POMP, PAGEANTRY MIX WITH TIGHT SECURITY FOR INAUGURATION
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
President Bush will raise his hand and take the oath of office for a second time today, as the traditional pomp, ceremony and celebration of the quadrennial presidential Inauguration takes place under unprecedented post 9/11 security.
As the Constitution requires, Bush and Vice Presdident Dick Cheney will be sworn in at noon today, on the West Front of the Capitol. Afterward, the president will give his second inaugural address, which aides said will emphasize freedom and Bush`s vision of spreading democracy worldwide.
Bush is scheduled to be sworn in by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who will be making his first official appearance since beginning treatment of thyroid cancer in October.
Cheney will take his oath from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, marking just the fourth time in U.S. history that the House speaker has been called on to perform that task.
Bush gave a preview of his inaugural address to revelers at the Texas "Black Tie and Boots" ball last night.
Security "will be at the highest levels of any inauguration," according to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
About 6,000 officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies will be on patrol throughout the city, along with 2,500 military troops involved in security operations.
In addition, 4,700 military personnel will be involved in ceremonial functions for inaugural events, according to Maj. Gen. Galen Jackman, commander of the Military District of Washington. Also, heavily armed Coast Guard boats will patrol the Potomac River, watching for suspicious watercraft and monitoring activity under bridges and along the shoreline.
The parade will begin at 2 p. m. on Constitution Avenue, near the Capitol, and will move along a 1.7 mile route down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where Bush and other dignitaries will view the festivities from inside a reviewing stand. The parade will feature 120 entrants, and will include military troops, color guards, marching bands, floats, drill teams and equestrian units.
By custom, organizers sought to include groups from every state, from Alabama`s Auburn University Marching Band to the Wyoming High School All-State Marching Band.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee has said putting on the inaugural events would cost about $40 million, which is being raised from private donors...more than half of them corporations that gave as much as $250,000 each, as well as sales of tickets and merchandise. In addition, the fedral government and District of Columbia will bear the costs of providing security, expected to cost around $20 million.
Some critics have questioned spending millions on inauguration festivities in a time of war and after the devastation of December`s tsunami in South Asia. But organizers insist the pageant is an appropriate celebration of American democracy.
"We`re a nation at war, but we do believe it`s important, through privately raised money, that we ought to go forward with the inaugural festivities", said Dan Bartlett, White House communications director.
