THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701190079
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 169 lines
If there's no president on Monday, blame U.S. Sen. John W. Warner.
The peaceful continuation of Bill Clinton's presidency and, perhaps, the very short-term fate of American democracy will rest on Warner's shoulders that morning. On Inauguration Day, the four-term Virginia Republican is responsible for getting the president to the podium on time.
Warner, 70, is chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which choreographs and directs most aspects of the internationally televised swearing-in festivities. Afterward, the group hosts a presidential luncheon inside the U.S. Capitol that is so exclusive that only a few senior members of Congress are among the 240 invited guests.
Since a few days after last November's election, Warner and staff have been laboring in a labyrinth of details that come with distributing 220,000 hard-to-come-by tickets, building bleachers outside the Capitol, soothing the egos of diplomats who don't like their seat assignments, accommodating the Secret Service's seemingly endless security demands and making sure 4,500 members of the media get their press passes.
All of this, in Warner's view, is of secondary importance. ``The main function I have is to make sure that the president's hand goes up to take the oath precisely at the stroke of noon,'' he said this week outside the Capitol, looking high over Pennsylvania Avenue from the freshly painted blue podium where Clinton will make the vow.
This is no joking matter to Warner and many insiders. The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says the president's term ``shall end at noon on the 20th day of January.'' If Clinton is a second or a minute late in taking the oath, the country may be without a constitutional president for that time, Warner said.
What could happen in a matter of seconds? Is the nation's security truly at risk?
``You can write your Dr. Strangelove story if you want to,'' Warner barked after a moment of reflection. ``It's not going to happen, I'll see to that.''
By any standard, Warner would be a natural choice to oversee the inauguration. After all, his political career started in 1960 as an advance man for Richard Nixon. Sixteen years later, he won national recognition as chairman of the American Bicentennial Commission. He knows how to stage an event. During a recent tour of the bleachers, Warner was quick to rearrange the placement of stanchions and order a railing by some tricky stairs.
The senator cherishes every tradition of Washington, and when it comes to the inauguration, well, he just starts waxing.
``I accept my responsibility with humility, I will carry it out with precision and hope it will reflect credit and dignity on the nation and the office of the presidency,'' he says.
But it wasn't Warner's experience as an organizer that landed him this job. Rather, it was his ascension last year to the chairmanship of the Senate Rules Committee that automatically conferred the inaugural duties upon him.
The post comes with the help of a vast network of professionals and volunteers who unite every four years to throw the inauguration. Overseeing them on a daily basis is Susan McGill, Warner's longtime chief of staff.
McGill, 46, is used to supervising a bunch of aides who advise Warner on policy. She's incredulous about her temporary position. ``I often wonder how a nice girl from Roanoke got into this,'' she laughed during a recent sprint across the Capitol to another planning session.
``There may be a lot of things that go wrong that I notice,'' she said. ``But as long as we can get the president to the stand and sworn in at noon, I don't think most people will mind.''
McGill's immediate concern on this clear, crisp day is walking a number of dignitaries through their steps on Inauguration Day. Coming in for private rehearsals are Chief Justice of the United States William H. Rehnquist, who will administer the oath to Clinton; and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who will swear in Vice President Al Gore.
But first, there is a practice run for Warner, who will be Clinton's escort through much of the day. Here's the drill: Warner meets the president for coffee at the White House and drives with him back to the Capitol. Clinton goes briefly into a holding room (with a lavatory) and then emerges on the podium at 11 a.m. for an hour of festivities. Warner takes the spotlight at 11:30 with a brief welcoming speech.
After the oath, Warner will escort Clinton to the ornate President's Room in the Capitol, where Clinton will sign papers for his Cabinet appointments. Then on to the Rotunda, where Clinton will thank six choirs that sang during the morning ceremonies. Next, they enter Statuary Hall, where Warner will emcee the luncheon for senior congressmen, key White House staff members, and friends and family of the president.
At 2:30 p.m., Warner will accompany Clinton halfway down the rear stairs of the Capitol and hand him over to a military escort who will chauffeur the president back to the White House. At that point, Warner and McGill can breathe easy. They are not responsible for staging the Inaugural Parade or any of the 15 balls that night.
But all planning changes with the weather. The White House is keeping an eye on forecasts and, until 4 p.m. today, could move the inauguration indoors to the Capitol Rotunda.
