# Is Biden being foolish to insist on an outdoor inaguration? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 14, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539 "2021-01-14T17:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/41 "2021-01-16T22:27:07Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Now there’s some impeccable Republican pseudo-logic! It’s _exactly_ the same logic as Cruz saying that he’s challenging the electoral college votes becaue lots of people are concerned about the legitimacy of the election results. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/42 "2021-01-16T22:29:02Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It’s _exactly_ the same logic as Cruz saying that he’s challenging the electoral college votes becaue lots of people are concerned about the legitimacy of the election results. “Me and everyone I know don’t like the result, so it _must_ be fraudulent!” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/43 "2021-01-16T22:31:10Z")
Well, it’s even worse than that, right? The reason they don’t trust the election results is because Cruz himself has been telling them not to. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/44 "2021-01-16T22:37:52Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Not at all, fuck the terrorists. If the secret service could keep someone from shooting Trump the last four years they can keep biden safe for the less than 1 hour ceremony. 100% agree. Biden does not want to show he can be intimidated. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/45 "2021-01-16T22:39:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Riemann](#): > > > > It’s _exactly_ the same logic as Cruz saying that he’s challenging the electoral college votes becaue lots of people are concerned about the legitimacy of the election results. > > “Me and everyone I know don’t like the result, so it _must_ be fraudulent!” I still think 2000 & 2016 were “stolen”. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/46 "2021-01-16T22:42:19Z")
The argument to nuke the filibuster and pass reforms is pretty compelling. Democracy may not survive another election that is _actually_ stolen by Republican voter suppression and gerrymandering. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/47 "2021-01-16T23:53:38Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Fuck 'em. Traitors and insurrectionists don’t get to dictate how the United States welcomes a new President. They don’t get to think they’ve intimidated a civilized nation into hiding away from them. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > A private inauguration would only serve to further the “illegitimate President” > talking point, and it’s not a good look. I much prefer the first attitude, and wish the second attitude would go away and die in a corner (no reflection on the poster who wrote it). Who cares what it looks like? Do the right thing, keep doing the right thing, and to hell with worrying about optics. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/48 "2021-01-17T00:48:13Z")
You are absolutely right, I just fell into the very trap I’ve been loudly warning everyone about. They are going to read all sorts of bullshit into the optics no matter how we handle the inauguration, that’s what they do. Thanks for checking me. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/49 "2021-01-17T00:55:51Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > 100% agree. Biden does not want to show he can be intimidated. That attitude is just macho posturing. Who give a crap what others think? Biden doesn’t have to prove a goddam thing. His safety is THE highest priority. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/50 "2021-01-17T00:58:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Riemann](#): > > > > It’s _exactly_ the same logic as Cruz saying that he’s challenging the electoral college votes becaue lots of people are concerned about the legitimacy of the election results. > > “Me and everyone I know don’t like the result, so it _must_ be fraudulent!” - Well, I don’t like Cruz so that makes him fraudulent. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/51 "2021-01-17T01:20:01Z")
Well we already have our first insurrection attempt. > **[Virginia man arrested at DC checkpoint with 500 rounds of ammunition,...](https://thehill.com/homenews/news/534592-virginia-man-arrested-at-dc-checkpoint-with-ammunition-fake-inauguration/)** > > A Virginia man was arrested Friday at an inauguration checkpoint in Washington, D.C., after police found him with an “unauthorized” inauguration credential and an unregistered hand gun&… ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/52 "2021-01-17T06:29:40Z")
It’s not so much the Biden inauguration I’m worried about—there’s enough troops for that—but the threat on all 50 state capitals. Is there enough manpower to handle all of that? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/53 "2021-01-17T07:55:55Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That attitude is just macho posturing. Who give a crap what others think? Biden doesn’t have to prove a goddam thing. His safety is THE highest priority. They get more protection than is obvious. I was at the rally in Chicago when Obama won in 2008. Obama was on stage in front of many thousands and seemingly an easy target but they had ballistic screens (think bullet-proof transparent acrylic) in front of him and his family. They were surprisingly not obvious but they were there. I have no doubt Biden will be similarly protected. That said, it is hard to protect against one nutjob willing to sacrifice theirself. As for the optics sometimes presidents need to do that (I remember Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter touring Three Mile Island in order to calm nerves shortly after the disaster there). