Alex Haskell Goes to Washington

The cold, wet drizzle that soaked the thousands of spectators assembled for Inauguration Day only proved one thing: God is a Democrat.

When George W. Bush stepped onto the dais and in three minutes took the oath of office making him the 43rd president of the United States, I was fortunate enough to be there.

My adventure had started two days earlier, on Jan. 18. On a normal Thursday I’d go to Medea Creek Middle School at about 7:30 a.m., start with band, push on to English and then break for lunch. From there I’d go to science class and then home to do my inordinate amount of homework, feed the fish and take out the garbage.

However, this Thursday was entirely different.

After waking up in an Arlington, Va., hotel at 6:30 a.m. (3:30 to me, California time) my grandmother, grandfather and I marched out into the freezing rain, which had been falling all night. The three of us took refuge by going down into the nearby subway, the Metro. We got tickets for a VIP tour of the White House: Along with 1,500 other visitors that day we were moved quickly through five rooms in less than 25 minutes. However, just being in the White House seemed special because we were walking in rooms where President Clinton had walked, and soon President Bush would too. It felt even more special because I knew that these were the very same rooms in which Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson had walked.

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Soon we arrived at the Longworth Building. This is where most members of Congress have their offices. Our plan was to meet Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), whose district includes my home in Oak Park, and pick up tickets to the inaugural parade.

When we arrived, Sherman granted me a short interview. At first I felt very nervous to be talking with a real congressman but it was amazing how calm and laid back he appeared. He talked to me as if he were my friend’s father. I was surprised to find out that he was not really interested in politics when he was a teenager and did not run for any offices when he was in school. His advice to me when I asked about becoming a congressman was to see a psychiatrist. He added that it also helps to be born into a rich and powerful family.

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After our interview, we walked to the Russell Senate Office Building for our next appointment, a meeting with Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican from my grandfather’s home state of Maine. She told us about the Cabinet hearings going on upstairs, and soon enough we were three of 200 spectators in the caucus room listening to the controversial Senate confirmation hearings of attorney general nominee John Ashcroft.

After the hearing ended, we lunched at the Senate dining room. The food was great, but midway through our meal we got a surprise. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), the Senate majority leader, who apparently had noticed our stares while waiting for his food, came up to our table and introduced himself. After a short conversation, Lott went back to his table and Maryland crab cakes.

After our late lunch, we walked 22 blocks to Ford’s Theatre to watch political satirist Mark Russell perform. Everyone in the audience laughed hard while I wondered why they thought he was so funny.

Day two was the same as the day before: cold, wet and rainy. However the day started off great as my first order of business was to interview Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). When we arrived at Kerry’s office about 9 a.m., he came out of a meeting and took my grandparents and me into his private office and gave me his full attention.

Although I was nervous, he like Sherman was so relaxed and good at talking to people that I was quickly put at ease. I learned that Kerry had quite a childhood. When I was 11, I sat home playing computer games and baseball. When Kerry was 11, he was riding his bike from West Berlin through the Brandenburg Gate. His father was in the foreign service, and when John Kerry was young, he traveled the world with his dad. The senator graduated from Yale and went to Vietnam, where he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. When he came home he became a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

When I asked about his plans (many consider him a possible presidential candidate, and I think he’d be great), he said the future was hard to predict and that he would have to wait and see. But later, off the record, he told me . . . well, it’s off the record. Kerry was very kind and informative and his interview is something I will not forget.

Next on the agenda was Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). The senator was leaving as we entered so we began our interview as we walked. It turned out we were walking toward a hearing on Gale Norton, President Bush’s controversial nominee for secretary of the Interior. Dorgan motioned for me to follow him onto the stage where the hearing was being held--live television--where he asked Norton several pointed questions. Then we went back and finished our interview.

As we were leaving Dorgan’s office, who should walk by but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). I ran to catch up with him and did so at the elevator, where his wife took a great picture. Hours of walking and being lost plus jet lag and too little sleep had taken their toll, and so we called off the rest of the day and went back to our hotel.

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Day three was the big day: Inauguration Day. President Bush gave his speech and the masses warmly welcomed in the new administration. I climbed a wall and could clearly make out several small walking dots. These dots were the new President and his family. Surrounding me, many Texans who had come to witness the event looked very happy and even relieved. The parade would soon start and we had to move.

The temperature was about 35 degrees and the familiar mist covered everything in a cold dampness. As we walked off the Capitol lawn, legions of police officers roared by. The streets were almost abandoned except for the many police patrols. You could always hear sirens.

The parade was a fantastic show of patriotism, and I enjoyed it immensely. When I return to Washington this spring with my middle school, I’ll have a whole new outlook on our government and politics.