Grand time eyed for inauguration

WASHINGTON -- At the height of World War II in 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt opted for a low-key inauguration to mark the start of his fourth term, with a simple swearing-in ceremony, a brief speech from the South Portico of the White House to a small crowd and a modest luncheon.

He was the exception.

No other president-elect taking office during wartime -- from Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War to Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Korean conflict to Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War -- has scaled back his inaugural events as Roosevelt did.

Neither will President Bush.

In January, as war continues in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush's second inauguration will heavily emphasize the ongoing conflicts and sacrifices by US forces with the theme, ''Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service." But the festivities will rival those held during peacetime.

On tap are nine official balls, a youth concert, a parade, a fireworks display, and, of course, Bush's second swearing-in ceremony and speech at noon on Jan. 20. Planners put the cost at $30 million to $40 million, excluding expenses for security for the first post-Sept. 11, 2001, inauguration.

In his reelection bid, Bush campaigned as a wartime president. He made the fight against terrorism and the liberation of Iraq the focus of his campaign that culminated win his Nov. 2 win over Democratic Senator John Kerry.

During next month's inauguration, most of the events will call attention to those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as highlight the freedoms in the United States and the US effort to bring the same rights to other countries.

An opening event will pay tribute to the troops and a ''celebration of freedom" will be held on the capital's Ellipse.

A commander in chief's ball is a first, with some 2,000 free tickets to be given to service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. The Defense Department will distribute the tickets.

''We recognize this time that we are a nation at war," said Jeanne Johnson Phillips, chairwoman of the 55th presidential inaugural committee. She headed two other inaugurations for the Bush family, in 2001 for the current president and in 1989 for his father.

She said that Bush's second inauguration, like the others before it, will ''paint a picture of democracy" and provide a time for Americans to ''stand together regardless of politics."

Committee officials stressed that the festivities shouldn't be looked at as a partisan victory party but rather as the hallmark of a democracy, a peaceful transition of power with Bush reaffirming his oath of office.

''This is not a political event," said Greg Jenkins, the committee's executive director. ''This is a bipartisan celebration of a democratic process of swearing in."