4 million (?!?) for the inauguration.

[Eraserhead]

I've been thinking about going, but I don't know if I want to be in the middle of this...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703672_pf.html

... then again, there are bound to be some hot chicks there. Decisions, decisions.

[Bacon King]

That's more than an entire percent of the country. Do it; don't pass up a chance to be a part of history.

[ucscgaldamez]

If I was close to there I would go. I'm so far away! darn it.

[Jake]

I will be making the trek for sure.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Damn if only I lived on the east coast...

[Lief 🗽]

So how does the "going to the inauguration" thing work? Does one just show up the day of? Do I need a ticket? Am I supposed to camp out for three weeks to get a good spot in the 560th or 561st row?

[angus]

Don't you have to get invited?  I guess I always thought that inaugurations were invitational events.  I remember when I was in the third grade my school's janitor got invited to Carter's inauguration.  I don't think he went, though.  And in 2001 my roommate, a nurse at MGH, got invited to Bush's inauguration.  She didn't go.  She generally impugned Bush during the entire campaign, and always cringed whenever she saw him on TV, so I wasn't surprised when she said she wasn't going.

But anyway, I think you can go if you get invited.  Something like this comes in the mail.



I've never been clear on how they choose who gets invited.  Random number generator?  Coin flip?  Maybe they always send out four or five million invitations, and maybe most times only about 25 percent of those invited actually attend, and maybe this year they're actually expecting the majority of those invited to attend.  Or maybe they don't mind crashers.  I really don't know how that works.  I know I have never been invited.

The article doesn't come out and say this, but it implies that the invitations are sent out to about a quarter of a million people.  I glean that fact from this sentence:  "The changes would not affect the 240,000 people who will get free tickets in the space closest to the swearing-in ceremony."  (The change to which the sentence refers involve opening large sections of the Mall east of the Washington Monument in order to handle larger crowds.)  Maybe the other 3 and 3/4 million are party crashers.  I really liked this line:  "...people will face much tighter security than in 1976, as well as world-class traffic problems."  Never heard those words strung together like that before, but I don't doubt it.  The phrase "monumental parking challenge" was also used in the article.

Sounds fun.

[riceowl]

why does it say "city of washington"?

[angus]

If you were going to have some nice cards printed up, wouldn't you mention where it was?  Like, on our wedding invitations that we sent to our friends and relatives years ago, we made sure to list the venue.  "...in the Aladdin Chapel in the city of Las Vegas."  Then again, I suppose there's only one Aladdin.  It's the place where Elvis and Priscilla were married in 1967.  So we could have left off the Las Vegas part and folks still might have figured it out.  Similarly, I suppose people would know that Bush and Cheney were going to be inaugurated in the City of Washington, rather than in, say, Detroit.  But I think that if you're going to bother to have invitations professionally printed, then you want to generally list the When and Where of your event--if only for the aesthetic value.  People will save those.  I bet Lurch still has his, even though he didn't go.

[Eraserhead]

If I go, it'll be on a bus trip with the people at the Obama office in Poughkeepsie (a little city by me).  I'd have to pay $150 which covers transportation and the hotel reservation.  They haven't secured tickets yet, but if they don't manage to score them then we'll just have to wade into the sea of bodies.  They are setting up giant screens so that people just standing around in the mall can watch what's happening.

[angus]

January 20 is on a Tuesday.  Monday, January 19 is a federal holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, although January 15 is the actual 80th anniversary of King's birth.  So you basically have the potential for a city full of four-day weekenders.  (The normal three, plus lots of folks taking tuesday off as well.)  That makes for a larger-than-usual inauguration, I'd think.  And the symbolism for many of being in town for the 80th anniversary of a civil rights theologian's birth just as the nation's first black president is sworn in would be powerful, don't you think.  Also, the president has an exceedingly low approval rating, and the congress has an even lower one, so folks want something in power that they can look up to.  Even the supreme court approval ratings are all low, hovering at around 35% for all except Thomas, who's at 48%.  And if you can't count on Congress, Bush, or the judiciary, then you're likely to have great hope that Obama will rise to meet the crises (real or manufactured) that we're constantly hearing about. 

It all adds up to a big, optimistic, inaugural party.  No surprise that it may turn out to be the biggest inauguration ever.  Note that there are only about there are 95,000 hotel rooms in the metropolitan area, according to tourism officials.  So if you're going to crash the party, either book early or plan on pitching a tent in Clarence Thomas' back yard.  Well, he probably has an alarm system.  Maybe you should try Ruth Ginsburg's yard instead.  

Who is it that keeps saying Obama will be shot?  I think security will be pretty tight on January 20:

Security, emergency and logistical crews will be bolstered by about 5,000 members of the military and 4,000 additional officers from 93 law enforcement agencies across the country, officials have said.

My guess is that you'll have a better view and be more comfortable in your living room in Poughkeepsie.

[Eraserhead]

My guess is that you'll have a better view and be more comfortable in your living room in Poughkeepsie.

I don't actually live in Poughkeepsie, just near by it. You're probably right though.

On the other hand, watching it in my living room wouldn't be too historic... or at least it wouldn't create many "historic" personal memories for me. This is going to be like Woodstock, man.

I remain undecided, although I'll have to decide soon.

[??????????]

I wouldn't go if they paid me.

[exopolitician]

I'll pass. Ive seen him enough, and Im not even going to try and be around a crowd that big.

[ChrisFromNJ]

I wouldn't go if they paid me.

Yes you would.

[Eraserhead]

I'll pass. Ive seen him enough, and Im not even going to try and be around a crowd that big.

In person? (Since you live in Virginia, I'm guessing that's a "yes".)

[MK]

I thought about going.

[RosettaStoned]

Those cops are going to have their hands full that day in D.C.

[Keystone Phil]

I might be going. A friend requested tickets from his Congressman so we'll see. I like observing history. Believe me when I say that I'm not going to get all googly eyed. 

[paul718]

I wouldn't go even if my candidate won.  The only time I'll be around an atmosphere like that is the next time the Mets win the World Series.  I can appreciate the historical context, but I'll do it watching on TV. 

[True Democrat]

I will be stepping about 100 feet from my dorm to go to Pennsylvania Avenue to watch the parade.

That is, if I don't get actual tickets.

[The Mikado]

If I get tickets (and I requested in early October, before most people even heard about their Congresspeople having free Inaugural tickets), it'll be great.  Especially since I requested two tickets.  Those things are going to be worth thousands of dollars at scalping price...I'll make some young lady very happy.  If I don't, then I'll trek over in the ice-storm at four in the morning, hating every moment of it.

[memphis]

Those cops are going to have their hands full that day in D.C.

The cops in DC usually have their hands full....

[exopolitician]

I'll pass. Ive seen him enough, and Im not even going to try and be around a crowd that big.

In person? (Since you live in Virginia, I'm guessing that's a "yes".)

Yes, Ive seen him in person about three or four times.

[angus]

I'll make some young lady very happy. 

...because nothing impresses the chicks more than forcing them to do something that you're totally into, and something that will involve you not having to listen to them at all, and especially something that involves putting them into uncomfortable, overpopulated places where they'll no doubt be squeezed, felt, and fondled by strangers all night long. 

Ah, yes, good times for the ladies.