Tight security: The police presence at the Capitol was said to be double what it usually is, drawing on personnel from agencies throughout the D.C. area and operating from a new multimillion-dollar police command center with 22 big-screen monitors.
Symbolic gesture: One seat in the Capitol was left vacant to symbolize the empty place many Americans will always have at their tables and in their lives because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Just in case: Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft was the designated missing Cabinet member when President Bush delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night. The absence of a Cabinet secretary, who would be the successor to head the government should catastrophe hit the Capitol and wipe out all the government leaders assembled there for the speech, is a long-standing tradition.
Protests outside: About 1,500 people rallied peacefully outside the Capitol during President Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday, mainly united in opposition to a possible war in Iraq. “We’re not focused on what Bush is saying but rather on what he’s not saying,” said Zoe Mitchell, 22, a leader of the Shirts Off Coalition that organized the event. “What he’s focused on is war.” Although a projection screen showed the live video image of Bush’s comments, there was no volume supplied. Instead, the protesters, bundled in winter garb as the temperature dipped near freezing, listened to speeches and hip-hop music.
Invited for a reason: To showcase certain points, the White House invited representative guests to sit in for the address. James and Mildred Beemer of Peoria, a retired couple, represented the president’s plan to offer a prescription drug program to the elderly if they enroll in HMOs or other private health plans. The White House said the Beemers switched to an HMO after their insurance premiums escalated, and even described James Beemers’ care after he suffered a heart attack in 2001.
Family perks: Several of the president’s relatives attended, including his sister, Doro Koch, and his sister-in-law, Margaret Bush.
