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Inauguration: Around Town
With Marc Fisher
Post Metro Columnist
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2001; 1:30 p.m. EST
Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher opened his first special show today at 1:30 p.m. EST to talk about the President-elect George W. Bush's swearing-in ceremony. Then he'll be back at 4 p.m. EST as he mills around the crowds at the inaugural parade and takes a look at the protests along the route. Plus, as always, he'll see what else is going on in a town that's crawling with people and events.
Fisher was online Saturday, Jan. 20, at 1:30 p.m. EST to talk about what's happening in the streets of Washington this historic day.
The transcript follows.
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Marc Fisher: Welcome aboard, folks, as the Bush II era begins. We heard some clean, simple rhetoric at noontime, and saw George Bush deliver a speech about as well as he ever has. But his message was a bit crimped, Clintonian in its lack of ambition and its call to "do small things."
On the streets, there've been some violent confrontations between anarchists and DC police around 14th Street NW.
Let's hear what's on your minds. What'd you think of the address, the ceremony, the protests? Let's go.
Poolesville, Md:
Hi Marc,
Its interesting how Mother Nature (or more correctly, sympathetic nature) often reflects the mood of the people,as you have pointed out. Its a miserable day today! I'm trying not to be depressed about the next 4 years.
Don't catch a cold out there!
C/D
Marc Fisher: Well, the weather doesn't always provide perfect metaphors for historic events, but when it does, it makes the work of reporters and commentators that much easier.
DC:
I am so angry. Isn't this checkpoint stuff unconstitutional?
Marc Fisher: A federal judge decided just yesterday that while she found the checkpoints offensive, they are not unconstitutional. As for whether all this added security has prevented demonstrators from gaining access to the parade route and the new president, apparently not. Have a look at the eyewitness reports on this website from our Post reporters on the street: They show that protesters have moved in considerable numbers onto the bleachers at Freedom Plaza, taking the places reserved for Republican fatcats. So access seems not to be a problem.
KING, NORTH CAROLINA:
Marc, I'm interested in the Masonic Bible that is being use to swear in George"Dubya". I need to know it's age and if it was used for swearing in other presidents. Also, most important,is George a 32 degree MASON? Thanks, E.A. Elvis
Marc Fisher: There's a lovely story in the Style section today about the George Washington Bible that Bush used for his inauguration. Phil McCombs' story tells us that the Bible was first used at GW's inauguration in 1789, and by Harding, Ike, Carter and Father Bush.
Dupont:
Hey, what's this I hear about protesters egging the Post?
Marc Fisher: I don't know about eggs, but anarchists did march on the Washington Post building, and DC police had to push them back, eventually to 14th Street, where violent confrontations have continued over the past couple of hours. I just saw some footage of DC police using clubs to push anarchists back behind barricades; this, of course, is precisely what the protesters want, along with the concomitant TV coverage. The police actions I saw were perhaps too restrained.
Pasadena, CA:
Are the two oaths administered to POTUS and VPOTUS different? Because Bush's was shorter...
Marc Fisher: Yes, they are different: The president's oath is prescribed in the Constitution. The veep's is longer, and to my ear, far less elegant. I don't know its history; perhaps someone can enlighten us.
Canton, OH:
His actions speak louder than his words.
Does he think his speech will make us forget
his divisive right wing appointments? Or how
he won the election by a 5:4 partisan vote
of the Supreme Court? How phony! I'd like
you to respond.
Marc Fisher: In the long run, you're right--he will be judged by his actions. But he gets one clean shot at impressing us and motivating us with his words, and that was today. I thought he did far better than he has in the past, and the content of the speech was as moderate as he has always claimed to be. Of course, the Ashcroft and Norton nominations send a very different message, and we shall see which is the real administration.
Steve Kukolla Indianapolis, IN:
I heard a more evangelistic bent in the prayers delivered at the beginning and end of the ceremony, more so than seemed present in the past. Is this your sense? If so, is it good for consensus building to set this kind of tone? Thanks-
Marc Fisher: I wouldn't call the invocation and benediction evangelical, but they were indeed overtly Christian, and that is always disappointing to hear in what should be a unifying moment. But Franklin Graham's words were quite similar to what his father has said at inaugurations past, and both ministers were careful to be gracious and generous to Clinton and Gore, as well as to the new administration.
Washington, D.C.:
Where were you when Bush was sworn in and gave his speech? What was the mood of the people around you?
