Inaugural stroll for Obama? ... This limo is your limo ... More

Speculation is buzzing about one of the first high-profile decisions Barack Obama will make after taking the oath of office -- whether he will walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
Since Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, strolled down the entire avenue to the White House in 1977 after his swearing-in, all but one subsequent president has also left the limo at least for a stretch in what has become a symbolic "man of the people" gesture.
Ronald Reagan was the only one who didn't. In 1981, he traveled the 1-1/2 miles in an open car, in deference to his age. His 1985 inauguration parade was canceled due to icy conditions and bitter wind.
In 1989, George H.W. Bush walked part of the way. So did Bill Clinton, twice. In 2001, George W. Bush rode most of the way, to avoid protesters, but managed to hoof it for a couple of blocks. In 2005, the first inauguration after 9/11, he left his armored limo only for the last block.
In recent times, no detail of the Inaugural parade has been more closely held than this, given the potential danger such a stroll presents. This time, with the day being wrapped in the tightest security ever, the Secret Service is no doubt advising Obama to stay in the limo.
But in the end, it's Obama's decision alone. Given his grass-roots persona, smart money says he'll walk, at least part of the way.

Whatever Obama does, his inauguration also marks the debut of a new presidential limo, designed and engineered in such secrecy that about all that's publicly known is that it has hand-stitched leather seats and a CD player.
While the engine size and type has not been revealed -- nor the car's dimensions -- the limo is believed to be equipped with "run-flat" tires (that work even if punctured); 5-inch-thick armored plating; bulletproof windows; and a chassis sealed to protect against chemical or biological attack.
Like all presidential limousines in the past two decades, this one was made by General Motors, a fortuitous bit of good publicity for the all-but-bankrupt automaker. Given GM's government bailout, it also means we all own a piece of the car.

If you're hosting an inauguration-watching party, why not serve food favored by presidents of the past? The Library of Congress has compiled a guide to the culinary history of the White House, complete with recipes.
There, you can find a recipe for the deviled-egg casserole served to President James K. Polk; Martha Washington's "Great Cake" (uses 40 eggs); Bess Truman's macaroni and cheese; Mamie Eisenhower's "Million Dollar Fudge"; Lady Bird Johnson's "Pedernales River Chili" and President Clinton's butternut squash salsa.
Maybe Obama's contribution will be a recipe for arugula salad.
On the Web: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/presidentialfood.html

Forget TARP, now it's ARRP that will rescue us from the economic earthquake we're in.
Though the Obama team's anti-recession plan remains a work in progress, it appears that TARP -- the Treasury Department's current Troubled Asset Relief Program -- likely will be subsumed by Obama's more far-reaching American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, or ARRP.
Can't wait for the pre-eminent older-Americans' lobby, AARP, to weigh in on Obama's plan: AARP on ARRP.

A 267 percent increase in West Nile virus cases around Bakersfield, Calif., almost perfectly matched a 300 percent increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures there in 2007.
The link? Abandoned swimming pools, which were quickly taken over by mosquitoes carrying the virus, disease investigators found. Matters were not helped by a state law requiring all pools to have a 6-foot-tall fence and locked gates around them, making it nigh impossible for local public-health workers to get to the breeding grounds to spray.

(SHNS reporter Lee Bowman contributed to this column. E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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