talk to white house strategist david plouffe and our powerhouse roundtable, abc's george will, matthew dowdnd cokie roberts plus former michigan governor, jennifer granholm, for the democrats and former presidential candidate rick santorum for the republicans. ♪ plus, how will the inaugural set the tone for the second term? we ask the star co-chairing the president's committee. eva longoria joins us live. >>> hello again, and welcome to inauguration day. it is, in fact, today. the constitution says a president's term ends at noon on january 20th, and the official proceedings have already begun. just moments ago, vice president biden took the oath at the naval observatory. supreme court justice sonia sotomayor swearing him in and just before noon chief justice john roberts will swear in president obama, a small private ceremony at the white house in advance of tomorrow's public event. about 800,000 expected right there at the national mall tomorrow far fewer than turned out four years ago for the first inaugural for president obama even everything just about set on the capitol where the pres

i'm going to turn to matthew dowd, our consultant, who has worked on some 60 campaigns himself.isle. i've been reading the memoirs, matt, and a number of them have said these private ceremonies are often the most poignant. most about the meaning and less about the pageantry. >> well, in the last time we had a private moment like this in a second inauguration was ronald reagan, 1985 and these moments i think are one of the few types in american history we get a pomp and circumstance moment steeped with tradition, obviously a nation of laws but this is our moment most like a coronation and what happens in countries with monarchies set up where a nation of laws but a time for everybody to pause. i went walking by the white house and up the mall. you get the feel of that, even black, white, republicans, democrats, all stop today and tomorrow and say this is what our country is about. >> everybody wants to believe, everybody coming together at this moment and some ways the second inauguration, sometimes they feel a little bit like a letdown but in some ways they're even more importan

matthew dowd and donna brazile. and of course, our own cokie roberts. cokie, let me begin with you.e talked about the crowds. happy, buoyant crowds. smaller than four years ago. and it gets to the question of the challenge of second inaugurals, always tough. >> yes. the first inaugural, particularly when you had a change of party, is such a symbolic moment. turning over the reins. the helicopter comes and takes the old president away and the new president proceeds. and so, this is very different from that. but it is still a moment when everybody comes together and says, okay. this is america's day. this is not a democratic day. this is not a republican day. this is a day to celebrate the country. and i think the president will play on that. but also, on the fact that this is martin luther king day. and to have an african-american president taking the oath on martin luther king day is very significant. we're celebrating the 150th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation. we, 100 years ago, had a chief justice swear in woodrow wilson. that chief justice served in the confederate a

let me bring in matthew dowd, as well.t how much he leaned into things, didn't say gay marriage but leaned into it, didn't say immigration reform but leaned into it and didn't say equal pay for women but certainly leaned way into it and i think he's prepared himself with this speech to say, listen, we're all a country, in this together but we'll have fights among some important things. >> yes, the "national journal" tweeted gop, game on, our friends there. what do we think about that, george will. >> well, he did lay down a few markers particularly with immigration, but that may be the one place where the gop is ready to actually play ball with him. i agree it was quite striking the reference to stonewall as one of the stations of the cross where the american liberation movements represented a new advance in the presidential and national endorsement, i guess, of gay rights. there was a reprise i could have done without some of the campaign rhetoric about the rich and few and a nation of takers but beyond that it seems to m

talk to white house strategist david plouffe and our powerhouse roundtable, abc's george will, matthew dowdgranholm, for the democrats and former presidential candidate rick santorum for the republicans. ♪ plus, how will the inaugural set the tone for the second term? we ask the star co-chairing the president's committee. eva longoria joins us live.

donna brazile and matthew dowd. tthew, the unfulfilled promise of president obama bridging our national divisions and divisions here in the capital? >> these speeches, the inaugural speeches are different than the state of the union speeches. where do you define yourself in the country in the arc of history? he has to lay out a broad vision of that. it doesn't need to be long. but it needs to give people a sense of where the country is and where he broadly wants to go. >> and he'll try to keep it short. donna, special resonance, that this is martin luther king day. one of the bibles he'll use is martin luther king's bible. >> it's his dream, the vision he had for this country, of bringing people together, and sharing that brotherhood and sisterhood of love. this is going to be a very special day for those who will return to washington and those who are coming to washington for the first time to see our first biracial, african-american president. i think it's going to be a wonderful day of celebration. if dr. king wer

when we come back, much more, including colin powell, maureen dowd, and chris matthews, and a cast ofrom the dubliner. mika, they want you out here. we'll be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. make it worth watching. introducing the 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit. [ dad ] well, it's 141 million miles from the sun, so pretty far. why is it red? because its surface is made of iron oxide. why do they call it mars? well, it was named after the roman god of war. you're so smart, dad. ♪ did i ever tell you about jupiter? ♪ >>> it is my intention to curb the size and influence of the federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the federal government and those reserved to the states or to the people. [ applause ] >> all of us need to be reminded that the federal government did not create the states. the states created the federal government. >>> that was ronald reagan on january 20th, 1981. i remember watching that with my father. my dad just kept saying so much that my mom finally said