Virginia lawmakers watch Obama's inauguration in chambers

By LARRY O'DELL and STEVE SZKOTAK

RICHMOND

Many Virginia legislators meeting in the former Confederate capital stood at their desks Tuesday and attentively watched the coverage on big-screen televisions as Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's first black president.

Lawmakers from both political parties applauded when Obama completed the oath of office, and Democrats in the House chamber quietly hugged one another before settling in to listen to Obama's inaugural address.

The Senate and the House of Delegates both moved up their usual noon floor sessions so members could watch the historic event. About one-fourth of the 139 legislators watched in the chambers while the others went to their offices or elsewhere. Some lobbyists and visitors watched in committee meeting rooms.

Legislative rules allow lawmakers to be absent for unspecified "pressing personal business," and presumably at least some of the 18 who did so attended the inauguration. When Del. Clifford L. Athey Jr., a staunch Republican from Warren County, was reported absent, Speaker William Howell joked, "We've always had suspicions about him."

But the overall tone for the day was almost reverential, as legislators took note of the day's historic significance in brief floor speeches.

Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, recalled seeing separate restrooms and drinking fountains for whites and blacks in a major department store in Washington, D.C. when he grew up in the 1940s an 1950s. Had anyone then predicted that a black person would be elected president within 60 years, he said, "nobody would believe it under any set of circumstances."

In the House, Del. Algie T. Howell Jr., D-Norfolk, stressed that the Obama presidency was more than a "black election."

"Without the white support in this country he would not have been elected president. I want to thank all of you for all you have done," said Howell, who is black.

Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William, paid homage to the Virginia participants in the inaugural parade: the Hampton University band, the Army JROTC from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria and the Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets, which includes his son.

"I take great pride that once again the entire Corps of Cadets of Virginia Military Institute will march in the parade," Lingamfelter said.

This inaugural, their 13th overall, marked a century since VMI cadets first marched in an inaugural parade.

The House adjourned in honor of outgoing President George W. Bush and his successor.