# The Inauguration **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279 "2009-01-07T20:53:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/1 "2009-01-07T20:53:41Z")
I have been pondering the inauguration the last couple weeks. Here are some of my thoughts. [ul] [li]I think this could be the most watched television event of all time[/li][li]I think pizza sales and deliveries could top the first OJ Simpson verdict.[/li][li]Kleenex stock could skyrocket.[/li][li]The entire earth will be distracted[/li][li]I can do whatever I want. Like doughnuts in the middle of a usually busy intersection[/li][li]I hope no one has an emergency the “first responders” may be a bit distracted[/li][li] I can’t wait for the great Inauguration Day coverage graphics from the news channels. They are gonna be awesome.[/li][li] I am sure more great new gizmos like the hologram technology to beam people in 3-D and interactive election day (year) coverage maps will debut. [/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/2 "2009-01-07T22:39:51Z")
I won’t be watching any of the Inauguration coverage, but I just read this and thought I’d pass it along. [HBO lands rights to inaugural ceremony](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090107/tv_nm/us_inauguration_2) > [@](#): > > NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – HBO will kick off coverage of Inauguration Week with an exclusive Sunday, January 18, telecast of the star-studded opening ceremony, two days before the saturation coverage of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration begins in earnest. > > In 1993, HBO paid $1.5 million to the Presidential Inaugural Committee to televise Bill Clinton’s kickoff from the Lincoln Memorial, something that annoyed non-HBO subscribers who weren’t able to watch the concert by Bob Dylan and Diana Ross. > > This time around, HBO – which has been awarded the rights for an undisclosed sum – is planning to offer the event free to cable and satellite subscribers, regardless of whether they have the pay channel. The entertainment lineup for the event, which may also be streamed, hasn’t yet been announced, but both Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden are scheduled to attend. > > “(HBO’s) proven track record as a leader in television will help ensure an event that reflects President-elect Obama’s commitment to holding an inauguration that is open, accessible and reflects America’s spirit of unity,” inaugural committee executive director Emmett S. Beliveau said. > > … ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/3 "2009-01-07T22:57:03Z")
Only thing I might do to “celebrate” this inauguration is have a few tequila shots. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/4 "2009-01-07T23:10:55Z")
The ratings will plummet as soon as Tom Brokaw and Doris Kearns Goodwin get into another of their 25 minute conversations about how Lincoln and Roosevelt were the only Presidents to be inaugurated during a war, when one of them remembers that Eisenhower was also inaugurated during a war, and the other asks if Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon should also count… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/5 "2009-01-07T23:15:53Z")
That’s a great service HBO is offering. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/6 "2009-01-08T06:25:35Z")
I’ll be in court at noon, but I’ll tape the festivities and watch them that night. At dinner I’ll toast the new President. If all goes well, this will be a great, great day for our country. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inauguration/480279/7 "2009-01-08T09:26:28Z")
I recomomend watching it on C-SPAN. Less talking heads and more showing actual events.