Yesterday, in case you didn't hear or see, there was a major concert at the Lincoln Memorial in prelude to the Presidential Inauguration.  It was attended by a multitude of different stars from the music industry, and from Hollywood.  At first, I thought they might have made the Oscars an outdoor event... that is until I realized I was watching part of the inauguration festivities.  I have a lot of mixed feelings about this.

While I understand that the inaugural balls are generally paid for with a lot of private dollars, there are still massive amounts of public funds that go into these.  In fact, President Bush declared a State of Emergency in Washington D.C. which allows for more funds to be used for policing.  They've closed every single bridge into Washington, unless you're in a limo.  That, in and of itself, seems like an abuse, because a State of Emergency should only be declared during unplanned and unforeseen circumstances that can't be budgeted for or expected.  This hardly fits that definition.

But I also can't help but see this a show of blatant excess at a time when we can hardly afford it.  Radley Balko has a good take on this, where he compares Democratic critiques to the 2005 inauguration of George Bush to their responses to some critiques this year regarding Obama's.  So far, it's hard to tell whether we're spending much more than four years ago, but it looks like we are, in both private and public money... this at a time when the economy is surely worse off than it was four years ago.  Perhaps this is part of the Stimulus package, and we just don't know it yet.  And even if the dollars spent are comparable, it seems like the media attention is not.  How many balls and concerts were aired on television for all to enjoy four years ago vs. this year.  You'd almost forget that Obama only won by 7%.

I also found it interesting to hear from some people while in Mexico about this.  When Ally and I were at a Cenote, we happen to start talking with a gentleman from Mexico City, along with his friends from France and Holland.  The woman from Holland said that their election coverage in November was almost as extensive as ours.  All of them knew exactly when the inauguration was to occur, and wanted to know what we thought of the whole thing.

Now, there is obviously much to be celebrated tomorrow.  As has been said by multiple people, many times, this is a historic event, and I don't mean to detract from that aspect of it.  But with the glamour and opulence that has grown with each ceremony in years past, one has to wonder how much more excess is needed to celebrate this particular swearing in?

But I'm also reminded of a quote from Vince Lombardi... "When you get to the end zone, act like you've been there before."  There is a certain dignity that is found when you attain a long sought after goal, and then act like it is perfectly normal that you would achieve it, for it gives more hope to those who come after that it won't be a once in a lifetime occurrence.