2005 Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2005, by Chris Chan
From MemoryArchive
Who: Chris Chan What: 2005 Presidential Inauguration When: January 20, 2005 Where: Washington, DC
On January 20th, 2005 President George Walker Bush was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. This event, known as the 2005 Presidential Inauguration, was witnessed by millions, but only about a hundred or so individuals got to see it from my point of view. On this day, I wasn’t in the crowds on the streets, but instead I was sitting atop a building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue as the motorcade marched down the road. How did I get this amazing view? It all relates back to my job.
At the time, I was working for F/S Capitol Associates, a lobbying firm here in Washington DC. The firm represents a handful of clients from a variety of industries. On this day, F/S Capitol was playing the part of host in its Washington DC office to some of Washington and Texas’ most influential politicos. A party celebrating the Presidents inauguration was being held. The party was being host by Representative Tom Delay, Republican of Texas.
The day started with a simple ride from American University to downtown DC. After collecting my friends (really coworkers for the day), we took the bus to the Tenleytown metro and from there made our way into the heart of DC. Unable to get off at our normal metro stop due to travel restrictions, we made our way to Gallery Place/Chinatown and walked. What we ran into was more than I could have imagined. We found ourselves in the throngs of hundreds if not thousands of people. Most were protestors. Apparently this is where the organizers decided to have everyone enter the public area of the parade route. Mixed among these people were a few who were there to celebrate the inauguration; they kept their mouth shut (except for one couple, who I will discuss later).
So there we were. Me, my friends, and handful of elated individuals, and MANY more disgruntled individuals. As we stood there waiting for the security check point to let us through, I decided to look around at the chaos we had entered. Because we were working the party, we had all dressed in nice suits. We couldn’t have stuck any more unless we started singing in elation of the election. We were surrounded by students, teachers, old men in ponchos, and young women in tie-dye. One individual decided to dress up as the prisoner in Abu Ghraib Prison that was forced to hold wires up and put a hood over his head while standing on a crate. Everyone was cold, and most were holding signs, (many of which contained words I dare not repeat).
Perhaps the only individuals that looked more out of place than us were the couple standing to our left. Both had to be in their 60’s at least, and clearly either missed the entrance or for some reason couldn’t find a way to get a ticket (which is hard to imagine). The gentleman was in a full suit with overcoat and his wife, I assumed, was dressed in a large, brown fur coat, with a rather sizable pearl necklace adorning her neck. Of all the interesting people in the crowd, these were my favorite. This couple was quite jovial in a crowd of cold and disgruntled people. They were more than happy to express their love for the President, and their delight that the “hippies” lost. The man was trying to convince everyone in the crowd that going to war with Iraq was clearly the right choice, and that those who disagreed were clearly un-American (a wildly popular idea in the crowd we were in). The man’s arguments were rudimentary at best (my guess was they were ripped off the headlines of Fox News Alerts, along with the end of Ben-nifer and Britney Spear’s marriage). However painful it was to listen to the man, his wife clearly took the show. I had never heard one individual attempt to engage in intellectual conversation saying only the phrase “don’t forget those idiots at the U.N.” over and over again.
After I don’t know how long, we finally started seeing progress. The security forces at the checkpoint, some of which were dressed in army fatigues, began processing people through the security checkpoint. Seeing as I and my friends were already late for work, we pushed our way through security, filling in whatever holes there were in front of us, until we got to the security checkpoint. After going through a metal detector, me my friends and I finally made it to the office building where the party was being held. We quickly made our way upstairs, where we manned our posts. We ran a coat check, met people at the door, and helped tidy up the place as the party moved along.
The space was cramped, but the lack of indoor space was sacrificed for one thing, the balcony. Apparently, Secret Service was going to permit the use of the balcony by the party goers so long as they passed through a security check. This was a phenomenal view of both the motorcade and the security protecting it (the number of sniper rifles on the adjacent roofs was astounding).
As the party progressed, people began tricling in. Many were Texans and political friends of Congressman Delay. Among them included congressman, doctors, lobbyists, and numerous other people. One individual I remember specifically was a marine who had lost some of his limbs. He was young, so I could only assume he had returned from the combat in Iraq, though I could have been wrong. Everyone was elated to be at the party, and many were also enjoying the open bars and food from the Capitol Grill.
Eventually the big moment came. I stood outside momentarily as I gathered with countless people crowding on a tiny balcony. Many had cigars and cameras in hand as the President’s motorcade passed by. In between all the hooting and hollering, the joy on everyone’s face was clear; they had won. I moved back inside to warm up, standing with my boss and a few others assessing the party’s success.
As the night rolled on, people began leaving the party. There was a ball at the White House later that evening, and as you can imagine many of the guests at the party were invited. Just as the party was breaking up, I was in a room with some of the party’s VIPs. As I stood there, I realized there was a large amount of commotion coming from the balcony heading in our direction, and soon enough, I saw why. Everyone stood as House Majority Leader Tom Delay walked into the room. He was shorter in person, but no one doubted the amount of power this man held over the crowd. His wife, lavished in a fur coat that was bigger than her, walked in with him. They were greeted by my boss and all were excited to be there. The Congressman and his entourage stayed only a short time, and as soon as he left many of those same VIPs that were enjoying my boss’ champagne and high end hors d’oeuvres scattered. As we picked up for the evening, I could only reflect on the evening as one of insanity and entertainment.
