I heard Obama's innauguration will cost $140 million (Bush43-$40 million). Plus the narcissistic train ride from Philadelphia and swearing in on Lincoln's Bible are sum-ups of his vanity and sub- conscious contempt that leaks out anyway. The Prince and the Pauper- Mark Twain. Obama exhibits expected behavior, given his background. It might get worse. It probably will.
On Jan 15, 5:54 am, Ohio mark <[email protected]> wrote: > Four years ago, the Associated Press and others in the press suggested > it was in poor taste for Republicans to spend $40 million on President > Bush's inauguration. AP writer Will Lester calculated the impact that > kind of money would have on armoring Humvees in Iraq, helping victims > of the tsunami, or paying down the deficit. Lester thought the party > should be cancelled: "The questions have come from Bush supporters and > opponents: Do we need to spend this money on what seems so > extravagant?" > > Fast forward to 2009. The nation is still at war (two wars, in fact), > and now also faces the prospect of a severe recession and federal > budget deficits topping $1 trillion as far as the eye can see. With > Barack Obama's inauguration estimated to cost $45 million (not > counting the millions more that government will have to pay for > security), is the Associated Press once again tsk-tsking the high > dollar cost? > > Nope. "For inaugural balls, go for glitz, forget economy," a Tuesday > AP headline advised. The article by reporter Laurie Kellman argued for > extravagance, starting with the lede: > > So you're attending an inaugural ball saluting the historic > election of Barack Obama in the worst economic climate in three > generations. Can you get away with glitzing it up and still be > appropriate, not to mention comfortable and financially viable? > > To quote the man of the hour: Yes, you can. Veteran ballgoers say > you should. And fashionistas insist that you must. > > "This is a time to celebrate. This is a great moment. Do not dress > down. Do not wear the Washington uniform," said Tim Gunn, a native > Washingtonian and Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc. > > "Just because the economy is in a downturn, it doesn't mean that > style is going to be in a downturn," agreed Ken Downing, fashion > director for Neiman Marcus. > > And if anyone does raise an eyebrow at those sequins, remind them > that optimism is good for times like these. "Just say you're doing it > to help the economy," chuckled good manners guru Letitia Baldridge. > > That spin is a far cry from four years ago, when the AP seemed > interested in spurring resentment of the Bush inaugural's supposedly > high cost. Of course, displays of Republican wealth are routinely > slammed by the media as elitist or aristocratic, while reporters seem > to consider rich Democrats as stylish paragons whom we all should > copy. > > To get a real feel for the contrast, here's an excerpt of Lester's > January 13, 2005 piece (as recounted in the MRC's CyberAlert), > starting with a lede designed to rain all over Bush's parade and > including the suggestion from two liberal Democrats that Bush eat cold > chicken salad and pound cake instead: > > President Bush's second inauguration will cost tens of millions of > dollars -- $40 million alone in private donations for the balls, parade > and other invitation-only parties. With that kind of money, what could > you buy? > > ■ 200 armored Humvees with the best armor for troops in Iraq. > > ■ Vaccinations and preventive health care for 22 million children > in regions devastated by the tsunami. > > ■ A down payment on the nation's deficit, which hit a record- > breaking $412 billion last year.... > > The questions have come from Bush supporters and opponents: Do we > need to spend this money on what seems so extravagant? > > New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat, suggested inaugural > parties should be scaled back, citing as a precedent Roosevelt's > inauguration during World War II. > > "President Roosevelt held his 1945 inaugural at the White House, > making a short speech and serving guests cold chicken salad and plain > pound cake," according to a letter from Weiner and Rep. Jim McDermott, > D-Wash. "During World War I, President Wilson did not have any parties > at his 1917 inaugural, saying that such festivities would be > undignified."... > > Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball > Association's Dallas Mavericks, voted for Bush -- twice. Cuban knows a > thing or two about big spending, once starring in ABC's reality TV > show, "The Benefactor," in which 16 contenders tried to pass his test > for success and win $1 million. > > "As a country, we face huge deficits. We face a declining economy. > We have service people dying. We face responsibilities to help those > suffering from the...devastation of the tsunamis," he wrote on his > blog, a Web journal. > > Cuban challenged Bush to set an example: "Start by canceling your > inauguration parties and festivities." > > Obviously, that's not the media's message to Barack Obama this year. > And no one in the press is going to argue that, with the nation at > war, the new President should be satisfied with cold chicken salad and > pound cake. > > http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rich-noyes/2009/01/14/ap-slammed-bush-s-... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
