Beg pardon, but is there not a recession going on with hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs by the month? Have taxpayers not spent trillions bailing out private institutions? Is this really the time to spend the most amount ever spent on swearing-in a president who wants to spend even more once in office?

President Barack Obama’s inauguration next week is set to be the most expensive ever, predicted to reach over $150m (£102m). This dwarfs the $42.3m spent on George Bush’s inauguration in 2005 and the $33m spent on Bill Clinton’s in 1993.

Huh. It dwarfs the amount spent on Bush in 2005, huh? That’s funny, because the left did nothing but complain about the cost to swear-in the president in that year. For example:

Jan 20, 2005 | In Sunday’s New York Times, John Tierney examined the delicate balancing act administrations face when throwing a lavish inauguration celebration against the backdrop of unsettling world events. Tierney wrote that inaugurations “become even trickier during times of war, particularly when television images of dancers in black tie can be instantly juxtaposed with soldiers in body armor.”…

This week’s inauguration story came ready with two interesting news angles: the huge cost (in contrast with the dire situation in Iraq) and the unprecedented security. And in both cases, the political press corps, as has been its habit under the Bush administration, showed little interest in prying. In the days and weeks leading up to the event, the press has largely treated inauguration criticism as partisan and silly, making sure to give Bush backers lots of time and room to defend the unmatched pomp and circumstance.

Lavish inauguration celebrations? Check. Huge costs and unprecedented security? Check. A war in Iraq in the background? Check. Unsettling work events? Check and check. And yet I’ve missed the overwhelming outrage from the left over the most expensive inauguration ever taking place while troops are dying and Americans are losing jobs. Interesting.

For more on the double-standard, check out Scott at Flopping Aces. The media took plenty of time in 2005 to assess how the money spent to swear-in Dubya could’ve been spent better. I’m sure you could’ve helped more than a few Americans with $150 million, huh?

Via HAH.