Daily Herald Suburban Chicago
January 18, 1993
Be grateful for small favors – like you aren’t in Washington, D.C., this week. That is, unless you’re among the 300,000 invited to the festivities, or the few hundred thousand more who’ll show up without invitations.
The city has run out of hotel rooms, the limos have been booked for months, there are lines at restaurants and cab stands and restrooms and airports.
The lucky thousands who have received invites to one of the 11 inaugural balls will be uneasy because they won’t know which of the other 10 balls have more big wheels or gaudier entertainment or more cabinet members.
Many movie stars are steaming because they didn’t get invitations.
There are 37,000 seats for the swearing-in ceremony, but they don’t mean a thing in prestige unless they’re in the first three rows.
Beyond that you’re better off in Little Rock.
Bill and Hillary and Chelsea and Al and Tipper are likely to enjoy the party. For others, the shoving and maneuvering for position is going to damage a lot of egos, not to mention ribs.
I plan to watch the parties on TV, and keep my eye peeled for Geena Davis, Robin Williams, Kim Basinger, Robert DeNiro, Richard Gere and Bette Midler.
When last heard from, they were howling because they worked for Clinton but were not invited to anything, or to the right thing.
Enjoy.
