Democracy's Big Day
Democracy's Big Day

Author: Jim Bendat

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2012-01-04

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9781935278481

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Every four years, the world watches as the United States passes the title and power of the presidency from one person to another in a peaceful and orderly manner. With a formal ceremony, a large parade, and gala inaugural balls, its a big, colorful showone rich with history, tradition, and ritual. Through a compilation of vignettes, author Jim Bendat chronicles all of Inauguration Days historic events. Democracys Big Day tells stories about the outgoing and incoming presidents who did not get along, the chief justices who improperly administered the presidential oath, the vice president who showed up to the ceremony drunk, and the nine occasions in which the United States had an unplanned and unanticipated inaugurationoften for a nation in mourning. Democracys Big Day presents a comprehensive history of presidential inaugurationsfrom George Washington through Barack Obama. From the morning White House coffee gathering to the evenings parties, the author provides a captivating look at what is truly democracys biggest day.

Presidential Inaugurations
Presidential Inaugurations

Author: Joy Winkie Viola

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13:

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This publication covers the fundamentals of planning a college or university presidential inauguration. The guide's 10 chapters are based in part on a survey of colleges and universities that appointed new presidents between January 1990 and January 1992. The first chapter offers five rules for "getting your act together": you should have started earlier; pick the right chair; appoint committee members who get the job done; develop a theme and stick to it; and define the scope of your celebration. The second chapter goes into more detail on creating a committee to get the job done. Chapter 3 describes how to clearly define committee responsibilities early in the planning process. Chapter 4 discusses the budget for inaugural events including establishing priorities, trimming expenses, and a budget planning checklist. Chapter 5 treats the invitation process including announcements, special invitations of political leaders, mailing lists, invitation design, and deadlines. Chapter 6 focuses on planning the installation ceremony itself. Chapter 7 covers additional events in the inauguration. Chapter 8 considers potential problems and how to prepare for them. Chapter 9 explain how to develop and work with a timeline. Chapter 10 offers examples from actual inaugurations including invitations, programs, memoranda, tickets, posters, music programs, souvenirs, inaugural greetings, and insignia of office. (JB)

Showbiz Politics
Showbiz Politics

Author: Kathryn Cramer Brownell

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2014-11-24

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1469617927

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Conventional wisdom holds that John F. Kennedy was the first celebrity president, in no small part because of his innate television savvy. But, as Kathryn Cramer Brownell shows, Kennedy capitalized on a tradition and style rooted in California politics and the Hollywood studio system. Since the 1920s, politicians and professional showmen have developed relationships and built organizations, institutionalizing Hollywood styles, structures, and personalities in the American political process. Brownell explores how similarities developed between the operation of a studio, planning a successful electoral campaign, and ultimately running an administration. Using their business and public relations know-how, figures such as Louis B. Mayer, Bette Davis, Jack Warner, Harry Belafonte, Ronald Reagan, and members of the Rat Pack made Hollywood connections an asset in a political world being quickly transformed by the media. Brownell takes readers behind the camera to explore the negotiations and relationships that developed between key Hollywood insiders and presidential candidates from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, analyzing how entertainment replaced party spectacle as a strategy to raise money, win votes, and secure success for all those involved. She demonstrates how Hollywood contributed to the rise of mass-mediated politics, making the twentieth century not just the age of the political consultant but also the age of showbiz politics.