Two-Stepping Out

Unlike the Hollywood-loving Democratic Party, the GOP often goes begging for high-voltage celebrities. They really like ones who play military figures. So there was Chuck Norris at the Ohio Ball. He's Walker, Texas Ranger. And there was Catherine Bell, star of CBS's "JAG," who appeared in a dress that revealed a whole shelf of cleavage and chatted with Gen. Hugh Shelton at the American Legion's "Salute to Heroes." A woman of Republican views, Bell hinted that "JAG" might find a way to write in some segments for the new president.

There was Marie Osmond, with swimmer Dara Torres towering over her.

Torres had poured her impressive Olympian body into a size 4 gold lame» dress and arranged her butterflier's feet into shoes so high that she walked only with mincing steps.

"I think Bush is just going to be an awesome president," said Torres. "He has this down-to-earth nature about him." And Meat Loaf, the guy who saw paradise by the dashboard light, who knew how truly strait-laced he was? "I'm very conservative," he said. "People don't have that image of me, but I am."

Despite the careful rhetoric the Republicans have voiced throughout the inaugural events about bringing together America, the evening's diversity seemed to resound with the lack thereof.

At the ball that included Maryland, Virginia and the District, at the D.C. Armory, Valerie Charles was swaying to Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" on the edge of the dance floor where she stood with her friend Thedra Lewis of Greenbelt. The African American women, who work at the American Gas Association, said that they were independent voters and excited to participate in inaugural festivities. "When we first walked in, we didn't see anyone who looked like us and I said, 'Oh my god,' " Lewis said. "At least now we are starting to see a few more."

The Unity Ball in the swank Four Seasons Hotel was the stronghold of African American support for Bush. Attorney Ed Hayes, who chaired the event, and his wife, Alice, a Democrat, were easy to spot in their white silk cowboy hats. The hats were a present from banker Joe Allbritton, said Hayes, who added that Allbritton was "ready to celebrate the Texans being back."

John Wilks, Hayes's co-chair, was disappointed that the president did not appear last night. "This ball ties into what appears to be the president's intention to bring the party back to the center and to make it more inclusive," he said. " Coming to the ball would've been a strong statement on his part."

But at the D.C. Ball at the Armory, Bush did extend, at least limply, an olive branch when he said was "thrilled" that Mayor Anthony A. Williams was hosting. The mayor decided to interpret that as a reflection on the good job Washington did playing host all day.

"My wife and I are trying to set a tone of comity and cooperation," said Williams. "The fact that the city did the job we needed to do is moving our city along towards revitalization."

Then he added that the music was better than he thought, "especially since you would expect the Republicans to be playing 'The Blue Danube.'"

Indeed, the most striking diversity of all occurred in the train station. Outside of the security zone at Union Station, Tim Yang, a 21-year-old college student in town for the Capitol March for Life, noted, "You've got tuxedos and you've got thugs." And in the women's restrooms, the dichotomy between ballgoers and normal people was striking. One belle applied foundation to her cleavage, while a non-ballgoer in leather pants and jacket helped tie the lavender gown sash on a stranger.

While the Bushes' haste and motorcade efficiency had them home by midnight, hassles for the masses broke out throughout the city.

At the Marriott, fire marshals shut the doors at 9 p.m., leaving more than 500 out in the cold. "Nobody should leave if they hope to get back in. The problem is they oversold the ballroom. We closed the door at 3,124 people," said an official who would not give his name.