If the shoe were on the other foot
It may come as a shock, but the BBC and some politicians have criticized the inaugural as too expensive: “‘Precedent suggests that inaugural festivities should be muted — if not cancelled — in wartime,’ New York Democrat Representative Anthony Weiner said.” Of course that was about the $40 million Bush event in 2005, not the $150 million Obama inaugural this week. Guardian:
President Barack Obama’s inauguration next week is set to be the most expensive ever, predicted to reach over $150m (£102m). This dwarfs the $42.3m spent on George Bush’s inauguration in 2005 and the $33m spent on Bill Clinton’s in 1993.
Not only is the event terribly expensive, but media access is being sold to the highest bidder, something previous administrations have shied away from. The Washington Post provides some of the commercial details:
For $2.5 million, HBO purchased the rights to air Sunday’s all-star kickoff concert at the Lincoln Memorial…The concert, featuring the musical stylings of Beyoncé, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, among others, will be available on television only to those who receive HBO…Walt Disney Co. has paid $2 million…Hosted by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the event will feature singers Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovoto…ABC will carry the “Neighborhood Inaugural Ball”…MTV, which is owned by Viacom, has paid $650,000 for rights to broadcast the Tuesday night “Youth Ball”…
This seems to be a good use of media to serve the ends of the Obama administration; it is perhaps the first GOTV event of 2012, campaign advertising in which the candidate himself gets paid. Amazing! Questions: (1) would the media be as willing to go along with this if it were a Republican administration? (2) What is the probability that disillusionment with the Obama administration will set in before the next election as it did for some during the Kennedy administration?