Inaugural handlers have been forced to justify the expense of merrymaking while the death toll of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds 1,300. The money, albeit privately raised, stands in contrast to the shortage of armor for troops and their vehicles that the Pentagon has struggled with for a year.
"Precedent suggests that inaugural festivities should be muted -- if not canceled -- in wartime," Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.) recently wrote in a letter to his colleagues, noting that $40 million would buy armor for 690 Humvees or provide a $290 bonus for each service member stationed in Iraq.
Even Texas billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and a Bush supporter, suggested publicly that the inaugural balls be canceled and the money donated to tsunami victims in South Asia.
Sensitive to the criticism, inaugural strategists will honor the military in three events. Perhaps the most poignant is the first Commander-in-Chief Ball Thursday night, held exclusively for 2,000 invited military personnel who have served in the war on terrorism.
After the swearing-in, Bush will stand as 400 service members from all branches pass in review, becoming his official escort for a parade that will include 5,000 men and women in uniform.
"This will be an appropriate and solemn celebration of our unique American democracy, but we are very mindful that we are a nation at war, and that will be a component of the inaugural festivities, which should not be prejudged cynically," said Steve Schmidt, the inaugural committee communications director.
When it comes to inaugural protocol in times of crisis, history is an ambiguous guide. President Franklin D. Roosevelt scaled back his fourth inaugural in 1945 as the war raged and his health failed. His speech was short, and his guests made do with cold chicken salad and plain poundcake. Woodrow Wilson chose to hold no parties at his 1917 inaugural in the midst of World War I. But James Monroe, inaugurated in 1817, three years after the British torched Washington, used the day for a military parade that reminded the nation of its enduring strength, even though the Capitol was still too damaged to occupy.
