How many people are expected to crowd the National Mall?
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The millions expected to stomp on the National Mall for Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday will be called to help restore the national treasure beneath their feet, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said Saturday. “President-elect Obama believes that the National Mall belongs to every American, and that each of us can play a role in helping restore and preserve it for future generations,” PIC Communications Director Josh Earnest said in a statement. “We are delighted that the Presidential Inaugural Committee feels as strongly as we do about the need to repair, restore and improve the National Mall,” said Chip Akridge, Chairman of the Trust for the National Mall, the sprawling grassy esplanade between the Capitol, where Obama will be sworn in, and the Washington Monument. A 30-second public service announcement on restoring the Mall will be broadcast on jumbo screens along the Mall during inaugural festivities leading up to the inauguration ceremony “to help raise
