness and guile there is to see. Maybe now we’re embarking on something new and long overdue: a role model of a healthy relationship in the White House.”

And amen to that. Here’s a clip from the interview if you want to see all that, y’know, looking:

Watch CBS Videos Online

And here were some of the most interesting observations on the HuffPo comments board:

“I think the solid relationship between them contributes a great deal to the President-elect’s famous calm and even temperament. It’s a lot easier to forgive insults and move on (Lieberman & and all the rest) when your life is filled with strong, authentic love. It keeps everything else in perspective. It lets you approach everything from a position of strength and confidence. I have often thought in the past about how personally lonely and bereft some politicians seemed to be (Nixon comes to mind, as does HRC) and wondered how much that affected their public personalities.” – myjazzyhands

“There is no doubt that the two share a special chemistry and relationship that will do wonders for americans. We have had years of polarization, anger and resentments towards each other as a people. And it’s considered cool to put down your spouse and show disrespect to them… The people of this country are tired of being afraid, depressed and angry. And the fact that the Obamas respect and love each other and are not afraid to show it to the world is another layer of the tone and thinking and mood changing.” – lafrance

“One thing that makes me feel hopeful for women’s rights is that Obama sees his wife as his peer, as another human being. I don’t think he would ever deny that she is capable of making her own choices about her body and her life. To many men, their wives are all women, and all women can generally expect to be treated the way a man treats his wife and daughters. If this holds true, the women of America are in for one of the best four year spans in their history.” – Anpan

“Barack won over lots of hearts because he is a good listener and is actually interested in what people have to say. It begins at home and is a great quality for a parent to have as well as a husband.” – roshni

“One thing I noticed this fall – Barack Obama consistently looked supporters in the eye as he shook their hands during the campaign. People would post about it as well, so I know it was not my imagination! Contrast that to film clips of Palin working the rope, and you’ll see that she had this kind of frantic look about her – no looking at people’s eyes, simply looking for those open doors that she could plow through…” – sonomarc

“The famous “terrorist fist jab” pic said it all to me. The instant I saw it, I thought “that’s how I want a woman to look at me.” Well, actually the thought that ran through my head was “that dude’s SO getting laid tonight,” but it amounts to the same thing. That’s not a look at, that’s a look right through. Lucky man.” – ElBruce

“Oh God I want to be in this family. I’m 32 years old and I’ve never wished my family life was different; one learns to accept what one has. But the more I see this family, the more it hurts. I wish I was Malia or Sasha. I can’t believe I envy a 6-year-old. Deeply. — just another black girl from a broken home.” - karinova

“I am a white guy from the Bronx and I feel the same as you. Maybe they will adopt us?” – Ed Shapiro

All of the photos above were taken by Callie Shell. As was this one, which I just love, but which didn’t make it into TIME’s gallery:

You can see more of Shell’s brilliant photographs from the campaign trail here (note: keep clicking ‘Show more images’). In fact, it’s better than the TIME gallery because the pictures are larger, and include fascinating insights from Shell. There are also no supreeemely irritating ads.

(With Michelle’s mother, watching the results come in)