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Large crowds thronged to the capital Monday on
the eve of Barack Obama's elevation to the presidency as America
honored slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The
president-elect appealed to the nation he is soon to lead to honor
King's memory through service to others.
      

"Tomorrow, we will come together as one people on the same mall
where Dr. King's dream echoes still," Obama said in a statement.
      

A day away from becoming the nation's 44th president, Obama made
an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit
with troops injured in battle.
      

And with just a day left of his term, President George W. Bush
made calls from the White House to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin and other world leaders to thank them for their work with him
over the last eight years. Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
meanwhile, was designated by the Bush administration to stay away
from Tuesday's inaugural festivities "in order to ensure
continuity of government," said Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino.
      

One official traditionally stays away when others in the line of
presidential succession are gathered together, in case of some kind
of calamitous attack.
      

On the streets, live news broadcasts displayed on large-screen
televisions attracted swarms of onlookers, and behind the scenes
people made final preparations for a slew of parties, balls and
other celebrations that will follow Obama's oath-taking and the
inaugural parade.
      

Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, fresh off a rollicking
concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, planned to spend their
final day before the inauguration with activities keyed to the
celebration of King's life, cut short by an assassin's bullet in
1968.
      

The Obama and Biden families were part of a community renovation
project in honor of King on the federal holiday established in his
memory.
      

"Today, we celebrate the life of a preacher who, more than 45
years ago, stood on our national mall in the shadow of Lincoln and
shared his dream for our nation. His was a vision that all
Americans might share the freedom to make of our lives what we
will; that our children might climb higher than we would," Obama
said in his statement.
      

Obama said King's "was a life lived in loving service to
others."
      

"As we honor that legacy, it's not a day just to pause and
reflect - it's a day to act," Obama said. "I ask the American
people to turn today's efforts into an ongoing commitment to
enriching the lives of others in their communities, their cities,
and their country."
      

"As we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this
nation, let's remember King's lesson - that our separate dreams are
really one," Obama said.
      

Meanwhile, two wreaths were erected around the future site of
the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the tidal basin between
the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Groups of school
children gathered around retired school teacher Kirk Moses as he
talked about King's legacy of nonviolence and the civil rights
leader's connection to Obama.
      

"The cadence and syntax of Obama, it comes directly from Dr.
King," said Moses, 60, as his group took pictures of the bronze
plaque that sits where the memorial will be built.
      

"He's such an important figure it's important that children
understand the connections from then up until today," Moses said.
      

The run-up to Obama's inauguration, like his election itself,
has been defined by enormous public enthusiasm, carefully
choreographed events and a lofty spirit of unity. What awaits, as
Obama often reminds the nation, is many months, if not years, of
tough work.
      

The weekend celebrations began Saturday with Obama's
whistle-stop tour, from Philadelphia to Washington, along the path
Abraham Lincoln took in 1861. Then came that roaring
celebrity-filled concert where several hundred thousand people
flanked the reflecting pool, hearing actors, singers and then Obama
himself rally for national renewal.
      


The Presidential Inaugural Committee has launched a Web site,
USAService.org, to help people find volunteer opportunities close
to their homes.
      


"I am asking you to make a lasting commitment to make better
the lives of your fellow Americans - a commitment that must endure
beyond one day, or even one presidency," Obama said in a YouTube
appeal last week. "At this moment of great challenge and great
change, I am asking you to play your part; to roll up your sleeves
and join in the work of remaking this nation."
      

The president-elect has a busy Monday evening, too.
      


He is to attend three private dinners to honor the public
service of former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Biden, a
longtime senator from Delaware; and Sen. John McCain, the 2008
Republican presidential nominee. Those dinners will be held at the
Hilton Washington, National Building Museum and Union Station.
      

Michelle Obama, the future first lady, is hosting a children's
evening concert.
      

At the Capitol on Monday morning, groups of tourists wandered
around the barricades to take pictures of the viewing stands and
the monuments and buildings. A few even stood and watched NFL
highlights that were being shown on the big-screen TV at the
Capitol.
      

Three teachers from Baltimore said they decided to come out to
the Capitol to scope out their routes in and out for the
inauguration ceremony.
      

"Seems like they've planed it out pretty well," said Gary
Campbell, 29, of Baltimore as his group looked at the viewing stand
from across the Capitol reflecting pool. Their school, Baltimore
Freedom Academy, and the Homeland Security Academy planned to send
four busloads of children to the National Mall to watch the
inauguration ceremony.
      


Being from Baltimore the three were decked out in cold-weather
gear and said they planned on wearing thermal coats, hats and
scarves for the long wait on the Mall Tuesday.
      

"We knew to come prepared," said Maddy Ahearn, 24.
      

Runner Kim Person stopped in front of the Capitol to snap a few
quick pictures of the reviewing stand during a break in her
marathon training. Person doesn't have a ticket to the festivities,
so she used the early morning lull to get close to the building.
      


"That's why I'm looking at it today, because I won't be able to
see it tomorrow," said Person, 43, who plans to be near the
Washington Monument on Tuesday.
      

Jesse Holland and Charles Babington in Washington
contributed to this report.
      
      

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Large crowds thronged to the capital Monday on
the eve of Barack Obama's elevation to the presidency as America
honored slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The
president-elect appealed to the nation he is soon to lead to honor
King's memory through service to others.

Obama visits with troops, honors King on holiday

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