Cleaver Warns of Inauguration Headaches
Reported by: Larry Seward
Last Update: 1/10 12:11 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If you're planning a trip to see Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration, U.S. Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, II suggests you think long and hard about the physical demands. He says they can be overwhelming. Still, a group of Obama supporters are ignoring the warning.
"It doesn't bother me if it's cold or what," said Dorriss Lyman, owner of Papa Lew's restaurant and an Obama campaign volunteer. "I've got my ski pants. I'm taking my grandchildren. I'm going to have my thermals on and my gloves. I don't care what it takes. If I've got to sleep outdoors, I'm still going."
Even without tickets, Lyman is taking 106 people to Washington D.C. on a bus.
"It doesn't matter," Lyman said. "I'm going on faith."
A million more plan to do the same. As the district prepares for the masses, Congressman Cleaver warns it's going to be very uncomfortable to witness history. (Getty Images) Cleaver says visitors will have to leave their hotels before 4 a.m. the morning of the inauguration. Many streets will be closed. Parking will be extremely limited. Visitors will also have to wait in long lines for public transportation then walk several miles. They can also expect to stand for eight hours in the cold.
If you think it's something you can't handle, Cleaver suggests you stay home.
"I don't care how cold it is," said Yvonne Brown. "I don't care what's going on. My plan is to be there and support him whatever we can do."
Some local Obama campaign volunteers refuse to miss the opportunity to see him sworn-in.
"We registered people, the young, old, sick 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Arretta Shannon, an Obama campaign volunteer. "This is the reward."
"At my age, I didn't think I would even see the day we would be electing a black man as president," Brown said.
"Can't nothing stop me, as long as God wills," said Dorriss Lyman. "If I get sick, take me any way!"
This could be a disaster. Don’t they take the inauguration inside when the weather is bad? The weather for the 20th is forecast to be just about as bad as it gets in DC? Not a whole Lot of people will get to watch an inauguration inside.
People should be told to stay away from the ceremony and watch it on TV. People could die.
Freaky-Deaky...