Watching the Senators being sworn in

[karynnj]

thinking how bad it is that Cheney is officiating and they have to shake his hand - hope they have some Purell with him.

(Looks like Kennedy went up with Durbin too - as he has no fellow Illinois Senator.)

[karynnj]

1. Kerry now

He hugged Kennedy afterwards

[Luftmensch067]

2. Shoot - can't believe I missed it!

What actual time was that EST, Karynnj?

[karynnj]

5. I think 12:16 pm -

[YvonneCa]

3. I watched, too. C-Span 3 had...

...the ceremonial 'photo-op' swearing in for those that wanted to have pictures with Cheney. I missed the beginning (didn't know it was on) but watched from Landrieu on.

It sort of reminded me of a 'getting your picture with Santa' type event...with Cheney being the Santa. Did anyone here watch all of it? I didn't see JK there, unless he was there before I turned it on. I can't quite see him doing a photo-op with Cheney (is there a 'cringe' smiley? ). :7

[karynnj]

4. I didn't know about that and stayed on CSPAN -2

I love your description of pictures with Santa Claus - I certainly hope that he was not interested.

[YvonneCa]

8. I know. I almost missed it, too. I can't...

...imagine JK taking the picture...unless he had a family member who wanted one. Somehow, that seems impossible to me. ;)

[MBS]

6. you can watch it in the CSPAN video library

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=283137-1

don't be scared off by the "add to cart" purchase option. ... just click on the Flash player link on the upper right. .
I'm watching it now on a Mac, and it works great. Also, you can scroll directly to the Persons of Interest. :)

[MBS]

9. here's the link for the "real" swearing in, complete with Kennedy hug

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=283130-1.
JK 's group comes in at about 16 minutes.. . you can scroll up to that part easily. Nice to see Teddy there period, not to mention the hug.

(the earlier link was for the ceremonial photography, with family, etc)

[Muttocracy]

12. this link might work too... 3 hours of House, 1 of Senate

http://c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?ProgramId=Congress-A-39980

http://c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=Congress-A-14035

[MBS]

7. why is Biden taking an oath? Hasn't he resigned yet??

[karynnj]

10. nope - and on the 9th he is leading a Senatorial delegation

to Pakistan and elsewhere with the new head of the SFRC. (and Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, and Jack Reed.)

[Muttocracy]

14. I think there were two reasons

one, wanting to make it to being sworn in a 7th time (kind of selfish, but I guess Ted Kaufman doesn't care)
two, it's much easier to organize a foreign trip as a Senator than as VP - and I don't know if a VP-elect can do much in that regard? Anyway, I think that was a piece by Ambinder that Pirhana posted on another thread about the trip.

[Luftmensch067]

11. Picture!

JK and THK look wonderful -- I love that she's holding the Bible he's swearing on! Just ignore the rest of the photo... :-)

http://www.politickerma.com/jeremyjacobs/2241/kerry-sworn-fifth-term

[karynnj]

13. So, he did have the re-enactment photo!

The Kerrys look great. I noticed on the cspan link that after the Senators were sworn in and they were milling about that Kerry spent some time speaking to Johnson who was in a wheelchair.

[MBS]

15. Jan 7 article from Globe

focus is on Teddy's return to the Senate, but it talks about his escorting JK for the swearing in

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/01/07/eager_to_work_kennedy_makes_emotional_return/

Perched behind his seat in the rear of the chamber - a coveted spot, since it is close to the doors to the Senate cloakroom, where deals are done - a relaxed Kennedy chuckled and chatted with fellow senators and staff. Except for the cane he now uses, he looked much the way he did prior to his May diagnosis.

As is tradition, Kennedy walked Massachusetts colleague Senator John Kerry down the center aisle of the chamber when Kerry was sworn in to a fifth term. With Illinois lacking a second senator yesterday, Kennedy also walked alongside his friend Senator Richard Durbin for Durbin's swearing-in.

"It was wonderful to be escorted down by him," a jubilant Kerry said after the ceremony. "It was so emotional. He really looked good. I'm fighting for him."

. . . .
Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, was one of several lawmakers who gave Kennedy a light hug - a friendly gesture Kennedy was forced to rebuff during his brief Senate visit last summer because of concerns about how cancer treatments had weakened his immunity.

Otherwise, Kennedy kept a low profile yesterday, appearing at private events for Kerry's and his son's reelections . He did not speak on the Senate floor.