Michigan lawmakers await president's inauguration speech - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(01/21/13) - It's Inauguration Day in Washington, DC.  Just before noon, President Barack Obama will take the oath of office for a second term on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building. 

Sixteen hundred of the president's closest friends - including all the senators and congressmen - will be sitting on the stage behind the president.  ABC12 caught up with Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman Dan Kildee, and we asked them what they hope to hear from the president's speech.  The theme is "Faith in America's Future."

"He was elected four years ago on a message of hope and optimism. In the past few years, he's continued to embody that hope. But what I'm looking for, and what I think what the American people are looking for, is where we go from here. What's the plan going forward? This is his opportunity to lay out that broad vision. When he comes back to Congress in a  few weeks and gives his State of the Union, I think he'll get more specific.  I think what we're looking for is what is the direction we want to take this country?" Kildee said.

"I want very much to hear him say he's going to focus on jobs and advanced manufacturing.  Obviously, we have to tackle the deficit in balanced way by continuing to cut spending that doesn't make sense.  But we also don't get out of debt with 12 million people out of work in our country.  So we have to keep focused on jobs," Stabenow said.

Eight-hundred thousand people are expected to attend Monday's inauguration.