WASHINGTON: With record crowds expected in the nation’s capital for the 56th Presidential Inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama yesterday discussed his plans for open and accessible inaugural events designed to allow the participation of Americans across the country.
“Unprecedented numbers of Americans are planning to join us in Washington,” said Obama. “That will mean long lines, a tough time getting around, and most of all, a lot of walking on what could be a very cold winter day. Fortunately, you don’t have to brave the crowds and commotion in order to participate in this celebration, because we’ve made this Inauguration open and accessible to communities across our nation.”
Logistics fever is gripping Washington as officials tweak plans to accommodate the throngs of people expected to flood Washington for the inauguration. But the statistic most people want to know is currently unknowable: Just how many people will show up?
Officials are struggling to achieve an almost impossible balance, encouraging people to participate, on the one hand, while warning potential participants that the crush of people could be overwhelming.
Officials have rolled back early estimates of four million visitors, but say even half that number will result in traffic jams and disappointed people being turned away from the parade route.
Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty told reporters this week that it will be impossible for people who are attending the 11:30 a.m. presidential swearing in ceremony to also expect to see the 2:30 p.m. inaugural parade, even though the events are just blocks away. That is because parade route is expected to fill up even before the swearing in starts. Security checkpoints for the parade route open 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said the parade route can accommodate 300,000 to 350,000 people. After the route is filled, people will be turned away, he said.
The relief valve will be the huge National Mall, where hundreds of thousands can congregate and witness both the swearing-in and parade on more than 20 jumbotrons.
“You can actually get to the mall with a lot less hassle and see both the swearing in and the parade on the jumbotrons,” said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier.
So how much is the inauguration costing taxpayers? Mayor Fenty puts the price tag for local governments at $75 million. To help out, President George W. Bush declared an emergency on Tuesday in the District to give the nation’s capital more access to federal money for the inauguration.
Amidst the pre-inaugural chaos, one thing is clear: don’t look for any foreign leaders in the millions of faces expected at the ceremony. Put simply: They are not invited.
The State Department last week informed all foreign embassies in Washington that, in keeping with past practices, their ambassadors and spouses may attend the event to represent their countries. But other officials from their countries, including their nation’s leaders, must stay at home.
Everyone is aware that the inauguration is going to be a logistical nightmare, having to deal with the security issues surrounding countries’ VIPs would simply be impossible.
“These invitations are only for the chiefs of diplomatic missions and their spouses and are not transferable,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in a diplomatic note sent to the embassies last week, adding that the exclusion of foreign leaders and top government officials is customary for US presidential inaugurations.
However, some ambassadors will have it better than others next Tuesday.
One of the most sought-after seats for Obama’s inaugural parade, aside from the grandstands outside the White House, offers the best view and is also one of the warmest places in town — and the weather is predicted to be cold with a 30 percent chance of snow — belongs to America’s neighbor to the north.
Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson has invited a select number of guests to the Canadian Embassy to watch the Jan. 20 parade from their sixth-floor office – that offers a picture window on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Hardier guests can gawk from their rooftop terrace. Canada is also hosting an outdoor reception at the embassy, the only diplomatic mission between the Capitol and the White House.
But, despite the ambassador’s prime location, he also is going to have to deal with many of the same logistical obstacles that most others will face.
Like his colleagues, Ambassador Wilson will attend the searing-in at the Capitol, but, because of street closures and security, he will then have to walk the half-mile back to the embassy — the easiest walk in town, when streets are not closed. Most other ambassadors have to figure out how to trek the several miles to get back to Embassy Row in Georgetown.
For most of the ambassadors, the swearing-in ceremony and a ball will be the only formal inaugural engagements they will attend. However, the Kenyan ambassador, Peter N.R.O. Ogego is planning a large reception to honor Obama’s African heritage through his Kenyan father.
