[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 21, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MEDIA'S DOUBLE STANDARD ON INAUGURATION COSTS

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, yesterday we witnessed the 
hallmark of democracy of the peaceful transfer of power. And, like 
President Obama, we all wish our country a prosperous future.
  Although the national media strongly criticized President Bush for 
the cost of his inauguration in 2005, such criticism has been 
predictably scarce for President Obama, even though his inauguration 
was more than twice as expensive as President Bush's. For example, a 
New York Times editorial in 2005 suggested that the war in Iraq should 
dictate restraint for President Bush's inauguration.
  We now face two wars and serious economic challenges, yet the Times 
offered no similar criticism of yesterday's event. Expensive 
inaugurations are nothing new, and I am sure many who faced traffic 
congestion and long lines yesterday wished even more had been spent on 
this year's celebration.
  But we need the media to be evenhanded in its treatment of Republican 
and Democratic inaugurations, not guilty of a double standard.

                          ____________________