During a short segment on Wednesday’s American Morning, CNN anchor John Roberts responded to the excited demeanor of the crowds attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration by labeling the festivity “Barack-stock.” Earlier in the segment, correspondent Carol Costello dubbed it “a gigantic love fest” after she stated how there were no serious incidents or arrests involving the approximately 1.5 million people in attendance for the inauguration.
The three-minute segment, which began 20 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour of the CNN program, focused on the reactions of those in attendance on the National Mall for the swearing-in of President Obama. After giving her “gigantic love fest” label, Costello gave a gushing account about what it was like to be in the middle of the crowd there: “Suddenly, someone would just come up and hug you. It was just amazing. It was -- it was like you were standing in the middle of these strangers, and all of a sudden, you had a million friends around you. That’s what it felt like yesterday.”
Once she played some clips of some of the interviews she took from people on the Mall, Costello commented on how easy it was for her to find people to appear on camera. Roberts responded with his “Barack-stock” label:
COSTELLO: You know, usually, you have a little bit of a problem getting people to agree to be on television, but not yesterday. People were begging to be on TV. They wanted their thoughts recorded. They were very much aware that history was being made, and they wanted to be a part of it in whatever way they could.
JOHN ROBERTS: It really was ‘Barack-stock’ -- peace, love, and history.
COSTELLO: It really was.
Earlier in the week, ABC’s Diane Sawyer referred to a pre-inauguration concert as “Obama-stock” as a graphic proclaimed “Inauguration of Barack Obama: The American Pilgrimage.”
