Andrea Bernstein

Screen-shot from CBS news

Gov. David Paterson has picked Democratic U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York's vacant U.S. Senate seat. At the press conference announcing the governor's pick, take a look at who's right next to ...

Follow Takeaway Political Director Andrea Bernstein to her prime, second-row seat at the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, in Washington, D.C. Download the video

Now safely inside and thawed (minus about seven layers of clothing) I’ve been listening to NPR, where the consensus seems to be that the speech was dark. But I found it strangely hope...

Countless hours to arrive in Washington, six hours in sub-freezing temperatures, and some folks with tickets couldn’t even get in after the blue gate was shut down. Then it was a two-...

Now safely inside and thawed (minus about seven layers of clothing) I've been listening to NPR, where the consensus seems to be that the speech was dark. But I found it strangely hopeful. After all, the revolutionary warriors made it through the icy waters, the soldiers whispering from Arlington are ...

Countless hours to arrive in Washington, six hours in sub-freezing temperatures, and some folks with tickets couldn't even get in after the blue gate was shut down. Then it was a two-hour line just to get in to the Capital South metro station. Did it matter? Nope. A family from ...

Barack Obama is now the President of the United States of America. We hear reactions to the speech and the transition from people in New York City...and from around the world. First, we check in with WNYC's Andrea Bernstein, Todd Zwillick from Capitol News Connection and The Takeaway, and Siddhartha ...

People gather during the inauguration of Barack Obama. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

 

Andrea Bernstein comments as the ceremony begins:

Simple, elegant, a call to service. We may not know ...

The Brian Lehrer Show’s special coverage of the presidential inauguration.

Two rows from the band, which is right in front of the podium. Dressed in four layers, rode a (full) metro at 4:30 a.m. By 4:45 a.m. the mall was filling with a crowd that just wanted...

The Takeaway's Andrea Bernstein is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. right now waiting and waiting. She joins us for a report on what she's seeing, who she is meeting, and what...

As the nation prepares for the inauguration, the excited attendees are already streaming onto the National Mall. The Takeaway's Andrea Bernstein is there to report on the mood of thos...

It’s getting crowded now in DC. The Metro is beginning to fill, and downtown streets are in gridlock. But who cares? Everyone is talking to everyone else: families, tourists, military...

Andrea Bernstein, WNYC reporter, discusses how DC is preparing for inauguration day.

(ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

 

It's getting crowded now in DC. The Metro is beginning to fill, and downtown streets are in gridlock. But who cares? Everyone is talking to everyone else: families, tourists, military people, young guys with ...

It’s out with the old in with the new. Barack Obama takes power tomorrow, along with a host of new cabinet secretaries about to be confirmed and a new Congress. Documenting the trans...

...but rather lunch with Hillary, Janet, Hilda, Kay, Bev, Jeanne and Ellen, and a supporting cast of 2000. Emily's List, the group devoted to raising money for pro-choice women's candidates for U.S. Congress, took advantage of the arriving hordes to pull together a luncheon today to celebrate its achievements.

Strangely, it seemed like a relatively normal morning boarding the 9:05 regional to Washington. There's even a free seat next to me -- for now. There's a muffled quality to the crowd, perhaps because of the softly falling snow, perhaps because of the relatively early hour (for a Sunday).

I remember the last time I did this. It was 1977, I was in Jr. High School. A friend had suggested we go to Jimmy Carter's inaugural parade.

President Jimmy Carter takes the oath of office on January 20, 1977. (National Archives)

 

We jumped on the Amtrak from 30th Street station, Philadelphia, with a crowd wearing those white hats with the red, white and blue bands, waving little flags, and periodically cheering. We'd come of age as Watergate was breaking, Carter was the first elected President since then. Everything seemed new, and possible.

 

... but rather lunch with Hillary, Janet, Hilda, Kay, Bev, Jeanne and Ellen, and a supporting cast of 2000. Emily’s List, the group devoted to raising money for pro-choice women’s can...

Andrea Bernstein, WNYC political director, reports on the Sustainable Transport award given to New York City by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy.