2005 Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2005, by Elizabeth Turner

From MemoryArchive

Who: Elizabeth Turner
What: 2005 Presidential Inauguration
When: January 20, 2005
Where: Washington, DC

I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. I was actually asking someone for a ticket to George W. Bush's second inauguration. For someone who spent the summer of 2004 canvassing for the Democratic National Committee and organized a voter registration drive at her high school, the thought of being at one of "Dubbya's" events made me sick.

But the lure of being able to say "I was there" was too strong. With a sour taste in my mouth I accepted my ticket in the standing room off to the right. That morning, Josh, Grant, Kim, and I got in a cab and headed downtown. It felt like the entire city of Washington was either at inauguration or protesting it, and I was in the wrong crowd.

We passed through security with no problem, and Kim and I found our way to the standing room. Every liberal part of my body was uncomfortable. A sea of people had gathered to support a man I viewed as the embodiment of all that is soulless and wrong.

Of course we had to wait ages for the event to begin. In that time it became even more clear just how out of place I was. When I cringed at the sentence " [Giuliani] is too liberal to run for president". I feared that I'd be found out and attacked.

Another indication that I shouldn't have been there was the times that people booed and cheered. Basically when they booed I cheered and visa versa.

We watched the speech and followed the masses out to the metro. I wasn't moved by Bush's oratorical skills, only more frustrated. The one positive thing that I came out of this experience was Josh got his picture taken with Don King.