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Obama Arrives in Washington

By Erin Mendell, Newser User

Posted Jan 17, 2009 6:30 PM CST

(Newser) – Barack Obama rolled into Washington tonight on the last stop of his historic whistlestop train journey, the Washington Post reports. Obama retraced the path of Abraham Lincoln and called for a "new declaration of independence" for the nation. To see photos of the trip—which Joe Biden joined in Wilmington, Del.—click on Slideshow. To read more about it, click on the links.

“While our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not,” Obama said in Philadelphia. “What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed. What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives—from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry—an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.”

[Images (29)]

[Videos (1)]

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell holds a book about Abraham Lincoln at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station before Barack Obama arrives today. Sens. Bob Casey and Arlen Specter look on. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Malik Phillip, 9, left, and Aja Dye, 8, wait for the arrival of President-elect Barack Obama outside the Wilmington train station. (AP Photo)

Crowds wait for the arrival of President-elect Barack Obama outside the Wilmington train station. (AP Photo)

Barack Obama gets a hug from Patricia Stiles, who introduced him, at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Barack Obama, with his wife, Michelle, shakes hands upon his arrival, as his daughter Malia Obama, 10, takes a picture at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama, with wife Michelle, steps on stage as Patricia Stiles from Parker, Colo., right, applauds at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama kisses his daughter Sasha, 7, before speaking at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Malia Obama, and her sister, Sasha, lead their father, President-elect Barack Obama and others to their Amtrak train at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Barack Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, right, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, greets Amtrak conductor Noel Powell at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. (AP Photo)

Barack Obama looks out from the back of a train at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. (AP Photo)

Barack Obama greets greets Joe Biden at the train station in Willmington, Del. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama walks out of the rail car to greet Vice President-elect Joe Biden at the train station in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama hugs Michelle after speaking at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama greets the crowd in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Barack Obama, with Michelle and the Bidens, speaks in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Crowds line the route to see Barack Obama during his train trip at the Claymont Station en route to Claymont, Del. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama, far right, waves from the back of a train to the waiting crowd at the Claymont Amtrak rail station as it moves through Claymont, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Joe Biden greets Barack Obama during a rally in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Barack Obama greets the crowd during a stop in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Barack Obama shakes hands in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Joe Biden waves during the second slow roll near the Edgewood, Md. train station, as he, his wife, Barack Obama, and his wife travel by train on the way to Washington Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Pool, Chang W. Lee)

Michelle Obama stands with Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and his his wife Jill Biden as they wave at War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Barack Obama speaks at War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama rally the crowd during a stop at War Memorial Plaza on their inaugural train tour in Baltimore, Md., Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Barack Obama, followed by daughter Malia, waves as he arrives at Amtrak's Union Station in Washington, Saturday evening, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Joe Biden and Barack Obama arrive at Amtrak's Union Station in Washington, the last stop of an inaugural train trip, Saturday evening, Jan. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on the train. (AP Photo/Pool, Chang W. Lee)

Laterra Hopkins of Washington is overcome with emotion as she listens to Barack Obama speak at a stop on his inaugural train tour in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Laura McEnafey, left, of Chicago, high-fives Niki Ross, of Dayton, Ohio, near the Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Barack Obama speaks in Philadelpia. (YouTube)

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