With the current budget situation, is there really an excuse for holding an elaborate public ceremony to inaugurate someone who is already president? I lived in DC in 2004 and saw first hand the effects of a presidential inauguration on the city. It must cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in taxpayer money. I believe we should do away with this wasteful practice, and swear in second term presidents before Congress, televised, but with no public audience. The second inaugural address could be combined with the State of the Union, saving enormous amounts of time and money.



