Hail to the chief

The 43rd president takes his second oath under rigid security, subdued critics, and a clearing sky | Bob Jones

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Flags at the Washington Post headquarters on 15th Street may not have been flying at half-mast, but much of liberal Democratic Washington did seem to be in mourning as President Bush took his second oath of office on Jan. 20. Many streets, covered in a dirty dusting of day-old snow, were all but deserted. Pedestrians walked with their heads bent against a cold winter wind and windows were plastered defiantly with placards touting John Kerry or "Blue Zone DC."

Still, quiet mourning was a big improvement over Inauguration Day 2001, when a contested election drew tens of thousands of enraged protesters to a series of events that all but shut down the city. This year's "Counter Inaugural" events (poetry readings at a lefty bookstore, concerts by obscure rage-against-the-machine wannabes) were low key and lightly attended—­victims perhaps of a decisive popular vote and post-9/11 security measures.