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.
Obama's inaugural committee has raised more than $41 million to cover events ranging from a Philadelphia-to-Washington train ride to a megastar concert with Beyonce, U2 and Bruce Springsteen to 10 official inaugural balls. Add to that the massive costs of security and transportation — costs absorbed by U.S. taxpayers — and the historic inauguration will produce an equally historic bill.
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.
Celebration of 'common values'
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 festivities began Saturday with a speech at Philadelphia's historic 30th Street train as Obama's trip began.
Sunday's concert at the Lincoln Memorial includes performances by Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks and others. Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah will read historic passages. HBO paid $2.5 million for the exclusive rights to broadcast the concert.
Monday, the inaugural committee is hosting a national day of service, followed by three "bipartisan dinners" and a concert at the Verizon Center honoring military families. The Disney Channel will broadcast the concert, which includes performances by teen stars Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, as part of a $2 million deal that also gave ABC the exclusive rights to broadcast one inaugural ball.
The television deals allowed the committee to recoup about $5 million of the $15 million production costs for the televised events, Douglass said.
Security and transportation costs are being paid by taxpayers. And with millions of tourists expected to descend on Washington for Tuesday's inauguration ceremony, Bush declared a state of emergency, allowing the district to recover some costs for the event.
No shortage of toilets
The inauguration committee is paying for 10 stadium-style screens to broadcast the inauguration ceremony on the National Mall. It is also hiring garbage and recycling services and renting thousands of portable toilets for what one supplier called "the largest temporary restroom event in the history of the United States."
Obama has pledged transparency in his inauguration fundraising. He has disclosed inaugural donors as the fundraising continued, though he is not required to do so until after the ceremony.
Many of the fundraisers are well-known moneymen and women in Democratic circles. Those leading the list raised at least $300,000. They include two of Obama's top campaign fundraisers: Louis Susman, who retired this month as vice chairman of banking giant and government bailout recipient Citigroup, and billionaire Hyatt hotel heiress Penny Pritzker.
Source: AP
I did not vote for Obama and I feel sickened at the amount of money spent for this event. I would have had much more faith in him if he had downsized this event and got on with his work. My husband and I have been struggling with a small business for the past 10 years because we have employees that depend on us, everything we have done has been put into our business to stay in survival mode. Two Australian girls came over to be part of the inaugeral events and put it very well when they said, “No one knows how to throw a party like the Americans.” It’s business as usual for the American government.
It’s amazing to think that in 2004, President Bush was chided for spending $40 on his inauguration. But the hypocritical Democrats believe that Barack Obama is ‘different’. It’s no problem for Obama’s millionaire Hollywood friends to throw him a $100 million inauguration, while we ‘little people’ continue to lose jobs, homes and watch the destruction of the American dream.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/clay-waters/2009/01/16/nyts-inauguration-hypocrisy-bush-chided-2005-obama-free-party
This has turned into a racial party, not political. this man has 52 days expierence in senate ! He is not even black as he is 50% white, 44% muslim and only 6% black. He is connected with known terrorists ( bill ayers and raila odinga, his cousin ), he has refused to provide his birth certificate as all others did in the past. He has lied and been caught, he has taken hard drugs and has had at least one homosexual encounter we know of. He openly attended a white hating church for 20 years and was married by the preacher, Obama also lied about his ever hearing racist, anti-white comments from his preacher, then admitting it another time. Michelle obama is well known to hate, with a passion, whites. Obama, in his book, before he knew he would be involved with politics, stated many anti-white things (read the book), and even stated he would stick to his muslim faith “when the political winds of change become ugly”.
Why has america allowed foreighners to take over? Allowed blacks to take over and mark innocent whites as racist animals, when if fact, blacks are the failed race, by statistics in every single study, government included.
By giving blacks unlimited power with no ACOUNTABILITY, WE WILL SOON BE A KENYA LIKE STATE. After 200 plus years blacks still can not speak properly, learn, act within society rules, work, have a family unit, etc.etc.
Blacks did not get better when Obama won, America got WORSE, thats all.
52% of all black men will commit at least one felony in their lifetimes.
32% of all black males 16-24 are currently in prison, parole or probation
68% of all inner city black males are jobless
69% of all blacks born are paid for by welfare, aka; ME
68% of every female black tested had herpes and only 7% knew it
49% of every black tested, male and female had herpes.
on average an adult black has an IQ of only 85 ( 75 is reterded ), an eleven year old child of any other race has an 85 IQ already
Each year in America, 25,000 – 36,000 white women report being raped by black men while only 100-110 black women are raped by white men !, and black men make up only 6% of the US population, and 3% of them are in prison !
