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Tens of thousands of people came on Monday in this capital on the eve of the swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th president, while the country paid tribute to the assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.


Obama sought to honor Reverend King through voluntary service to others.


"Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be united as one people, in the same place where the dream of Dr. King still resonates," Obama said in a statement.


Obama showed his interest in bipartisan cooperation, which takes office when needed. One night before becoming president dined with his vice president, Joe Biden, and two prominent Republicans: former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Senator John McCain, the man he defeated last November in the presidential election.


Obama praised McCain during the meeting and asked for help to "make the dinner not only a bipartisan tradition in the presidential sworn, but a new way of dealing with the affairs of the people in this city."


Meanwhile, in his last days in the White House, President George W. Bush made telephone calls to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other world leaders to thank them for their assistance in the course of his eight years as president.


On the streets, big screens showing live broadcasts of television stations, attracting crowds of onlookers.


"Today, we celebrate the life of a preacher who, for over 45 years, shared in the shadow of Lincoln's dream of our nation," Obama said in his statement.


The life of King, the president-elect said, "was a life in the service of others with love."


On Sunday, after a celebration in the shadow of the monument to Abraham Lincoln _quien strongly opposed slavery in the Unidos_, Obama molded his last days as president-elect on the King, another giant figure in the history of the country.


The festivities began a day earlier with a journey by train from Philadelphia to Washington since Obama, following the route that took Lincoln in 1861, shortly before a civil war.


Obama said on Sunday that will take "more than a year to resolve the economic challenges and other challenges facing the country, but also sought to give a message of encouragement before thousands of jubilant people at a concert, emphasizing that" everything is possible in the United States. "


The former senator of 47 years will assume the presidency at noon on Tuesday at a time of economic crisis in the nation and two wars abroad. But the difficulties became the background for many who came in hopes of witnessing a moment that will change the country's history, takes up the post the first black president since its founding.


"I am so happy to live to see this wonderful event," said Betty Bryant, 70, who traveled in a rented bus from Augusta, Georgia, and stood in front of the Capitol to the ice pit. Bryant had planned to get up at 3:00 am on Tuesday to reach a place where they perform the swearing.


Uniformed soldiers patrolling the streets of Washington, in anticipation of the large deployment to monitor the swearing, the inaugural speech, parade and other celebrations. The authorities have reviewed suspicious packages and vehicles, and it seems everything is in order, said Richard Kolko, a spokesman for the FBI. "The city and people seem to have a good disposition and good spirits," he said. "Security is going well, that is what the whole plan."


Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was ordered not to participate in the festivities of the swearing on Tuesday, "to ensure continuity of government," said Dana Perino, spokeswoman for Bush.


Gates will continue in office by a decision of Obama, and is one of the people in line in presidential succession. It is normal that one of the officials of a new government to stay on the sidelines of ceremonies in the event of a calamitous attack.


Meanwhile, in the structures built for the occasion musicians Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman made his essay for presentation at the ceremony.

On Tuesday morning, first lady Laura Bush greet Michelle Obama and his wife on the porch of the White House and lead a brief visit. When Obama returned in the afternoon will have become president, Bush will be on the way to his retirement in Texas, and a group of trucks will take the belongings of a family while the other comes from the other.

On Monday morning, Obama visited the Walter Reed hospital in the armed forces to greet soldiers wounded in combat. The visit was not announced previously.

Then participated in a community redevelopment project in the Sasha Bruce House shelter for homeless adolescents, where he began to paint the walls with a roller and helped volunteers.

"We can not let anyone down," he said. "Everyone has to participate."

The elected vice president, Joe Biden, also participated in voluntary service, and his wife, Jill, and Michelle Obama.

Monday marks the U.S. at the federal level the 80 years of the birth of King, who preached peaceful resistance and equality among races.

Many believe that King paved the way for advancing to the Obama presidency. Others disagree with that assertion, and argue that Obama was never linked to the movement for civil rights in this country.