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-extravagant-inaugural-05-now-it-s-spend-baby-spend
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