INAUGURATION PRIMER

The interregnum (what a great word) ends tomorrow as Donald J Trump takes the oath of office and becomes the 45th  president of the United States. 

CJ John Roberts will administer the oath. Query/trivia: who was the last person who was NOT a Chief Justice or Supreme Court Justice to swear in a President?

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas will administer the oath to VP elect Mike Pence. 

Have they done their homework here? The last time Justice Thomas said anything in public was "Supersize that and an order of onion rings as well...yes I'm sure I don't want a coke. Don't ask why please".  

Pence takes the oath first, which means for a few awkward moments Obama will be president, and Pence will be his VP. 

Trivia: Where was the first inauguration held?

Vegas odds: 1,000-1 Trump does not say "baba booey" in his speech. 150-1 someone shouts out "baba booey" loud enough to be heard on television. 

As per tradition, President Obama will get one last ride on his plane. The plane will NOT be called Air Force One when it flies him to California for a holiday. 
Trivia: What is the plane called when the president is not on board? 

GHWB

George Herbert Walker Bush is the 41st President of the United States. He is currently in the hospital. He is the greatest man we have ever known. We worked with Mr. Bush in DC when he was Ronald Wilson Reagan's vice president. Of course we cannot explain the exact details here. But here are a few stories. 

He was and is an inveterate letter writer. He has corresponded on a regular basis with hundreds of regular americans he met throughout his life. He is a war hero, the youngest bomber pilot in the Pacific in WWII at the time he flew his plane. 

In the 1950's Bush and his wife lost their daughter Robin to leukemia. There is a letter from GHWB to his mother about his daughter which we highly reccomend as a poignant example of his humanity. Here is part of what he wrote:

We need a legitimate Christmas angel, one who doesn't have cuffs beneath her dress. You have to be a father to know this,” he wrote. “We need a little one who can kiss without leaving egg or jam or gum. We need a girl. We had one once..... But she is still with us. We need her and yet we have her.”

In 2o13, Bush shaved his head in solidarity with 2 year old Patrick, the son of one of the agents on his secret service detail who was being treated for leukemia and had lost all his hair. He is that type of man. 

Many years after the death of Robin, as VP while running for president, Bush was in Poland and found himself visiting a children's hospital. There was a young child who was ill with Leukemia. Bush didn't know that at the time he picked up (the boy as we remember it) and the boy gave him a hug. Bush asked what was the matter and through interpreters he learned the child had leukemia. The incident was being recorded by reporters. Bush kept a smile and played with the boy for a moment, and then put him down and excused himself. He walked off to a small area where he couldn't be seen and he broke down. One reporter witnessed it and later asked him about it. Bush explained about his daughter. The reporter asked him why he walked away? That showing some emotion in front of the press during a presidential election would have been a great thing for the campaign. Bush gave the reporter a sad smile, shook his head and walked away. 

George Herbert Walker Bush is a great american. He is a real man, with real principles. And unlike the way politics is today with the win at all costs campaigns, there were just some things that were more important to George Bush than winning the presidency. 

We can't say that about the 45th president of the United States. But we do wish him well and hope he is successful. 

See you in court next week.