Obama Considering Corporate Sponsorship of Second Inauguration

Reports suggest Barack Obama is considering laying the cost of his second inauguration at the feet of corporate sponsors rather than private donors.

This would represent a reversal of his 2009 inauguration, when he banned donations from corporations. 

The ostensible reason he is reversing himself, according to Obama’s fundraisers and campaign advisers, is that donors are worn out from supporting his $1 billion reelection campaign. They also cite their perspective that inaugurations are more of a civic event than a partisan affair.

There may have been a time when the inauguration was not a partisan affair, but with the current political polarity in the United States due to Obama’s divide and conquer mentality, it’s difficult to see his inauguration as anything other than that.

Normally, a president’s private fundraising pays for the inaugural festivities. Although Obama claimed to have foresworn corporate donations for his first inaugural, the watchdog group Public Citizen said he received donations from top executives at Wachovia, Goldman Sachs, and Lehman Brothers.