Inaugural 2005
After receiving a late invitation from the Bush-Cheney campaign, Shari and I decided on January 10th to attend President George W. Bush’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. Thanks to Traci in Rep Jim Ramstad’s office (who collaborated with Britta in Mark Dayton’s office) we were able to obtain tickets to the swearing-in ceremony on the Capitol lawn (non-VIP standing room only). The other factors that made it possible on this late notice were low-fare tickets on a bankrupt airline (United) and free lodging with some dear friends who moved from next door to us in Bloomington to Sterling, VA, last year and invited us to stay with them.
Inauguration Day was cool (25o F) and partially cloudy, so we dressed Minnesotan and prepared to stand most of the day. We were not disappointed. After attending a delightful brunch in the Rayburn Office sponsored by the Minnesota State Society (www.mnstatesociety.org), we stood in line to go through the security checkpoint to the swearing-in ceremony. After about 60 minutes in line, the checkpoint was closed and we heard the inaugural address from Independence Ave, about 1,000 ft away.
We then walked toward the White House on Independence Ave. to find a good spot to watch the parade. The next checkpoint we encountered outside Pennsylvania Ave. gave us the opportunity to study each block and brick on the IRS bldg and the Old Post Office for 2 hours before clearing security. Our persistence and patience was rewarded when we saw both the Bush’s and Cheney’s drive by our spot. Needless to say, parade security was really tight – hundreds of police standing shoulder-to-shoulder on both sides of Pennsylvania Ave. and black-dressed snipers on rooftops all along the route. We know that this is the new reality, but it is new to us who haven’t experienced it before now. By this time we had enjoyed enough of outdoor D.C., so we did not wait to see the Lakeville High School marching band, although we learned they looked really great.
Our trip was capped off with a Capitol tour on Friday PM led by Anthony, a genial young man in Ramstad’s office who is interning this year from the U of M. Regrettably, he is a Packer fan. I still get a thrill when seeing history face-to-face in person even though I have seen it in pictures countless times. If you have the opportunity, make the trip for yourself. You won’t regret it.
Dan Hallberg
Bloomington Pct. 28
