They Were Late Because of Traffic?

I heard on WTOP today (can't find the story on the Web site yet) that some gates on Inauguration Day were opened late because the Secret Service staff who were supposed to staff them were stuck in traffic.

Wait. What?

The officials who for weeks have been telling people not to drive into the District on Inauguration Day were, uh, driving? Workers who had to be in the District to work on Tuesday slept at their workplaces on Monday night so they would be there on time, but the workers who made the rules that forced the office sleepovers went about business as usual?

And failed to do their duty?

Obama's Inaguaration: Sealing Off DC

It appears that all the bridges from VA will be closed on Inauguration Day. It's not clear to me why this is necessary. Does anyone know?

My guess is that this will be the most isolated DC has been since the Civil War.

No Bikes on Metro Inauguration Day

If you plan to bike to the festivities you can't take part of the trip on Metro.

Inauguration Day: Be Prepared to Hold It

For all you out-of-towners worried about where you're going to stay on this historic Inauguration Day -- forget that. Worry about where you're going to pee.

DC Metro (our "subway" for the uninitiated -- and by the way, stand to the right on the escalators. If you actually encounter one in service, that is ) has announced it will be closing its bathrooms for security reasons (not that they were readily accessible to begin with).

Instead they will be setting up port-a-potties, about 1 for every 6,849 people according to one estimate.

So, although Obama is going to turn the page, I guess a lot of us will probably still be looking for a bush come Jan. 20.

Maybe that's what Obama meant by the "fierce urgency of now."