Thank God, it went well. Beautiful in fact.
Not foolish at all.
Looking at it from outside, I have to say it always struck me as a bit odd to have major public celebrations outdoors at this time of year, simply because of the weather - it would seem more sensible for the legalities to be done indoors, and the hoopla in warmer times.
But I have to congratulate all concerned on managing the ceremony with the right sort of tone and dignity, after all that went on two weeks ago.
It originally was in warmer times. The original Constitution put it in April (the 4th, IIRC), but an ammendment moved it to January. Being outdoors was already a tradition by then so that didn’t change. Although one time they did move it indoors because the weather was really bad. I suppose they’ve been lucky they’ve only had to move it indoors once due to weather.
Hmm, I figured they went with outdoors so they could all wear coats, thereby disguising their body armour. And I’m gonna bet a LOT more people than you imagine were so kitted out. Not with bulky police body armour, but the thinner more disguisable high tech type. I’m going to guess some of the ladies are wearing them too, pretty hard to cover up if you’re not wearing a coat.
Furthermore, that Capital Police fella, the hero of the coup attempt, who was given the ceremonial honour of ‘escorting‘ Kamala into the service, was so clearly, 100% on the job as security. Go back and watch. His eyes we’re scanning, side to side, every which way, non stop. I think they were both kitted out too! But that fella was def on the job in my opinion, NOT a simple honorary escort.
Correction: March 4. Which tbh in DC can still have miserable weather anyway, but usually milder on average than the Northeast/Midwest.
And having it outdoors at the Capitol steps allowed you to have a large crowd with Congress and the Cabinet and Diplomatic Corps and Governors and hometown folks and party donors and Washington society figures plus all those people’s spouses, etc., during the long time that DC had no large indoor venues. It also allowed to segue into a parade/pass in review or a ride/walk to the White House.
He is now the acting Deputy Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate, so not out of place protecting the incoming president of the Senate. Plus a nice opportunity for him to get a well-deserved round of applause when he was announced.
Back in the early days, travel over any distance was extremely difficult during winter. Especially to a backwater location (at the time) like DC. March was pretty much the earliest practical date for people to travel from across the (much smaller at the time) country.
Especially Bernie Sanders. 