Former Presidents
Jimmy Carter,
George H.W. Bush,
Bill Clinton and
George W. Bush and former Vice Presidents
Walter Mondale,
Dan Quayle,
Al Gore and
Dick Cheney, along with their respective wives, attended the inauguration, including
Hillary Clinton, who had been Obama's main opponent in the Democratic primaries (Clinton was attending as a former
First Lady, not as the losing candidate.
[174][175]) Cheney was in a
wheelchair because of an injury that he suffered while moving boxes.
[175][176]
Congressman
John Lewis, the only living speaker from the historic 1963 rally at the
March on Washington, was present on the stage during the inauguration.
[177] More than 180 of the
Tuskegee Airmen attended as invited guests for the inauguration.
[178][179] The five-person crew of
US Airways Flight 1549 attended the swearing-in ceremony, including
Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who
landed the aircraft in the
Hudson River near
Manhattan after losing both engines due to a
bird strike just after departing
LaGuardia Airport.
[180]
Eighty-seven-year-old
Sarah Obama led a group of Obama's
Kenyan relatives from his father's home village of
Kogelo.
[181] Other relatives who traveled from Kenya as guests included Obama's aunt, Maggie Obama, his uncle,
Sayid Obama, as well as his half-brother
Malik Obama.
[181][182] Also, Kenya youth activist and Chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr Africa Foundation, Mwangi Mukami, attended the Inaugural events.
[183] Mwangi Mukami had served as Chair of the
Obama Worldwide Supporters Campaign though it was unrelated to the official campaign. Joe Biden's son,
Beau,
Attorney General for the state of Delaware and an officer and
Judge Advocate in the
Delaware Army National Guard, received a special furlough from serving in
Iraq to participate in the ceremonies.
[184]
Celebrity guests included the actors
Dustin Hoffman,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Tom Hanks and
Denzel Washington, talk show host
Oprah Winfrey, singer
Beyoncé Knowles, director
Steven Spielberg, boxer
Muhammad Ali, and golfer
Tiger Woods.
[174][185]