 |
Adoring
crowds did not throng the National Mall in Washington in joyous
celebration of the second Inauguration of President George W. Bush
Local reaction:
New
Circuit City, Countrywide branch
draw
brisk business
By Nollie Tangere '03
City
Staff The second inauguration of
President George W. Bush was not on the minds of Old Sludgeburians
going about their business on a typically cold, windy January day. "I never thought this day would come," said
fireman Jimmy Burke. "Of course, I never thought he'd be
elected the first time either. Shows what I know." Burke was taking his mother, Kathleen T. Burke
of Sludge Heights, to visit the gala opening of the new Circuit City
Superstore at the Asbestos Mill Galleria, which opened last year on the
site
of the former Kent Micronite cigarette filter plant. "Will you look at those flat screen TV's!
I wish I could afford one," Mrs. Burke said. "Ma, I told you, we'll go next door to the
Countrywide office and take out a new mortgage. Then you can
lend me the money for that Harley," Burke said. "You don't
need to submit any paperwork at all. Just walk in and they'll
give you a check. It's free money, for Chrissakes," Burke
said. "Come on Nollie, am I right or am I right?" Inside the vast, crowded store, the giant TV's
and home theater systems were tuned to Oprah and ESPN. Store
Manager Paul Kelly said that every time he tried to show the
Inauguration on one of the screens, a shopper would start flipping
through the available channels. Kelly said: "Finally, I gave up.
If the public isn't interested, I can't force them to watch
something they don't want to. This ain't Guantanamo
Bay."
Inside today's Spy: Home: You haven't
refinanced your mortgage yet? What are you, some kind of a
schmuck? Business: No-doc
loans snapped up by Wall Street Metro: New
condo/mall megaproject planned by Mayor's family Auto: GM plans
500-hp four-ton Hummer to meet customer demand Sports: Boston
seeks pro basketball franchise | | By David Bloviator
Political Editor
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – President George W. Bush was inaugurated for a second term
before an unecstatic crowd of 100,000 Republicans and lobbyists
imported by
NetJet
to Washington for the occasion. Although
the cost of the Inaugural festivities were expected to reach $160
million, including tens of millions devoted to security, from all
corners of the country,
Americans chose to stay home. The
Mall was devoid of enthusiastic cheering crowds as Bush took
the
oath of office from a nearly
moribund Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Later, the
traditional Inaugural parade marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, enjoyed by
scores of spectators and winos who lined the parade route. The crowd's
lack of enthusiasm was reciprocated
in equal measure by the President, who waved lamely a few times before
telling his limo driver
to get the hell out of there. The
Inaugural proceeded with no sense that history was being made.
In his eloquence-free Inaugural Address, the
re-elected President called upon all Americans to spend money on
useless crap and promised more of the same for the next
four years: endless war in Iraq, denial of the reality of global
warming, tax cuts for the rich, and untrammeled expansion of executive
power including torture and arbitrary detention of American
citizens. President
Bush did outline one initiative: repeal of guaranteed social Security
benefits, which drew no cheers or shouts of "Bush" from the quiet
undemonstrative spectators gathered at the foot of
the Capitol's reflecting pool. Metro officials reported no
crowds at subway stations and bus stops, noting "Republicans don't take
public transportation." For
weeks, ordinary Americans from all 50 states vowed
not to travel to the non-historic event, whether by air, car, train, or
bus. The
expense,
discomfort, cold weather, and insignificance of the day itself were
cited as the principal reasons for non-attendance, although many did
mention they wanted to see the new season of "American Idol" instead. The swearing in and parade were the culmination
of a week of sparsely attended and uninspiring events.
A-list Hollywood celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Brad
Pitt and his squeeze Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, and Will Smith
all decided not to show up, leaving Inaugural planners with no choice
but to entertain the bored spectators with Hootie-less Blowfish and
aged ex-country star Conway Twitty. Despite the public's determination not to be
anywhere near an event representing the continued domination of
politics by dull entitled rich white men, some managed to enjoy
themselves at one of the 11 non-glittering Inaugural balls. Outside the Washington Hilton, after being
introduced by Sen. David Vitter (R – Ooh-La-La) to his
niece
Amber, this reporter and a few partygoers were treated to the spectacle
of Daddy's Girl Jenna Bush barfing into a trash barrel. Inside at the balls, all agreed that the
highlight was not any of the brief, sullen appearances of the
President.
Rather, it was the bevy of attractive young blonde Bush
supporters making the most of this precedented occasion. OMB Director Josh Bolten, surveying the
non-diverse crowd, was heard to observe: "If you can't
get laid this week,
you might as well forget it." The
next day, it was back to business as usual with no sense that a new era
had dawned. One new face, African- American Senator Barack
Obama (D – Hyde Park), facing the obscurity and
unimportance that is the fate of junior
Senators, was heard to observe to no one in particular: "I could do
better than these guys with my eyes closed." | | |