So imagine if blacks were equal in numbers to whites !!!!!!!! blacks only make up 12.9% of the US population now and cause more destruction and money than cancer, aids and heart attacks put together!!!!!
police, courts, d.a.’s, jails, prisons, medical, welfare, parole officers, probation officers, victim relief and services, judges, correction officers,etc.etc.etc.etc….
Racism is NOT BLIND HATRED, it’s earned by the ones marked !
Look at the American school system today, with FORCED busing, free buses, lunch, programs,etc. The current American public inner city school system is soooo dumbed down, it’s sad. School police to control the animal blacks, not like an all white school, civilized and safe, a place of learning. When were school police derived? when blacks mixed with whites! look it up!
Please people, stand up for what’s right. Don’t be afraid to be called racist, that’s not a bad thing if your racist against cancer, aids, a race that is destroying America and everywhere they infest. Be proud of your white skin before it’s too late.
$150+ million for an inauguration? Please. His beliefs? His church? His audacity at using Lincoln’s bible for the ceremony? Just because Lincoln freed the slaves, he feels that he is of the same historical importance? For a man who is ‘not’ racist or discriminatory, this sham of a poitical show is a digrace to America, it’s history and everything we believe in. I am sick and tired of everything he does being shoved down my throat. Next, we’ll be reading news about his bowl movements. This is the most racial condescending mess this country has ever been in. I’m tired of all the ‘treatment’ by and for black people. I myself am not particularly proud of the slavery, but it happened. The circle of life. The stronger wins. Even if a cancer on our history (treatment of the Indians.) But people, get over it. Why in the hell should “I” be punished for something that happened 200 years ago? Why should your kids get a free ride to college? Why in the hell should you get welfare for sitting on your ass making babies and then whining that nobody will help you. Nobody will hire you. Pretty sure McDonald’s is hiring. I worked at Burger King. Should be good enough for you too!!! And by the way, he wants to bring the soldiers out of Iraq, good for him. NO, not good for him, he wants to send them to Darfur, in the middle of Africa, to get into that mess. Just bring them home. You should be ashamed Obama…ashamed.
DON’T FORGET ONE THING ON THE 20TH HE HAS TOTAL CONTROL, HE CONGRESS IN HIS HIP POCKET, EVEN THOUGH HARRY REID SAID I DON’T WORK FOR PRESIDENT- ELECT OBAMA, NO YOU DON’T, YOUR HIS YES MAN.
DON’T FORGET THE REP. WHIP DID NOTHING ON THE BAILOUT HE COULD BUT DIDDENT SO THAT SHOWS ME NO “BALLS”
DON’T FORGET HE’S ABOVE THE LAW, HE DOESN’T EVEN RESPECT THE CONSTITUTION OF UNITED STATES, HE STILL HASN’T PROVED HE’S A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN LIKE ALL OTHER PRESIDENT’S.
this is a sad day for our country. to bad there’s so many idiots out there who won’t figure this out until after it’s too late.
I agree with all the above. Obama is all lip service and the only reason he is standing there today is because of timing. Everyone was hating on Bush and in steps the black man. Why the white people of America (the ones that voted Obama) have enabled this to happen I’ll never get it. I saw white people cyring today and acting all stupid. I do not understand. I don’t wish bad things on people, but this is one time in my life where I hope everything comes down on this guy because he is so full of it. He’s a fraud and most of the Dems are as well.
I disagree with all the comments posted above. One thing that I have gotten from them is that they are all racist. That Obama is black does not mean that he is a source of failure. Realise that him and his father(A native of Kenya) were bright enough to make it to the prestigious Havard School, whose still hating???
Hey Joseph! RACIST? You know what about the fact that he isn’t even 100% BLACK! Doesn’t he have a mother who is HALF WHITE!? So really he isn’t BLACK. Is he BLACK or his he WHITE? WHAT THE HELL IS HE AND WHO FRIGGIN CARES ANYWAYS! Bottom line, you have never seen that many black people vote in history until this election. They could have cared less what Obama stood for only concerned about the color of his skin. Now Obama is worried about the morality of this country as he overturns abortion his first day in office?? Our country is going to hell because we all have become complacent and are accepting things that we shouldn’t! I.E. Gay marriage! It’s Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve! I am sick and tired of people like you pulling the race card while each and every single one of us are going to pay for this President elected over simple HISTORY you call it?? Oh he made history all right with his $150 million inauguration! Sure seems worried about all of us with that bill! And for the record, PLEASE spell check yourself because if you did you would realize that you spelled “realise” wrong.