WHAT'S A FEW MILLION? (PART II). Eric Boehlert writes in Salon that the true cost of Bush's inauguration party may be closer to $70 million than to the widely reported figure of $40 million. Boehlert explains:

For the media, simply reporting on the cost of the inauguration proved to be a challenge. Most major outlets stuck to the lower, albeit still unprecedented [er, not really], figure of $40 million, which the Presidential Inaugural Committee said it hopes to raise from private donors. But a more accurate figure may be $50 million. That's the amount cited by the Washington Times (which is plugged in to GOP circles). But even that number doesn't take into account the nearly $20 million that's being spent for security, putting the real cost at closer to $70 million, instead of the media's preferred $40 million.

I don't begrudge Bush his party, but $70 million would be more than double what Clinton ever spent. It does look like the feds have backed down on plans to stick the District of Columbia with the bill for security. But still.