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/54 "2021-01-17T07:57:57Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > It’s not so much the Biden inauguration I’m worried about—there’s enough troops for that—but the threat on all 50 state capitals. Is there enough manpower to handle all of that? Every state has a National Guard so sure. Plenty of troops. The issue is the timeline between trouble and getting troops there. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/55 "2021-01-17T14:20:50Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I was at the rally in Chicago when Obama won in 2008. Obama was on stage in front of many thousands and seemingly an easy target but they had ballistic screens (think bullet-proof transparent acrylic) in front of him and his family. They were surprisingly not obvious but they were there. > > I have no doubt Biden will be similarly protected. Yeah, I’m sure of that, too. Last night I watched an episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” [streaming for free on Peacock] where a sniper shot and killed someone from more than a mile away. That kind of thing worries me about the inauguration. Sure the cops, FBI, and Secret Service will have checked out all the nearby buildings… but… and then of course, there’s: > [@](#): > > That said, it is hard to protect against one nutjob willing to sacrifice theirself. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/56 "2021-01-17T14:36:00Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sure the cops, FBI, and Secret Service will have checked out all the nearby buildings… but… No buts, the Secret Service will not just check out but will control all of the buildings. This is DC (not Dallas) and these buildings are government buildings. Sniper attack will be covered. The airspace will be controlled as well. The long shot is not the one to worry about, its the up close possibility of individual traitors that needs to be monitored extra closely. I doubt that even most of the Guard will be issued ammo unless something breaks out. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/57 "2021-01-17T17:12:43Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > An “inside job” could still happen at a small indoor ceremony. Yeah, this. The biggest weakness in any security system is the people tasked with implementing the system. If the Secret Service is so compromised that one of them is actually thinking about pulling something, then Biden isn’t safe anywhere, so worrying about indoors vs. outdoors is kind of pointless. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > No buts, the Secret Service will not just check out but will control all of the buildings. This is DC (not Dallas) and these buildings are government buildings. Sniper attack will be covered. The airspace will be controlled as well. Yeah, these guys are very thorough. Back when Bush II was President, he came to Ottawa for a visit, part of which was a formal dinner at the museum next to the building I worked in. My office overlooked the museum, so I got a good view of the Secret Service guys setting up on the roof of the museum so they could get a view or everything in the area. I had a set of binoculars in my office, because I actually had a really great view of the city and liked to see what was going on when I was bored at work. At one point I was using them to see what they were doing on the roof of the museum - and one of them was looking right back at me with his binoculars. I don’t know if I ended up in a report that day, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/58 "2021-01-17T23:43:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@Mallard](#): > > > > 100% agree. Biden does not want to show he can be intimidated. > > That attitude is just macho posturing. Who give a crap what others think? Biden doesn’t have to prove a goddam thing. His safety is THE highest priority. This bothers me, because there’s nothing that can be done to protect a subject who is determined to show he’s Tough and Not Intimidated, etc. (Particularly if the danger is coming from one of the armed law-enforcement people who have access to him.) Often Image wins out over reasonable prudence. I’m haunted by a line in the movie _Day of the Jackal_, in which the hired assassin is discussing the job with those who’ve hired him to kill Charles de Gaulle: > [@](#): > > Col. Rodin : There’s nothing more you want from us. From now on you’ll be working completely alone. > > The Jackal : Not completely. One will have the cooperation of de Gaulle. > > [the OAS members look astonished] > > The Jackal : Well, he won’t listen to his secret service and he’s not the sort of man to stay out of the public eye. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/59 "2021-01-18T01:44:30Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I had a set of binoculars in my office, because I actually had a really great view of the city and liked to see what was going on when I was bored at work. At one point I was using them to see what they were doing on the roof of the museum - and one of them was looking right back at me with his binoculars. I don’t know if I ended up in a report that day, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. Did you wave? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539/60 "2021-01-18T17:30:13Z")
Of course I waved! If you’re going to jail anyways, might as well have fun! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-being-foolish-to-insist-on-an-outdoor-inaguration/930539.md?page=4)