Seventy-five days and counting -- to "game day," as the military planners call it. Inauguration Day to the rest of us.

It is not a lot of time until Jan. 20, the day Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the nation's first black president.

The congressional committee in charge of the swearing-in announced yesterday that the inaugural theme will come from stirring words spoken by Abraham Lincoln and be linked to the 200th anniversary of his birth next year.

"A New Birth of Freedom," words taken from the Gettysburg Address, will be woven throughout the inaugural ceremonies and will commemorate the Feb. 12, 2009, Lincoln Bicentennial.