More specifically, the Washington Post said yesterday that
[f]ewer bleachers will be set up this time, meaning more space for standing-room crowds. It has nothing to do with the record crowds expected for the Jan. 20 celebration, although it will allow more people to attend the parade for free.The changes stem from a lawsuit filed by war protesters, who said they were unfairly swept aside during President Bush's parade. In 2005, so many bleachers were set up, for people who bought tickets, that space was extremely tight for those who wanted to stand curbside and watch for free.
There will be 8,700 reserved bleacher seats this year, compared with 20,000 in 2005, officials said.
Of course, with all the Obama-love going on I'm not sure what kind of protests to expect. The ANSWER Coalition, on whose behalf the suit was originally filed, says it will be there, focusing on foreclosures, but considering the people who during the last presidential go-round opposed plans for demonstrations at the GOPper convention for fear they'd be labeled "disrespectful," wondered in all seriousness why anyone other than "the usual loonies" and "the crazies" would protest at the Dimcrat convention, and decried the idea of anti-Bush demonstrations at his inaugural in 2005 on the grounds "it would make us look like sore losers," I can't imagine any groundswell of support now even for some action that said "Congratulations, President Obama and we're really on your side but we hope you'll do these things."
But ultimately, that wasn't the point, at least as far as I was concerned. The point was to keep the inauguration of a new president from being turned into a private event available only to the well-heeled and well-connected. And for the moment, it hasn't been.
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