Where Left Is Right / The Old Site

Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution (free registration required) includes a story headlined "Inaugural to salute troops." The piece describes some of the official activities planned for W's inauguration. Note for those who haven't yet gotten with the program: Forget January 20th. This year, the traditional Inauguration Day has been replaced with [he read, white-knuckled hands gripping the arms of his chair] Inaugural Week. (Or rather, "Week," in quotes, the celebration being spread over four days, from January 18th through the 21st.)

With Americans dying in battle abroad, President Bush's second inauguration will honor military forces as well as their commander in chief, the event's planners announced Wednesday.
...
Inaugural Week will begin on Jan. 18, with an event entitled "Saluting Those Who Serve." This gala for military forces and their families will be held at the MCI Center. Later that evening, there will be a youth concert at the DC Armory that will likely be attended by the 22-year-old presidential daughters, Barbara and Jenna Bush.

On Jan. 19, a "Celebration of Freedom" unfolds with bands, singers and fireworks on the Ellipse, a grassy park behind the White House. That night, four private candlelight dinners for supporters around the city will also be held.

On Jan. 20, the events begin with President Bush and the first lady attending services at St. John's Church [Gratuitous editorial aside: About time the SOB set foot in a church sanctuary.] and move to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony, inaugural address and congressional luncheon. Then the Inaugural Parade moves down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

That evening there will be eight inaugural balls and the Commander in Chief Ball. The week concludes Jan. 21 with a national prayer service at the National Cathedral.

I loved this:

"You might wonder what calls people by the thousands to Capitol Hill on a cold, sometimes wet winter day on January 20th every four years," said [Presidential Inaugural Committee chairman Jeanne Johnson] Phillips. "I believe that it's the call of history and the desire to see history in action, reaffirming who we are as Americans."

But even more telling is this (emphasis added):

"No inaugural events are political events," said [inaugural committee executive director Greg] Jenkins... "This is a bipartisan celebration of the once-every-four-year democratic process which is the swearing-in of a president and all of the events that surround that."

Among the "events that surround that" are, of course, those which I encapsulated in an earlier post. I'll be updating that list sometime in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, if you would rather attend the four-day event itself rather than the latter, shamefully partisan ones taking place in the streets a couple of miles away, you need only pay for it:

• $100,000 for tickets to all official events, plus what the Times calls an "'elegant' candlelight dinner" (their quotation marks, not mine) with a "special appearance by President Bush." [And by the way, just what the heck is a "special" appearance as opposed to all other kinds? The mind reels with possibilities.]
• $250,000 for all official events, plus an "exclusive" (their quotes again) lunch with W and VP Dick, plus a pass to any inaugural ball. Remember, you have at least eight of them to choose from.