Obama inauguration

The Obama inauguration signals the conclusion of the Bush administration by the swearing-in ceremony of president-elect Barack Hussein Obama on Tuesday January 20th, 2009. The price tag for the festivities could approach the most expensive ever at $160 million. Carole Florman, spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies says it's "not a lot of money in the scheme of planning an event for 240,000 people" and "We're always very budget conscious, but we're sending a message to the entire world about our peaceful transition of power, and you don't want it to look like a schlock affair. It needs to be appropriate to the magnitude of events that it is." At least 2 million people are expected to travel to Washington D.C. for the swearing-in.

Controversy

• While inviting a Christian to give an inaugural prayer is not so controversial, the gay community is in an uproar over the invite to evangelical pastor Rick Warren. Pastor Warren voted for Prop 8 in his home of California.

• Rev. Sharon Watkins of Protestant Christian denomination will also give an opening prayer. She is the first woman pastor of a religious faith to give an inaugural prayer.

• Openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson from New Hampshire will say an inaugural prayer. Bishop Robinson was singlehandedly responsible for the breakup of the American Episcopal Church.

• Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, is invited to give an inaugural prayer. Mattson's group says it does not condone terrorism. The Holy Land Foundation and five of its former leaders were convicted of funneling millions of dollars to Hamas, for which the ISNA funded and supported.

• In an additional break with Obama's predecessors, no Catholic or Judahism speaker is invited to give an inaugural prayer.