Another Birthday Bash, Another Campaign for Fenty

Kline said it was important for the council to pass the legislation quickly, because bars and restaurants are in the process of booking private parties for inauguration week.

The move is not without precedent in other cities. During the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in the summer, eight bars and restaurants were allowed to remain open two additional hours.

A Game of Tags

So many decisions for a president-elect. Whom to pick for the Cabinet? Where to send your kids to school? And now, what license plates to use on the presidential limo?

If the D.C. Council has any say, President-elect Barack Obama will be using the special D.C. "Taxation Without Representation" plates, which call attention to the city's lack of voting rights in Congress.

The 13 council members sent Obama's camp a letter today urging him to use the plates. From the letter:

"As you ride down Pennsylvania Avenue, during the Inaugural parade after being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009, displaying the license plates would send a clear message to the entire nation and the world about your support for this issue and remedying this injustice."

Early in his campaign, Obama told Mayor Adrian M. Fenty that he supported voting rights for the city. Under a bill that was blocked by the Senate after being passed by the House, the District, which is overwhelmingly Democratic, would get a House seat and an additional seat would be awarded to predominantly Republican Utah for political balance.

As WTOP reporter Mark Segraves has noted, Bill Clinton used the tags as president, but George W. Bush removed them.