A major component of President Bush's second inaugural celebration will be a Commander in Chief Ball to honor troops who have just returned from Afghanistan and Iraq or are about to be deployed, inaugural committee officials said yesterday.
About 2,000 guests will be invited to the Jan. 20 ball, one of the highlights of an inauguration that promises to be the most expensive and the most secure of any. The Commander in Chief Ball will reaffirm that Bush is a wartime president, one of the major themes of his reelection campaign.
Inaugurations have historically been a reflection of the president's personality or events of the day. Abraham Lincoln stayed secluded at the Willard Hotel the night before he was sworn in; Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath in a business suit; Jimmy Carter walked the parade route instead of taking a limo; and the Americans held hostage in Iran were released on the day of Ronald Reagan's first inauguration.
For weeks, Washington has been undergoing a transformation from center of government to host city. Few events compare to the impact the inauguration has on the city, from bleachers sprouting on grand avenues, to parties being planned, to security arranged for hundreds of thousands of celebrants flocking to the District, filling hotels and restaurants and clogging the streets.
Officials said the Commander in Chief Ball is a major difference in Bush's second inauguration. It will be one of nine balls scheduled for that night, the same number as in 2001. It is customary for the president to attend all the balls.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee plans to announce Tuesday the details of the inauguration -- including the theme, the locations of the balls, a complete schedule and the participants, such as bands and marching groups, in the inaugural parade, officials said. As in 2001, major events will stretch over three days, beginning Jan. 18.
Those planning the inauguration said they are seeking the right tone to put partisan politics aside, while acknowledging that the country is at war.
"The renewal of the oaths of office celebrates a continuation of the constitutional democracy, and we should celebrate that," said Steve Schmidt, the Presidential Inaugural Committee's communication director. "This is not a dance-in-the-end-zone type of celebration, though. The day transcends that. The whole world is watching."
The cost of the inauguration will be about $50 million, all of which is to be paid with private donations. The cost four years ago was about $40 million. Inauguration officials attributed the increase to one reason: Things cost more now.
This week, the Presidential Inaugural Committee sent out hundreds of invitations to events, which came with price tags attached. Individuals who give $150,000 or $250,000 to underwrite the inauguration get access to special events, including lunch with Bush and Vice President Cheney. The top donors -- donations are capped by the committee at $250,000 -- also will have access to all the inaugural balls.
Security for the inauguration, the first since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be tighter and stricter than before and will affect everyone who attends, even the media covering the events of the day, officials said.
Campaign officials have been studying other wartime inaugurations as part of their planning.
"While inaugurals are almost wholly celebratory affairs," Schmidt said, "there will be a solemnity to this one with regard to the fact that we're a nation at war that you'll see reflected in programming."
Inaugural officials are working with the Department of Defense to distribute free tickets to the Commander in Chief Ball to servicemen and women and their spouses, with an emphasis on enlisted troops and noncommissioned officers, they said.
