KEY POINTS:
It's a weird feeling getting privileged access to an event you have no personal connection with.
In the case of the inauguration, I couldn't help but feel a bit of a fraud - a stray ink spot on a parchment of history.
While a couple of million Americans
snuggled up in the Mall and thousands more thought themselves lucky to be allowed to squeeze into standing sections further down Capitol's hill, the media pack, including quite a few foreigners, had a perfect view of all the famous political leaders from seats a few dozen metres away.
The only section closer contained a number of ordinary folk but in their midst were people with names like Beyonce, Samuel Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Don King.
Getting to that media seat involved being exposed to both hyper and lax organisation.
First an email accreditation had to be swapped for an actual ticket at a Senate building. I couldn't go through the security at one entrance because it wasn't done for visitors to do so. I went through another and then was left to wander down a few corridors to find the room I was supposed to get to. I then went out a different entrance but that was fine.
Today I had to find the green security gate at a Senate building - as opposed to blue, silver and orange gates for other ticket-holders. But while there was a sign showing the way for those colours, green was missing and inquiries brought blank looks from security guards. After finding the right gate and passing through a security check, fellow ticket holders and myself had to wander around a few more corridors without direction until we found another security check.
We were then allowed onto the west front of the Capitol but were told to keep our tickets visible. Ushers were placed about every 5m. We were passed on to one usher who checked our tickets, then sent to the next one who checked them again and so-on. After passing through four groups of ushers we finally made it to the media section. And yet once there the seating numbers on the tickets were not enforced. I didn't see numbers on the seats. We were also told to keep the tickets handy because they would checked - but they weren't.
The event itself was interesting for what was emphasised and what wasn't.
Although the dignitaries were dressed for the occasion, there was no dress code for the people. The official information guide recommended only dressing appropriately for the weather. This meant that for the inauguration of the President of the United States, most people turned up in jackets, jeans and trainers or Ugg boots.
Military/security groups are honoured and their appearance emphasised. Deference to anyone in a uniform is virtually automatic and good manners are flourished at every opportunity.
The downtown areas in daytime have been largely food and alcohol-free zones. There's been a few hotdog/snack bars in the Mall but mostly punters have had to hunt down decent food and drink a few blocks away. Today was especially trying. A lot of people got up before dawn to get to where they wanted to be and many had been dissuaded from taking bags with supplies of any sort. They had to sit or stand through paralysing chill for three hours before anything interesting happened.
