Mitch Carnell

Congratulations President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and to the United States on your Inauguration day. I wish I could be there to celebrate with you. I was there to celebrate President Bill Clinton’s Inauguration on January 20, 1993.

It started with an invitation arranged by my friend Linda Lingle. Channel 5 showed up to film me being fitted for a tux by the legendary Henry Berlin along with some delightful chatter between us. The coverage continued when our party boarded a special train headed for the event.

My friends, Germaine and John Carney, shared my hotel room just off DuPont Circle. We attended the festivities on the Mall. I stood through a concert by the Dreadful Dead so I could sit for a Peter, Paul and Mary Concert. We attended the inauguration, heard Maya Angelou read her poem,”On the Pulse of Morning,” ate lunch with the House Finance Committee and attended the South Carolina Ball. I talked to many Republicans at the events including Senator Strom Thurmond, who had planted himself at the buffet line, and Representative Arthur Ravenel.

Standing in line at an official souvenir shop, I met actress Markie Post and writer Marshall McLuhan, “The Medium is the message.” He held my place in line while I went into a stationary shop to order the note cards he recommended.

It was a joyous occasion from start to finish. The smooth transfer of power in the world’s greatest democracy that is how it should be.