Hello Barack, Goodbye Shrub

November 8, 2008 7:14 PM

It's only 73 days before Inauguration Day 2009. Planning has been going on for a while. Beyonce wants to perform and the Boss plans to release an album on the day. Be sure to call your Congressperson to get your tickets. Make your plans right away, everybody wants to go. If you go, don't forget to say a rousing good-bye to you know who.
posted by Xurando (27 comments total)

Want inauguration tickets? Get in line.

Given the anticipated interest in Obama’s inauguration, committee officials are warning the public to be extremely wary of anyone claiming to have tickets to sell.

But that doesn’t mean people aren’t looking.

“It’s a deluge,” said Ken Edmonds, spokesman for Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). “This is unlike any other inauguration ever.”

Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 inaugural drew 1.2 million, possibly the largest Inauguration Day crowd ever. But no one knows for sure: Since the Million Man March in 1995, government officials no longer release crowd estimates, which are often at odds with what event organizers estimate.

Norton thinks Obama’s crowd will make previous records pale in comparison.

“This is a whole new playbook,” she said.

In fact, Norton foresees a city overrun with celebrants. “There are going to be millions of people who are coming here,” she said. “Even if we fill out the whole Mall down to 14th Street, there will be many, many people who won’t be able to get on the usual Mall sites. You won’t be able to walk.”

posted by cashman at 7:25 PM on November 8, 2008

Norton thinks Obama’s crowd will make previous records pale in comparison.

Forget the Palin comparison. It's gonna be a party.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:39 PM on November 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Related: MeFi plans for an Inauguration Day meetup in DC.
posted by Miko at 7:41 PM on November 8, 2008

Yeah, well, Obama is my congress person. I called his office, Durbin's office and Rahm Emmanuel's office days ago. No tickets. Nada. Bupkiss. I'm bummed. Especially since I contributed to his campaign wayyyyyy back for his 2002 Illinois Senate run.

Humpf. The rest of you all are Johnny-Come-Lately's.
posted by jeanmari at 8:03 PM on November 8, 2008

Were it not on a TUESDAY, I would so be there. As is, I'll be trying to watch on the teevee and explaining to a two year old that yes, this is BETTER THAN ELMO.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:03 PM on November 8, 2008

Damn, wish I could be in DC for that Inauguration Day meetup. Maybe I'll head over to the party in Obama, Japan. It's rumored, you know, that the president-elect will be making a surprise appearance there, if only in the form of a statue.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:06 PM on November 8, 2008

Norton foresees a city overrun with celebrants.

A dear friend, who lives in DC told me yesterday that a hotel room that was 80 bucks a night is now 800+ a night. She's thinking of sticking a mattress in the livingroom.

My older brother got me a "Jan 20 2009 End of an Error" tee shirt and I so looked forward to wearing it. But now, it's beyond the mere end of something. It's about something better beginning. I hardly dared hope or think that was really possible. Such a worthy thing to celebrate.
posted by nickyskye at 8:19 PM on November 8, 2008

I called his office, Durbin's office and Rahm Emmanuel's office days ago. No tickets.

I contacted my Senators' and Rep's office, and got the same response from them both - they're going to get tickets, every member of Congress will, but no one has them yet. And they don't know how many each office will get yet, so they're not promising any to anyone. All the offices told me they were putting my name on the waiting list to possibly be awarded tickets, and that it would be first-come first-serve for the tickets for constituents. My boyfriend, who lives across the state line, made the same requests to his reps and got the same info. So it seems like you should not have heard that there were NO tickets, but that tickets were not yet available and not promised out.
posted by Miko at 8:24 PM on November 8, 2008

i've just realized that there is a serious and disquieting development in this year's election

for the first time in my life, i will be older than the president

damn, that sucks
posted by pyramid termite at 9:14 PM on November 8, 2008

I said goodbye to that man 5 years ago.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:14 PM on November 8, 2008

MetaFilter: All American Politics, All The Time, FFS.

Check out that nice "New Post" link at the top left next to the logo. We eagerly await!
posted by Miko at 9:18 PM on November 8, 2008

Tickets don't get released to Congress until January. So yes, act now to get on the list, but know that there are already probably a whole bunch of people ahead of you.