Marc Fisher: I'm afraid I was in front of a TV screen, as most of you were, so I have no direct info on the mood of the crowd, but I can pass on reports from our newspeople on the street, and they say the crowd is a bit sparser than usual--almost certainly a result of the nasty weather--but very much enthusiastic about the man they supported through the harsh terrain of last fall's election and dispute.
Alexandria Va:
Did you like his speech? I wasn't terribly impressed. I miss Bubba already. (sniff)
Marc Fisher: There wasn't much to like or dislike in terms of policy specifics. It was a speech more about setting a tone and testing the bully pulpit than it was about telling us what he will do. The rhetoric was simpler and more direct than what we're used to from Clinton; we were spared the endless recitations of statistics and boastful litanies of achievements. (Just a few minutes ago, Clinton delivered a farewell address at Andrews Air Force Base and actually said "We did a lot of good" over and over. Spare me.)
Arlinton Va:
What do you think Bush will be doing tonight? What are his plans? What about his daughters? I have a feeling they are going to get in trouble.
Marc Fisher: Oh, let's not be cruel. They'll be scurrying from one ball to another, thoroughly not enjoying themselves because they'll spend more time in the limo than they do at the eight balls combined. But sometime after midnight, they will return exhausted to the White House, where I imagine the family will wander through the rooms, exploring in awe, as would anyone who had just moved into one of the world's great homes and museums.
Somewhere, USA:
It was weird seeing Gore go into his Arlington home. Why were there people waiting for him?
Marc Fisher: I missed that scene, but if there was a crowd waiting, it was surely a combination of Arlington neighbors who are genuinely pleased to have the Gores moving back into Tipper's old family home, and perhaps Gore staffers there to ease the passage.
As Clinton said in his farewell address, these guys are in for quite a dramatic change, waking up without being able to press a button to summon a valet for the coffee and newspapers, having to fix their own snacks, etc.
Arlington, VA:
Since you were watcing television, what do you think of the coverage? Personally I saw too many foggy lenses and pictures through rain drops, but I guess they can't help that.
Marc Fisher: The coverage varied as I moved up and down the dial. CNN, as usual, provided the clearest shot at the events, without the oppressive and dumb commentary that the big networks feel compelled to offer. ABC had the best camerawork that I saw; there were a few shots through raindrops, but in moderation, they were effective at setting a mood. The folks at NBC just couldn't stop talking.
TX:
So do you think he'll walk the parade route? I'd love to see him talk to some protesters.
Marc Fisher: I certainly hope he gets out of the limo. Early reports that I saw from his staffers said he intended to do so, but very briefly. We shall see. I wouldn't be surprised if the Secret Service advises Bush against getting out, especially now that protesters have positioned themselves along the frontlines of the parade route. But as Bob Kaiser said in his show earlier, it'd be cheering and even inspiring to see Bush take a stand against the overly strict security that has fallen over these events.
Atlanta, GA:
Do the Republican antiprotest measures appear more aggressive today then during the dark days of Nixon and Vietnam?
Marc Fisher: Well, I don't think you're right about these being GOP anti-protest measures. The police and Secret Service are as nonpartisan as a public agency can be; they are equally aggressive about wanting to suffocate the president in a cocoon of protection whether the chief is a Dem or a Rep.
That said, security has gotten much tougher in recent years, and it will take a president with a strong backbone and a powerful sense of populism to decide to reverse the trend. Here's hoping that Bush is that man.
Emmitsburg, Maryland:
Comparing Bush's speech with others I can remember hearing (most I cannot, because they were eminently forgettable), only Kennedy's seems to me to have been more effective. And that was largely because of the challenge we were then facing from communism. Would you agree?
Marc Fisher: I would certainly agree that crisis tends to bring out the best in inauguration addresses--Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy to a lesser extent. But I would not compare the Bush speech to any of those. It will, on first impression anyway, rank somewhere in the murky middle--decently well written, plainly but credibly delivered, with ideas that ring true, but without much in the way of specifics or even--perish the term--vision.
Marc Fisher: Well, that wraps it up for our first quick look at this day of history, as the TV folks would put it. I'll be back at 4 p.m. and hope you'll join us as we consider the parade, the protests, your further thoughts on the speeches and ceremonies, and we can also make our way through the list of Clinton's last minute pardons. Maybe you can find your neighbors or relations on there; even John Deutch and Patty Hearst made the list!
Stay dry and see you in a bit.
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