Barrack Obama has arrived in Washington with his family, ahead of his inauguration as US president on January 20. Flying in from Chicago the President-elect said he had a lump in his throat on leaving his home state. He was due to meet congressional leaders to discuss a multi-billion dollar stimulus package for the US economy. Obama says he wants the plan to create around three million jobs by 2011.

Obama and his wife and two daughters will stay in the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington DC for the next two weeks before his swearing in. Built in 1928, the luxury venue overlooks the White House.

But Obama’s quest for a smooth transition has hit the buffers. He has suffered his first cabinet casualty after Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, quit as his nominee for commerce secretary in the face of a pending legal inquiry.

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