Let me preface this post simply by saying that I hate to complain (though some people say you'd never know it). In general, I don't like to call people out, and in this case especially I don't want to undercut my own enthusiasm for the upcoming events or downplay the very positive work being done by the PIC under what must be some very difficult circumstances.
Some people will say "Hey, what are you whining about? You get to go to DC and do stuff most of us don't, so STFU already." Okay, sure. Point taken. But, I'm still going to offer up my account of how things are operating and my opinion about how it could be better. It probably will not do any good and might even hurt somebody's feelings. I don't really need a good reason to speak my mind, do I?
On Sunday night, I got the e-mail that started me down my path to a near annurism - the official PIC invitation to the Inaugural Ball. Just cough up a pile of money and you can go. Of course, the fact that WPIW caught on and blogged about it and it was also anounced on the PIC web site took a little of the feel-special out of it, but hey it's the thought that counts, right?
Honestly I'm flattered they even thought to let me know. Given a shot like this, I had to act on it. I might never care enough about a candidate for POTUS to get invited again. Besides, I am pretty sure I am out of the running for tickets to the parade and swearing-in, so this will be my one shot to do something kind of unique.
So, Monday monring I filled out my donation/request. Unlike what I am used to with e-commerce web sites, there was no [immediate] confirmation e-mail, just a vague message that I would get an e-mail at some point later on. So I waited. How long was I supposed to wait?
On Tuesday the AmEx showed so signs of activity. Tuesday afternoon I called the PIC; delays in processing they said, maybe. Or maybe the system ate my request and I would be shut out. Lots of other people were calling the PIC too. They promised someone would call me back that day. No call. No surprise on my part.
I couldn't wait forever, so I went and bought my tux, and rented one for Eric, just in case everything went well. The ladies sadly were not having any luck finding dresses; they are still shopping today. Now, I was really commited, so I hoped and prayed the log jam over at the PIC would resolve itself eventually.
Wednesday, I called again, and got the same story basically. Later that day, I went and looked at AmEx statement again and now saw that they had actually taken my ticket money the night before. It's sometimes weird how such things don't always show up on their web site right away. Okay, relief. On the train ride home that night, I finally get my official e-mail telling me to pick up my tickets at the Convention Center on Friday morning.
Update 1/16: I learned today in line that most people received an initial confirmation e-mail about ten minutes after they donated, which I didn't get. One lady in line made two seperate donations, and got the two initial notices, but only one e-mail like the one I received Wednesday. It sounds like something is seriously wrong with their outgoing mail server if it is dropping mail into a black hole.
Now, maybe I'm expecting too much, but isn't this the 21st century; don't most people expect a web site that takes your money to do it realtively quickly and give you a yes-or-no style answer about whether your order was palced? So that exposure to the PIC's e-commerce capabilities was not very pleasant, but at least it ended well. Also, although the folks I talked to on the phone weren't really able to provide any maeaningful information, at least they were friendly.
If that had been the whole of it, I think overall my opinion of the PIC would've been overall very favorable. But, there is this one other thing that changed my mind.
For many weeks, the PIC has been hyping up the events including a free concert for the kids. I had hoped to send Sarah to it on Monday night, so we could be free to attend the Yes We Can Party sans kidlets. She's a big Jonas Bros. and Hannah Montana fan, but what 11 year old girl isn't? Well, it looks today like that can't happen. The PIC has some strange definition of the words "free public event" which actually mean "we gave 1,000 tickets to some people we really like and told them to do as they pleased with them. The rest of you are out of luck."
Now, don't get me wrong. I support giving the tickets mainly to kids of military families and members of youth groups in the area. After all, these are underprivileged kids and kids who have sacrificed a lot for this country. But, the way the PIC communicated about this event gave the impression they want to eat their cake and have it too. Either an event is open to the public, or you get to pick who can go to it, not both.
Also, please do you think maybe you could have said that this was a concert intended for only that audience *before* I told my daughter about it, and before I wasted my time trying to figure out how she could get to go??? There are lot's of other things to do in DC, better ways to spend my time than researching a dead end, and I am guessing that proper communication could have reduced some of the PIC's call volume.
Even the Post's
Inauguration Watch had to do a little finger wag about their use of the word "public" in this case, when they wrote "Inauguration Watch would argue that that's not exactly making the tickets available to the general public because they're not available to everyone, but rather the selected groups." So obviously I am not alone in feeling this is a little disingenuous.
Now, I'd already told Sarah not to be crushed if there was no way to get tickets, so I don't think she'll be upset. [Update: Good girl. Her response to being told this news was "okey dokey artichokey."] So that aspect of worrying that my daughter would be dissappointed didn't really play into it, but I feel for the other parents of tweenies in the greater Potomac area.
I just find this kind of thing frustrating, because there seems to be a developing character for this year's PIC. They are not particularly forthcoming with facts and details, even about things that should've been easy to plan in advance. This is true despite the fact that they are ostensibly trying to both be and host events that are very open and accessible. That contriadiction is jarring, especially compared to Obama's campaign. They seem to want the appearance of an open celebration that is neither actually particularly open, nor particularly responsive.
What I have seen of the handling of details for the whistle-stop tour though Baltimore just seems to reinforce this idea. I get that security concerns and overwhelming demand are probably causing a lot of this, but I think you'd get fewer confused or angry calls about an event if you just came out and told everyone in advance that you were not giving any tickets out - even if you don't explicitly tell them who you're giving them to.
I imagine that Obama is probably deeply commited to the transition and to getting down to the business of saving our collective bacon. To him, the PIC and the celebration are probably a distraction - even if a necessary one. I totally support that. Hopefully, all his best people from the campaign are likely off to more important things than throwing a party. But this is one thing that I have come to believe about the PIC. They do not really represent President Obama very well. I could not be more glad that in just a few days time, their mission will be over, and as an organization they will simply dissappear.