From ABC News:
President-elect Barack Obama billed his inauguration an event "for all Americans." But in the nation's capital this long weekend, wealthy visitors are finding themselves a bit more equal -- and warmer -- than others.
Most Americans here to see President-elect Obama make history crammed onto buses and trains, slept on floors and fought crowds and cold. But the wealthiest Americans coming to see the event are enjoying all the perks their money and power ever warranted.
For CEOs and stars arriving by private jet, local airports have shut down entire runways to serve as parking lots for their planes. Officials are prepared to handle hundreds of private aircraft for the long weekend.
Limousine companies have been busily shuttling the somebodies around town in style. Shirlington Limousine's Chris Baker says he has seen a spike in business for this inauguration, as he has for the past five. (Democrats seem to be more last-minute than Republicans, he said. "The GOP has much more advance, prior planning.")
Despite the recession, the big money's sleeping easy in D.C. While many other visitors feel lucky to have a room in a suburban budget hotel or a spot on a friend's floor, the wealthy snapped up rooms in the capital's best downtown hotels weeks in advance. The Four Seasons Georgetown (up to $75,000 for a minimum five-night stay), the Ritz-Carlton (up to $60,000 for a minimum five-night stay) and other top hotels say they have been booked for weeks, even months.
...While hundreds of thousands of Americans spent hours in the cold to enjoy the "We Are One" inaugural concert Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, a clutch of Obama's top donors could watch from a heated tent near the performers, courtesy of the president-elect's Inaugural Committee.
Visitors who hadn't raised hundreds of thousands of dollars couldn't get closer to the performance. "Excuse me! You got tickets? If you don't have tickets, you have to go to 'General Population,'" shouted a guard at an entrance near the memorial, gesturing with her arms to turn around and head back away from the show.
The concert was supposed to be part of "the people's party," said Shawn Paterniti, who had come with his wife Mia from Columbia, Md., to see the show. "But still, you have the VIPs who want their front-row seats. So I guess they get their tickets no one knows about," he said, as he and his wife headed to join the "general population," far away from the performances.
"It seems odd to have a VIP section for a concert about unity," quipped the local blog DCist.com. The blogger, Kriston Capps, suggested a new name for the event: "We Are One, but Some Are More One Than Others."
This "We Are One" facade is nothing new.
Obama has been selling perks to the rich for a long time. On Election night, rich media outlets were able to buy access that the "general media" couldn't touch.
This notion of Obama opening his events to the people is a joke.
Technically, they're open; but they're more open to those with big bucks.
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
Yeah, right, if you can afford VIP tickets.
"Excuse me! You got tickets? If you don't have tickets, you have to go to 'General Population.'"
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