For the first inauguration since the Sept. 11 attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has promised to "leave nothing to chance."
As many as 250,000 spectators will watch the swearing-in, all of them passing through some form of security; 11,000 will take part in the parade. So many cellphones, text messages and wireless cameras will be in use that local bandwidth had to be boosted.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee is still working to raise the $40 million that all of this will cost -- not counting expenses for security, which will be borne by local and federal governments.
And the committee's greatest selling point is proximity to the president. Seats for the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue go for $125, ball tickets for $150 and a chair at the swearing-in on the Capitol's east front runs $250.
The higher the price, the greater the access. High-rollers are coming through with the maximum $250,000 donation, earning themselves a lunch and a dinner with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
The official swearing-in at noon Thursday is dictated by protocol and visually bipartisan, with ranking members of both parties and former presidents in attendance. After that, it's mostly a GOP victory fest.
This is a coveted chance for a notoriously stuffy city to sparkle, all the while raking in tourist dollars. And if official Washington is worried about appearing insensitively extravagant, local businesses are not.
The historic Jefferson Hotel is offering a $1-million inaugural package that includes round-the clock limousine service, spa days, his and her gold Presidential Rolex watches, fashions by the couture designer of choice, diamonds from Tiffany and -- in a rare bipartisan impulse -- a side trip to Chicago for a private tour of the exhibition "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years."
For $75,000, the Sofitel Lafayette Square's "Don't Mess With Texas" package includes a suite lavishly decorated with yellow roses, and sterling silver spurs engraved with the inaugural logo.
While the administration has little control over the unbridled partying that goes on, the tone of the official events can be a reflection of a president's style. As others before him inaugurated in times of crisis, Bush walks a fine line between celebrating democracy and indulging in excess.
