Rep. Castro: President Obama's inaugural speech will 'uplift the American spirit'

On Monday, an estimated 800,000 people are expected to gather on the National Mall to witness the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. It will be President Obama's second time taking the oath in 24 hours and his fourth time as president. Early yesterday the president made good on a constitutional requirement, that he be sworn in on January 20th. Vice President Joe Biden also made good on that promise when he was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor made history as the first Latina to swear in a Vice President. This morning, freshman Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) joins “Starting Point” to discuss the inaugural plans.

As the masses wait to hear the president’s inaugural address, Castro says it should be “inspirational and also aspirational. It will map out not too specifically but I think in broad strokes where the president intends to take the nation in the next for years.”

He adds, “I would expect him to talk about some of the hot button issues of the day whether it’s gun safety, immigration reform, of course dealing with our fiscal situation – all of those I think he’ll touch upon but also do it in a way that uplifts the American spirit.” On whether or not those very issues with the addition of several more can all be tackled in the president’s second term Castro says, “I think we will be able to do most if not all of those things and certainly attempt to do all of them.” He adds, “All of them are important issues. I think all of them are things the president cares deeply about that many members of Congress care deeply about. But most importantly they’re things the American people care deeply about so with that momentum going forward, we’ll try to tackle them.”