On this near-freezing day, the usual business of Washington came to a standstill, at least publicly. There was none of the buzz of Senate confirmation hearings, of parsing words on Social Security, of divisions between parties and ideologies. Instead, there was the carefully choreographed inauguration, timed to the minute, and order in the 100 blocks of Washington that had been blocked off to traffic for the swearing in and the daylong pomp that accompanied it.
On hand were 7,000 members of the armed forces, 6,000 federal, state and local enforcement personnel to protect and guard the president and his entourage.
The secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, said the security was "at the highest levels of any inauguration," CNN reported.
The tightened security set the background for a day of pageantry, lending it at times an air of tension and suspense. In the afternoon, the President and Mrs. Laura Bush led a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, riding in a black limousine with tinted windows. At one point, their motorcade speeded up suddenly, with Secret Service agents walking alongside it breaking into a run for several yards, before slowing down again after rounding a corner. News agencies reported that, according to law enforcement officials, someone had thrown "a large piece of fruit" at the motorcade and security personnel acted out of caution, slowing down again when the danger seemed to pass.
The president and his wife disembarked from their limousine near the end of the route, emerging to walk the last block and a half, waving to cheering crowds.
With law enforcement officials present from as far away as Washington State, protestors still made their presence known, some more quietly than others.
By midafternoon, at least one person had been arrested in a scuffle with police. Lt. John Crawford, of Alexandria, Va., who was helping out public affairs in the D.C. metropolitan police, said that a skirmish between protesters and police at a security checkpoint at Seventh and D Streets resulted in one arrest.
He said that a group of protesters rushed the checkpoint, there was a scuffle, and an officer used pepper spray. He did not know how many protesters were involved or how many officers were on the scene. He said one officer was slightly injured with minor bruises during the scuffle.
Hundreds of thousands were expected to watch the all-day ceremonies, and many more on television, beginning with a church service attended by the Bush family at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. But from the early morning hours, it was clear that the high level of security slowed down the arrival of many people, and perhaps kept some of them away, combined with the cold weather.
There were sharpshooters on building tops, police on horses, security airplanes overhead, strict checkpoints where people had to go through metal detectors and in some places, wall to wall officers that kept any protestors at bay. The White House was ringed with black anti-riot fences and dump trucks blocked key access points. But throughout the day, while the president's supporters dominated the scene, there were constant cries of boo and signs of protests of a president elected with 51 percent of the vote.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, as dignitaries were making their way to their seats, an image of Senator John Kerry, who ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Bush, flashed on a jumbotron TV screen. His appearance drew applause and boos from the crowd. When the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, was shown on the screen, his image drew much applause.
During the president's inaugural address, after he received the oath of office just before noon, Mr. Bush talked about 9/11 as "a day of fire" that changed America irrevocably.
"My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further attacks and emerging threats," he said. "Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm."
Near the end of his address, protesters could be heard in the background, while his supporters tried to drown them out, but both could be heard to television audiences.