In that case, Warner and McGill quickly will fall back on a fully developed Plan B. About 1,000 congressmen and special guests with seats on the president's platform would be invited inside. The Marine Band and choirs would have to perform with half their members. A small press pool would be allowed indoors and an NBC camera crew would provide live footage to the world.
Fortunately, the forecast is calling for clear and cold Monday, with temperatures in the low 20s. ``I think this president is going to want to be outside with the people,'' McGill said.
Much of the planning for the event is guided by tradition. Every four years the inaugural committee leaves behind a detailed report of the problems they experienced. So McGill knew, for example, that people who received commemorative invitations to the inauguration should be warned that they're not the same thing as a ticket that will get you onto the Capitol grounds. She knows that hundreds of portable toilets will freeze unless chemicals are put into their tanks.
But Warner and McGill also are adding their own touches. For starters there will be a Pledge of Allegiance - for which no one could find a precedent in recent inaugural history. Also planned is a sing-along of patriotic songs and scores of Boy and Girl Scouts passing out sheets for those who don't know the words.
The festivities will have a decided Virginia flavor. David Morales, an Eagle Scout from Vienna, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Choirs from the College of William and Mary (McGill's alma mater) and Hampton University will perform before the oath. Old Dominion wines will be served at the luncheon. And the feast will be in memory of Thomas Jefferson - the patron saint of Virginia government.
Every detail sets off a chain of complications. At the close of each day, Warner and McGill meet in a Senate conference room with about 60 other planners. The group includes officials from the Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, the president's advance staff, television networks and dozens of others with a stake in the proceedings.
On this day, several new problems arise. Justice Ginsburg, who is 4-foot-9, can't be seen over the podium and wants to stand on a stool at least 8 inches high when she administers the oath to Gore. The Park Police are objecting to the placement of four jumbo-tron televisions on the Washington Mall, saying they will disrupt the flow of pedestrian traffic.
And diva Jessye Norman, scheduled to sing a medley of patriotic songs only a few minutes before the oath, has put forth a confounding demand. Worried that the cold air will ``seize up'' her voice, Norman doesn't want to take her seat with everyone else on the podium before 11 a.m. Instead, she wants to come out just before her appearance. Organizers argue her ``ceremonial entrance'' would divert attention from the president.
The proposed solution: See if she'll take her seat early and sip hot tea to keep her voice warm.
And then there are the tickets. Each senator has been issued 393 ducats to dispense to friends and constituents; each representative has been given 198. Now, it seems, everyone wants more passes and better seats.
As she made rounds last week, McGill carried a cellular phone that rang constantly with requests. ``Everyone thinks they should be seated next to the president,'' she said, ``and they don't understand why they're not.''
The details are infinite. McGill has left a notepad on her nightstand at home for those ever-increasing moments when she is jarred awake by a thought. Lately, she said, she's spent more time scribbling than sleeping.
Tonight, McGill won't even try to go home. She's bringing in eight cots so she and her top aides can doze in the office. At 2 a.m. Monday, she'll begin her final tour of the Capitol. A blue carpet and 1,000 chairs must be placed on the podium. The sound system will need one last check. The caterer needs to bring in food and drink for the luncheon.
Everything must be in place before 8 a.m., when the Secret Service begins its final security walk-through. Then, begins the countdown to noon.
As Warner walked through yet another dry run last week, he was asked if he saw irony in his efforts to herald Clinton's second term. After all, Clinton is a Democrat. And Warner's fellow Republicans worked ceaselessly last fall to keep Clinton from ever taking the oath again.
``There's just no place for partisanship in this ceremony,'' Warner said with a scowl. ``This is a demonstration to the world of the peaceful transition of power. We have a responsibility to the Constitution to carry it out, and we will. It will be a day of joy.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Bill Sweeney, Capitol coordinator for the inauguration, and Greg
Casey, Senate sergeant-at-arms, work out luncheon details with Sen.
John W. Warner.
BILL TIERNAN photo/The Virginian-Pilot
Sen. John W. Warner surveys the stand where President Clinton will
be inaugurated Monday for his second term. Because he's chairman of
the Senate Rules Committee, running the event is Warner's job.
KEYWORDS: PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION 1997