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Hello, Goodbye - Inauguration 2001
Maybe Bill can Hire Hillary's Interns
By Kirsten Andersen
[email protected]
1/10/2001
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January has never been a month I relish. For one thing,
people place too many expectations on the first thirty-one days of the
year. Everyone sets out to lose weight, balance the checkbook,
or watch less C-Span (you know who you are). By Valentine's Day,
everyone is bloated, broke, and back in front of the tube with a
vengeance. As if that were not bad enough, it is twenty-five
degrees and the next long weekend (for those of us not employed by
Uncle Sam) is sometime in March...so much for a tropical escape.
Despite my antipathy toward January, this year's first month is
showing promise. We just had a Presidential Election (for those
of you who have been in a coma or vacationing on Mars), and we are in
the middle of the transition to a new administration. Washington
has a different sort of buzz to it lately. People are
fascinated, if not overjoyed, by the prospect of new neighbors at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.
This Inauguration Day will be my first as a DC dweller. I intend
to participate fully, from the swearing-in to the parade to the
all-night parties. Unlike normal little girls who dreamed of
going to the Royal Ball with Prince Charming, when I was small I
fantasized about the Inaugural Ball. Less than a year ago, I was
working for a presidential candidate and dreaming the same dream much
more vividly. I would walk through the racks at Bloomingdale's
and think about what I would be wearing if we won. I knew it was
a long shot, but it was less depressing than planning what to do if
the campaign didn't work out (obviously, it didn't).
I used to think that there was only one Inaugural Ball, but it turns
out there are nine. I also used to think you had to work for the
President or be a major donor to attend, but that is not true either,
so I plan on going to two balls. I have spent the past two
weekends searching rather unsuccessfully for a gown to wear. It
seems I cannot step out of a dressing room and in front of the
three-way mirror without eliciting twelve older women's stories of
their first time at the Inauguration. Some of the stories are
great, but if I hear one more tale about the beautiful dress that lost
its skirt when it was stepped on, I am wearing a miniskirt-black tie
be damned!
Inauguration is not all about the events of January 20th, of course,
and 'transition' is more than a technical term for assembling a
Cabinet. The next few weeks will be a true transition for all
Americans, as we welcome President Bush and bid farewell to President
Clinton.
I may do my fair share of Clinton bashing, and I certainly will not
miss what he has done to the nation, but I admit it is strange to see
the man go. I came of age during the Clinton Presidency, and I was
practically raised on Rush Limbaugh's scorching commentaries about the
administration. Now that Slick Willy is leaving, there is a void
where the object of my ire used to be.
From a professional standpoint, I have mixed feelings. On one
hand, it is always valuable in any branch of politics to have your
ideological ally in the White House. Journalism and political
commentary are included in that statement, as evidenced by the soaring
success of CNN during the Clinton Administration (can we expect the
same of Fox News Channel with Bush in power?). On the other
hand, there is nothing quite like moral outrage to stir up feelings
and help write a great opinion piece.
One almost hopes Clinton sticks around a little while, just to keep
things interesting. Perhaps his wife will give him a job on
Capitol Hill, sending faxes and penning legislation. He could
even hire the interns.
As for Bush, I hope he is half as boring as I think he is going to be.
If I have to opine about Senator Hillary and Dick Gephardt for the
next four or eight years, so be it, but what this country needs is a
little presidential ennui. If President Bush can get the White
House back to a G-rating, it will be a bigger accomplishment than all
the 'New Economies' in the world. With any luck, Inauguration 2001
will be the kick-off for an extraordinarily dull four years.
© Kirsten Andersen, 2001
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