The Obama-Biden Inauguration will be the most attended and most watched Inauguration ceremony in the history of the United States. Federal officials in Washington responsible for the National Mall expect four million…. 4 MILLION … people to descend into the District to attempt to watch the ceremony. Now, there is not 4 million tickets to the ceremony. There are probably only 50,000 to 100,000, for the tickets guests are seated in an enclosed space close to the Capitol Building, as seen in the picture below:
The overflow of the 3,950,000 people will fill every green space you see in this picture and down the National Mall. Like Matt Denn, I also do not have a ticket this time (even though my father and I was able to get them in 1997 and 1993). I was considering attending myself, with or without a ticket, just to be in Washington for the experience. And you know what, after having to deal with a crowd of 2-3 million people celebrating the Phillies victory, I think I’d rather stay home this time and watch it all on TV. Traffic into DC will be a nightmare, especially when you consider that people are booking hotel rooms in Delaware (since all hotels in MD, DC, and VA are sold out).
So, fuggetaboutit.