Inaugural Inconsistencies
By: Nick Hess
Attending Obama’s inauguration was an interesting experience for me, to say the least. I have been to the last two inaugurations, both for President Bush. I wondered how an inauguration for President Obama would differ. I also wondered if it would be a positive or negative experience for me, being an Obama detractor.
The first and most glaring difference was the crowd. The crowd for President Obama’s inauguration was incredibly large. The plan was for my friend and I to go to the northernmost stop of the D.C. Metro and ride the train all the way into the city. This plan was foiled, however, when we saw a two-mile backup onto I-95 South just to park at the train station. We continued on to the second stop of the Metro, where we had no trouble parking. When we actually got in line to board the train, the line to board was over a quarter mile long outside the station. Both of these events occurred before 4 o’clock in the morning. This compares to President Bush’s inaugurations, where it was easy to get on the trains at 6 am. The second difference was the personality of the crowd. Those in attendance were from all walks of life, but most of the people there simply stood out to me as everyday Americans. In addition, most of the crowd was African-American. According to many people I talked to upon returning home, this fact was not widely known to those who watched the event on TV.
The other stark difference in this inauguration was the level of security. In 2001, I thought security was tight. After 9-11, it seemed as if the level of security doubled for the inauguration in 2005. The security this year was just mind-boggling. Half the city was shut down. The Metro was only running one way, making it almost impossible to leave the Mall area once you got there. The parade route was closed off all day, making it impossible to leave the Mall on the White House side. Clearly, the authorities were taking the large crowds and specific security risk posed by President Obama seriously.
This inauguration was historic for obvious reasons. In talking with different people throughout the day, I came up with two distinct reasons for excitement about this inauguration. The first reason can simply be described as “Bush fatigue.” I think I may have been the only person in attendance with a positive opinion of President Bush. Everyone else in attendance was simply ecstatic to see President Bush depart the White House, as evidenced by the boos he received when he was announced at the ceremony. The second reason for excitement was mainly echoed by the African-Americans in attendance. They were simply proud to have a Black man elected President of the United States. To them, it seems to signify that at this moment in history, anything is achievable to any citizen born in the United States.
Overall, I am happy to have had the opportunity to attend this event. While I voted for the other guy, I was able to appreciate why everyone there was so excited. Somewhere around 2 million people braved single-digit temperatures, some for more than 8 hours, in order to witness history. That is something special, regardless of political affiliation.
