Official: Turnout Above 800K, Maybe 1M.

[elleng]

Source: nyt.ap

An inauguration planning official says turnout was "definitely above 800,000" and possibly up to one million people.

Chris Geldart, who directs the District of Columbia's homeland security and emergency management agency, says early and unofficial estimates of the number of people on the National Mall indicate a turnout higher than 800,000. That's based on aerial views of how the crowd filled sections of the mall.

Officials initially anticipated as many as 800,000 visitors, but lowered the projections to 500,000 to 700,000.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/01/21/us/politics/ap-us-inauguration-turnout.html?hp

[TomCADem]

1. President Obama's First Inaurgeration Set A Record 1.8 Million...

...so it is bit odd that folks are focusing on this crowd being smaller. Heck, the second largest crowd was Lyndon Johnson's 1.2 million, so President Obama's inaugeration is still far up there. By comparison, Dubya's crowds never exceeded 500,000.

[elleng]

3. Folks HAD focused when projections were going down,

but now, I'm sure, some will continue to bemoan 'smaller,' and many of us will just applaud (in amazement) that so many went out in the cold!

[judesedit]

7. Where would they put another million people? They are guessing anyway.

[elleng]

17. In the Tidal Basin? Potomac River???

[Permanut]

2. Another historic moment..

something for the young ones to tell their grandkids about.

[FailureToCommunicate]

4. E pluribus unum

the exact numbers matters little

[Trailrider1951]

5. That was today???

Sorry, I was trapped in my cubicle and couldn't get out......Holy Shit! Dear God..........

[FailureToCommunicate]

6. No, not really. THIS was today:

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/iTtBnwDh1EWPh2nWGC1HlQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MjAyOTtjcj0xO2N3PTMxMDA7ZHg9MDtkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTQxMztxPTg1O3c9NjMw/

the other was four years ago.

(you may want to catch some of the 'highlights' on links elsewhere on DU threads...)

[JoeyT]

8. Wouldn't that work out to .3% of the country?

That's pretty staggering. Especially given how spread out the US population is.

[dotymed]

9. Can you imagine

that many people (or more) taking to their streets in the areas where they live? IF this happened,we the people, could successfully protest the MANY complaints that we have. Getting money out of politics and fill in the blank_______________________________.
People power, whether to celebrate or protest is our greatest weapon.
I do not intend to rain on this parade but honestly, Americans have very many legitimate complaints that need to be resolved. Occupying their local commons in huge numbers, would make it very hard to ignore.
Hopefully, the Occupy movement will succeed in doing this, with specific complaints and solutions presented...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. I think it was 1 million. I was watching the parade from the rooftop of one of my colleagues. That

crowd looked to be 1 million.

[livetohike]

11. That must have been great! n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

12. It was stunning!!! :)

[livetohike]

13. My niece was there and even had tickets for the ball

She graduated from GWU in 2011 and has a friend who works on the Hill. I am patiently waiting for her to post some pics on FB.

I hope you just soaked in every second of your experience!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. I did. I am very lucky, as is your niece. I hope you get to see pics soon.

We're all very lucky to have a president and vice president serving us.

[IDemo]

15. RW news and commentary sites will likely adjust that to "several thousand"

[jpak]

16. but...but...but... FAUX News sed turnout was lower this time

never mind

[SunSeeker]

18. The news said the number had to be close to 1M since they had to shut off the mall due to crowding.

I was either watching CNN or MSNBC (I kept switching between the two) but I distinctly recall one of the announcers saying the National Mall was closed to further visitors at around 11 am due to overcrowding, and that the numbers therefore had to be close to 1M.

[elleng]

19. Don't know how they'd 'close' the Mall, but

if this were so, suggests MORE than for PrezO's first inaugural!

[SunSeeker]

20. I don't see how they could either, other than diverting people as they came up the side streets. nt

[marions ghost]

21. The access points were limited from the outset

The whole mall was fenced off and there was no vehicular traffic for several streets around--the only traffic on these streets was security and the motorcades. Nearby train stations were closed. Buses were used to block every intersection. On the Mall itself, inside the fences and guards, Mall was lined with phalanxes of hundreds of bumper to bumper porto-potties (adding another layer of protection!) Of course there was a lot of rooftop surveillance. Had to pass through a checkpoint (no backpacks allowed).

The Mall was Closed during the proceedings.

[SunSeeker]

22. Wow. Thanks for the info. nt

[ET Awful]

23. Contrast that with the 2005 inauguration

Notice that with a photo from behind the President, there are vast areas of empty space between him and the Washington Monument . . .