Also, it's a mix of ticketed, public, and private events. So even if you don't get a ticket to the swearing in-- and that seems likely to be almost all of us unless that Obamify the venue capacity-- there is other stuff going on. Including a massive convergence of Obama fans in a very pro-Obama city. We can throw our own party if we can't get into theirs.
posted by Tehanu at 9:49 PM on November 8, 2008

Check out that nice "New Post" link at the top left next to the logo. We eagerly await!

I am well aware of the New Post function. I even use it on occassion. My ability to use it (and, more importantly, to not use it) has nothing to do with the flood of US election crap that is flooding the front page.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:14 PM on November 8, 2008

What a great problem to have! I'll take worrying over a shortage of Obama inaguration tickets over worrying about a McCain-Palin presidency any day.
posted by cucumberfresh at 11:18 PM on November 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

My ability to use it (and, more importantly, to not use it) has nothing to do with the flood of US election crap that is flooding the front page.

Quit your whining. The day that is 73 days before inauguration day is a very important day and deserves a Metafilter post. The day 72 days before is even more important, and it might get two.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 11:32 PM on November 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

We can throw our own party if we can't get into theirs.

This kind of makes me want to take the train down to DC and is, I think, exactly the right tone to set.
posted by gac at 12:53 AM on November 9, 2008

There will be singing in the streets...
posted by chillmost at 3:08 AM on November 9, 2008

It seems doubtful that Springsteen would play both the inauguration and the Super Bowl half-time show, but he seems to be confirmed for the latter. Of course, he may decide to do both, and who's going to tell him "no"?

The Obama inauguration and two world-televised Springsteen shows in the space of twelve days? That may just cause a rift in the space-time-awesome continuum.
posted by Optamystic at 4:04 AM on November 9, 2008

It seems doubtful that Springsteen would play both the inauguration and the Super Bowl half-time show, but he seems to be confirmed for the latter. Of course, he may decide to do both, and who's going to tell him "no"?

Since I think that'd be just a bit much, I'm gonna tell him no. But hey, Bruce never listens to me.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:25 AM on November 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Here's the email I got from one of the offices:

Thank you for contacting Senator Durbin’s office regarding the Presidential Inauguration. Unfortunately, we have received more requests than we will be able to accomodate. We have recorded your request and will contact you if we have been able to accomodate your group. Thank you!

Tequia M. Hicks

Director of Constituent Services

No tickets for me, Miko. :(
posted by jeanmari at 4:40 AM on November 9, 2008

for the first time in my life, i will be older than the president

pyramid termite: That sucks, old man. I, myself, am younger than the new President.

By two days
posted by Turtles all the way down at 5:01 AM on November 9, 2008

I'm quite a bit younger than the Pres (12 years) but he's closer to my age than to my parents', which is new. And his kids are almost exactly the age of my oldest two, which is kind of weird. I considered having my kids write postcards to the First Kids but they are probably getting plenty of mail already.
posted by DU at 8:37 AM on November 9, 2008

Just keep repeating to yourself: Only 73 more days until the man takes office and we can start talking about his policy, rather than just blindly fawning over what we hope he'll do.

These posts will pass. These posts will pass. These posts will pass.
posted by Eideteker at 9:38 AM on November 9, 2008

How do I contact a new Senator, just elected, to request tickets? Call their campaign office? There's no Washington contact info yet for Kay Hagan.
posted by rikschell at 10:11 AM on November 9, 2008

My son is older than the new president's daughters. But he's only older than the older of the two by two years, so maybe... just maybe... he'll be interested in MAKING THE OBAMAS HIS IN-LAWS!
posted by grubi at 11:55 AM on November 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

My mom said the same thing about me and Chelsea Clinton in '92. We were the same age, and we'd both skipped a grade (possibly the same one, can't remember). But no, she had to go to Stanford.

Seeing her on the campaign trail for her mom last year convinces me I dodged a bullet.
posted by Eideteker at 3:37 PM on November 9, 2008

I like the "A New Birth of Freedom" theme. I missed that previously.
posted by cashman at 2:16 PM on November 10, 2008