January 16, 2005
The
Inaugural That Never Should Be
By BILL PRESS
It will be the
55th presidential inaugural. It will be the most expensive in history. It will entail the tightest security mounted at any
event ever, even more than last summer’s Olympics. And it will be the centerpiece for a whole week of swank dinners,
galas, concerts, receptions and inaugural balls. But if President Bush had any sense of decency, he would cancel the whole
thing.
This year’s
tra-la-la should never take place. Not because Bush didn’t win the election. Despite some hanky-panky in Ohio, he won
by three and half million votes. No, this inaugural celebration should be cancelled because, in contrast to what else is going
on in the world, all the hoopla in Washington seems downright obscene.
Check the Internet
for inaugural hucksterism at its worst. Online, you can buy an official copy of the inaugural invitation, suitable for framing,
for only $25. A set of Bush-Cheney cufflinks and tie clip are yours for $35. You might even treasure an “extremely rare”
Official Air Force One 2005 Inaugural Badge and Lapel Pin for the bargain price of $295. The White House is for sale, and
not for the first time.
Or come to Washington.
For $1,485, you might be lucky enough to get a seat at the week’s hottest event, the Texas Black Tie and Boots Inaugural
Ball. Just getting in the door, standing room only, will set you back $800. But that’s nothing compared to what fat
cats are shelling out. The week’s big enchilada — tickets to all events featuring President Bush and Vice President
Cheney — go for $250,000. And Bush’s corporate cronies — Ford, Time Warner, Home Depot, Marriott Hotels,
Ritz-Carlton Hotels and others — have gobbled them up.
Price tag for
the entire week, says the Bush Inaugural Committee, will be $40 to $50 million, all from private contributions. But they’re
not being honest. That doesn’t count the cost of security — 2,500 members of the military, plus thousands of federal
and local law enforcement officers — which one security expert told me would come to “well over $100 million,”
all of which will be charged to us taxpayers.
Bottom line, we’re
spending $150 million to throw a huge, weeklong party. Meanwhile, the federal deficit is $420 billion and growing. Millions
of people in Southeast Asia are homeless after the earthquake and tsunami. And American troops, still without protective armor,
are being killed in Iraq every day.
The Bushies insist
there’s no connection between all the partying over here and all the suffering over there. Nonsense! There is one big
connection: The money!
After all, there’s
really no need for such a blowout. Bush could take the oath of office, before TV cameras, in the White House, for about $1.50.
So why throw away $150 million for a big ego trip — when American families are forced to raise their own funds to send
armored vests to their kids serving in Iraq because the Bush administration stubbornly refuses to provide them?
You can buy a
suit of Kevlar body armor online for $400. The Pentagon could get them much cheaper. But even at full price, for $150 million
you could equip every soldier in Iraq with a full suit of body armor and put protective armor on every Humvee — and
still have enough money left over to take Bush and his fat-cat friends out for lunch at the Four Seasons.
Or consider this.
First Lady Laura Bush has ordered a new gown for the Inaugural from Oscar de la Renta. First Daughters Jenna and Barbara opted
for more daring duds by four designers. The White House won’t say how much they cost, only that Mrs. Bush herself will
foot the bill. Wouldn’t it be a great gesture for her to say: Instead of spending, say, $10,000 on a new gown, I’ll
just wear the same one I wore four years ago (would anyone notice?) — and buy body armor for 25 servicemen?
As a final insult,
the White House is billing the inauguration as “a display of gratitude to members of the armed services.” Whom
do they think they’re kidding? The best way to say “thank you” to our troops is to cancel the party —
and send them body armor, instead.
_________________________
Bill Press is an award-winning radio talk show host
and television commentator. He is the author of Spin This: All the Ways We Don’t Tell the Truth. Press has received numerous awards for his work, including four Emmys and a Golden Mic Award. He was named
Best Commentator of the Year by the Associated Press in 1992. Press earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from
Niagara University and a S.T.B. in theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. His latest book is Why Bush Must Go! Top Ten Reasons Why George Bush Doesn't Deserve a Second Term. And his web page can be found at www.billpress.com.
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