WASHINGTON — As massive crowds swarmed the National Mall on Tuesday to witness Barack Obama's inauguration as president, the man at the center of the maelstrom began the day quietly and reverently, at a church service across the street from the White House.
Obama and his family attended a private service at St. John's Episcopal Church, a tradition for those about to become president. The family of Vice President-elect Joe Biden also attended.
The Obamas waved to bystanders, then entered the church to applause from about 200 people. The choir and congregation began singing the hymn, "O God Our Help in Ages Past."
Barack and Michelle Obama, and Joe and Jill Biden, were scheduled to have coffee at the White House with President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and their wives. Then they would travel the short distance to the Capitol for Obama's history-making moment.
Throughout the day, Obama showed no hints of nervousness about becoming president within hours.
"I don't sweat," he told volunteers at Sasha Bruce House, a shelter for homeless teens in one of Washington's poorer neighborhoods. "You ever see me sweat?"
All day, he switched easily from self-deprecation to faux cockiness to calls for action.
"Make sure I do something simple," he told Sasha Bruce organizers. "Don't give me plumbing or electrical work."
As he painted a wall with a roller brush, he quoted King as saying, "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve."
"Right?" he asked the late civil rights leader's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, who was almost overlooked while painting nearby.
"Right," King assured the president-elect.
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