Neuharth-Keusch watched from the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the history of news located on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The image on the television screen flashed from the National Mall to my right, to the Capitol just behind me, to Barack Obama’s elementary school in Indonesia, to his father’s hometown in Kenya.

All the faces I could see — those around me and those on the screen — looked identical. Black, white, old, young: all gazed toward the image of the man on the podium with awe. As Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, it seemed like he was already bringing the world together.

Newseum VIPs flowed into the building’s boardroom beginning at 8 a.m., many commenting on the unprecedented amount of security. Several ticket-holders to the swearing-in ceremony said they got caught in lines so long that they would have missed the entire presentation if they had waited. Still, they said, for this, the hassle was worth it.

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the boardroom provided me with a bird’s-eye view of what was taking place. The Capitol was less than half a mile away in a perfect line of sight. People filled every inch of the sidewalks along both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. The sheer energy that emanated from when Obama took the stage was moving and unavoidable.

The atmosphere was calm and reverent. Ben Bradlee, editor of The Washington Post during the Watergate scandal, sat less than 10 feet from me, bearing witness to Obama’s inauguration.

The Newseum served as the hub of inaugural news coverage. I overheard one woman in front of me in the stairwell talking about what her friend “Rahm” told her to say about the speech. She was headed to CNN’s broadcast station, making a clear reference to Rahm Emmanuel, Obama’s chief of staff.

It was quite an experience to watch ABC News reporting live on television, knowing they were broadcasting from the third floor of the same building I sat in. The view directly behind me was what was being broadcasted.

Fox News was stationed close to the boardroom balcony, and CNN broadcasted from an enormous tent on the Newseum’s roof directly above the ninth floor.

With binoculars, I could just see Obama speaking. While the podium was visible, it was difficult to identify any individuals in the mass of people.

The boardroom was reserved for VIPs, but the Newseum itself and its several theaters were open to members of the public who had pre-purchased tickets for Inauguration Day. The doors opened at 10 a.m., and almost immediately people were staking out their spots in front of the 40-by-22 foot television screen in the atrium or by the many windows facing Pennsylvania Avenue.

People sat on the floor or on lawn chairs. Children climbed on shoulders to get a good view, and 10,000 people stared fixedly at the same point.

During the Inaugural Address, the majority of the people surrounding me had tears in their eyes. After two standing ovations and several intermittent rounds of applause, the entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Every word spoken by Obama was clearly taken to heart; one could not help but feel inspired. In the midst of the vigorous energy that filled D.C., Obama’s cool confidence radiated from the podium.

A few people came up to me congratulating me and telling me that I did it; that my generation — our generation — was responsible for this moment.

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View all of The Sun's inauguration coverage.