Coming from the AP this is pretty surprising.
Obama hosting pricey party in a dicey economy
WASHINGTON – Unemployment is up. The stock market is down. Let's party.
The price tag for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration gala is expected to break records, with some estimates reaching as high as $150 million. Despite the bleak economy, however, Democrats who called on President George W. Bush to be frugal four years ago are issuing no such demands now that an inaugural weekend of rock concerts and star-studded parties has begun. . .
In 2005, Reps. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., and Jim McDermott, D-Wash., asked Bush to show a little less pomp and be a little more circumspect at his party.
"President Roosevelt held his 1945 inaugural at the White House, making a short speech and serving guests cold chicken salad and plain pound cake," the two lawmakers wrote in a letter.
"During World War I, President Wilson did not have any parties at his 1917 inaugural, saying that such festivities would be undignified."
The thinking was that, with the nation at war, excessive celebration was inappropriate. Four years later, the nation is still at war. Unemployment has risen sharply. And Obama pressed Congress to release the second half of a $700 billion bailout package in hopes of rescuing a faltering banking industry.
Obama's inauguration committee says it is mindful of the times and is not worried people will see the four days of festivities as excessive.
"That is probably not the way the country is going to be looking at it," said committee spokeswoman Linda Douglass. "It is not a celebration of an election. It is a celebration of our common values."
Douglass said the campaign sought to keep costs down by having the same decorations at each of the 10 balls, eliminating floral arrangements and negotiating prices on food.
"Those at the Obama administration are trying to be reflective of the climate," McDermott's spokesman, Mike DeCeasar, said Saturday.
the rest here
3 comments:
"It is not a celebration of an election. It is a celebration of our common values."
Hmmm...Can I use that excuse next time I want to pass on my mortgage payment?
It's not a celebration.
It's a coronation.
It's a new country altogether. The proof is as follows:
The gathering hordes in Baltimore even had their own special flag: The Obama States of America. Have a look; I saw these on TV yesterday when I watched some of the doings in Baltimore.
I don't recall ever seeing anything like this before for a Presidential Inauguration.
Let's see here, hmm, yes, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 3 of US Code
"Any person who, within the District of Columbia, in any manner, for exhibition or display, shall place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America. . .shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both"
or
US Flag code section 176:g (g) "The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature."
Gues the rules no longer apply. There's hope and change for ya.
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